Byron Buxton Named an American League All-Star: Healthy, Dynamic, Dominant, But Twins' Lone Representative

[Cody Christie]

Image courtesy of © Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Twins may not be sending a flock of players to the Midsummer Classic, but the one they will send is the heartbeat of the team. Byron Buxton is officially a 2025 American League All-Star, named as Minnesota’s lone representative for the game in Atlanta. It is his second All-Star selection, with his other coming in 2022. For Buxton, the honor is more than just another line on the résumé. It’s a recognition of a player fully realizing his star potential, in a season wherein he's been healthy, impactful, and downright electric.

Buxton entered the season with a point to prove. After years of injury-plagued campaigns, he’s stayed on the field and reminded everyone why the Twins have been so steadfast in their belief in his talent. His defensive wizardry in center field has returned to Gold Glove form, where highlight-reel catches are back to being a near-nightly occurrence. He has tried to carry the Twins with his offensive performance in recent weeks. Entering play on Sunday, he was slashing .268/.333/.536, with 19 home runs, 11 doubles, and 15 stolen bases. Combine that with elite defense in center, and there’s a legitimate case that Buxton has been the best all-around center fielder in the American League. As if to burnish that case at the last moment, he hit a leadoff home run and stole a base after a third-inning single, pushing the totals for round-trippers and thefts to 20 and 16, respectively.

The Georgia connection only adds to the significance of the moment. Buxton, born in Baxley, Ga., emerged on the amateur stage as a high-school star and one of the top draft prospects in 2012. He will play in front of family and friends during the All-Star festivities, a fitting backdrop to his most complete season as a professional. His 3.1 rWAR is already his fifth-highest total in any season, and his 136 OPS+ is his third-best mark. It’s been a long, winding road to this point, with setbacks that might have derailed a lesser player. Instead, Buxton has shown resilience and leadership during a season when the Twins desperately needed both.

Minnesota has hovered near the fringes of contention this year, struggling with inconsistency and injuries across the roster. Amid the turbulence, Buxton has stood out as the club’s anchor. His .536 slugging average, 138 wRC+, 5 Outs Above Average and 5.0 Baserunning Runs are the best among AL center fielders. He ranks in the AL's top 10 in offensive WAR (5th), slugging (3rd), OPS (7th), runs (3rd), homers (5th), steals (7th), and Win Probability Added (5th). The Twins’ offense has seen its ups and downs, but Buxton has delivered key hits in big spots, pushed the tempo with his legs, and provided highlight-reel defense that saves runs and lifts morale.

It’s also worth noting that Buxton’s All-Star nod could have financial implications. His contract includes incentives tied to MVP voting. While the field is crowded, the visibility and narrative surrounding his strong season could put him in the conversation for votes, especially if he continues to carry the Twins through the second half. If he makes it into the top 10 in MVP voting, he'll receive a bonus of at least $3 million.

Even as the team sends only one player to the All-Star Game, there were a few close calls. Jhoan Duran’s bullpen dominance made him a plausible addition, and Joe Ryan has arguably been one of the AL’s best starting pitchers. There is a chance that both pitchers could be added to the rosters as they expand later this week due to injuries and the unavailability of other pitchers. But with Ryan staying on schedule to pitch Saturday and Duran just missing the cut, the spotlight shines squarely on Buxton. 

It’s simply a well-deserved honor for a player whose value to the Twins goes far beyond the stat sheet. He’s the face of the franchise, a leader in the clubhouse, and the guy who gives Minnesota fans hope every time he steps on the field.

Buxton is getting his All-Star flowers again, and it’s coming in his home state, amid a season in which he is a fuller version of himself. Maybe—just maybe—the rest of the baseball world will realize how special he is. If not, he'll certainly make Twins Territory proud, anyway.

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[Sjoski]

Ryan most likely got snubbed...but I'd rather have him rested and ready to roll post AS game.

Good for Buxton. 

 

[Patzky]

The guy he always could be. Much respect to 25.

[BrokenCompass]

Huge snub for Ryan, I don't know what more he could have done, frankly. 

Buxton deserves this as much as anyone. I remember him hitting a HR in Los Angeles the last time he was an All-Star. 

