Joe Ryan Is Making Twins History, Just Not the Way Most People Think

The right-hander owns the highest career strikeout rate in franchise history, but his dominance no longer revolves around his fastball.

Joe Ryan attacks the strike zone during his latest start before the All-Star break with the Twins. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Joe Ryan reached the All-Star break with another outstanding first half, but his biggest accomplishment isn't his 2.85 ERA.

With more than 750 career innings, he now owns the highest career strikeout rate in Minnesota Twins history among pitchers with at least 500 innings. His 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings surpass Johan Santana's 9.5, Francisco Liriano's 9.1 and José Berríos' 9.0.

That doesn't make Ryan the greatest pitcher in Twins history. Santana's résumé and legacy remain unmatched. It simply means no Minnesota pitcher has generated strikeouts more consistently over a significant workload.

The record carries even more weight with context. Ryan didn't reach it during one extraordinary season or over a small sample. He did it after surpassing 750 innings with Minnesota, turning his ability to miss bats into one of the defining traits of his career.

A Deeper Pitch Mix

The biggest difference is how Ryan is producing that dominance. For much of his career, his four-seam fastball powered everything. In 2023, the pitch produced a 33.3% strikeout rate and a 15.5% swinging-strike rate, making it one of baseball's best fastballs. Ryan attacked the top of the strike zone with a pitch that wasn't overpowering in velocity but consistently generated whiffs.

Three years later, that has changed.

In 2026, his fastball has generated a 26.4% strikeout rate, while its swinging-strike rate has dropped to 11.4%. The velocity has barely changed—he's averaging 93.7 mph, almost identical to the previous two seasons—so this isn't about throwing harder.

Normally, a declining fastball would mean fewer strikeouts. Ryan has gone the other direction.

He's back above 10 strikeouts per nine innings because he no longer depends on one pitch. Instead, he's developed the deepest arsenal of his career.

Pitch	Opponent AVG	K%
Knuckle Curve	.155	44.3%
Splitter	.156	25.5%
Slider	.229	30.7%

The addition of a knuckle curve has given Ryan a true put-away pitch. Opponents are hitting just .155 against it, while 44.3% of plate appearances ending with the pitch have resulted in strikeouts.

His splitter has also taken a major step forward. After allowing a .235 batting average in 2025, opponents are hitting only .156 against it this season, and Ryan has yet to issue a walk when finishing a plate appearance with the pitch. Rather than simply generating whiffs, the splitter has become a reliable weapon for weak contact and quick outs.

The slider has rounded out the arsenal. Hitters are making contact on only 31.3% of their swings outside the strike zone against it, a significant improvement from last season and another sign Ryan now has multiple ways to finish hitters.

The fastball no longer has to do all the heavy lifting. It now shares that responsibility with three legitimate finishing pitches.

Apr 9, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan (41) pitches against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

More Than Just Strikeouts

The benefits extend far beyond strikeouts. After allowing more than 1.2 home runs per nine innings in each of the previous three seasons, Ryan has cut that number to just 0.82 in 2026. That improvement goes a long way toward explaining his 2.85 ERA and reinforces that his evolution isn't limited to piling up strikeouts.

What's especially interesting is that his fastball still gives up hard contact when hitters square it up. Both its barrel rate and hard-hit rate rank among the highest of his career.

The difference comes once Ryan gets ahead in the count. With two strikes, he has been one of the American League's most dominant pitchers. This season, 73.1% of hitters have failed to survive the plate appearance once Ryan reaches two strikes.

Ryan has struck out 60.6% of hitters in two-strike counts while allowing opponents to bat just .136, the sixth-lowest average in the American League. Among the five pitchers who have faced the most hitters in two-strike counts, Ryan ranks firmly among the game's elite.

Pitcher	Team	BF	Two-Strike K%	OPS
Jacob Misiorowski	Brewers	276	65.4	.340
Dylan Cease	Blue Jays	262	65.3%	.417
Joe Ryan	Twins	285	60.6%	.409
Gavin Williams	Guardians	275	59.8%	.554
Foster Griffin	Nationals	264	59.3%	.451

Even when hitters avoid the strikeout, Ryan has remained difficult to damage. Against the relatively small group of batters who put the ball in play with two strikes, he owns the fourth-lowest BABIP (.242) and the seventh-lowest OPS (.409) in the American League.

Whoa there Joe, you’re an All Star ⭐️

Congratulations to Joe Ryan for being named to the 2026 All-Star Game! pic.twitter.com/su8W4lws36

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) July 4, 2026

That's why this first half means more than a franchise record. Joe Ryan didn't become the Twins' all-time leader in career strikeouts per nine innings because he owns an unhittable fastball. He got there because he evolved into a much more complete pitcher. For a Minnesota club searching for stability at the top of its rotation in the second half, that evolution may matter more than the record itself.