Twins hitters with multiple All-Star nods: Killebrew, Carew, Puckett, Oliva, Mauer, Morneau, and Knoblauch. This fuels Buxton's resume and cements him as a Twins all-time great. Number 25 will never been worn by another Twin. Congrats Byron on a heckuva year and even bigger props for sticking with it even through all the injuries.  

[jkcarew]

Wow. Ryan big-time snub.

Yes, I’d probably have Buxton ahead of him….although, fwiw, Ryan has more WAR right now.

Ripped off. Oh, well…get some rest, young man!

[Richie the Rally Goat]

good for Buck!

[The Great Hambino]

Ryan and Duran, as of right now, have the top bWAR among starters and relievers, respectively, among AL All-Star snubs.

Ryan was partly a victim of the selection process, a strong group of player-elected starters, and the fact that at least two of the Commissioner's Office slots were used to comply with the everyone-gets-a-guy rule (you could argue a third, but the Royals also got a Commish pick for a position player).  That means it was basically three of Ryan, Kris Bubic, and Bryan Woo for two spots.  I'd have gone with Ryan over Woo, but it's not the most egregious snub of all time.  At least they didn't burn a commish pick on a reliever.

As for Duran, they could've drawn the top four relievers out of a hat for the three spots.  Duran is worthy, but so are Chapman, Munoz, and Hader. 

So nothing terribly out of line, but they just got the short end of the stick.  That tends to happen when your team as a whole disappoints

Edited July 6, 2025 by The Great Hambino
I can't count

[DJL44]

Sounds like Ryan is the next man up when someone drops out. If he pitches Saturday he should have no trouble throwing an inning on Tuesday and getting ready for a game on the following Friday.

[DocBauer]

If the All Star Game was selected only on merit for the current season, Buck should have been voted in as a starter.

And that's really the only comment I have.

[thelanges5]

Awesome to see Buxton playing this well and get to represent the Twins in the All-Star game in Atlanta.
 

As for the rest, the Twins are a mid market team that is averaging 21st in offense and 21st in pitching over the last 162 games played. Hard for anyone to break out of that shadow.

[Doctor Gast]

It's a shame that Buck wasn't selected outright.  He has shown that he's a clear All-Star. IMO, the fans won't select the best players; they make it a big market beauty contest. Hopefully, Ryan & Duran can make it in.

[dxpavelka]

No Joe is a joke

[tony&rodney]

Congratulations to Byron Buxton. 

[Western SD Fan]

Looks like we are not alone in thinking Joe Ryan was snubbed.  Even the hack writers at ESPN listed Ryan as the biggest AL pitcher snub, even though they taper their outrage by suggesting that you could have pulled out of a hat three of five pitchers between Ryan, Woo from Seattle, Bubic from KC, and deGrom or Eovaldi from Texas.  So let's look at it and you pick three of five.  One note being that you MUST pick a Texas pitcher as that is their only representative.  IMO, Ryan should replace Woo.  Seattle already has Raleigh and Munoz on the All-Star team.  2025 MLB All-Star Game rosters: Oversights, other takeaways - ESPN

Edited July 7, 2025 by Western SD Fan
Added link

[BrokenCompass]

10 hours ago, Doctor Gast said:

It's a shame that Buck wasn't selected outright.  He has shown that he's a clear All-Star. IMO, the fans won't select the best players; they make it a big market beauty contest. Hopefully, Ryan & Duran can make it in.

The fans have been butchering this thing forever. I remember back in the early 90s when Ken Griffey Jr. - who was on the injured list the entire 1st half of the season - was voted in as a starter. Then there was that Royals debacle somewhere in the 2010s. Just a mess. 

[stringer bell]

Good for Buxton. He deserves the All-Star bid. I'm not surprised that Joe Ryan didn't make the team outright, but I think there's a better than 50-50 chance he makes the team by the time they play the game. 

[jmlease1]

10 hours ago, Western SD Fan said:

Looks like we are not alone in thinking Joe Ryan was snubbed.  Even the hack writers at ESPN listed Ryan as the biggest AL pitcher snub, even though they taper their outrage by suggesting that you could have pulled out of a hat three of five pitchers between Ryan, Woo from Seattle, Bubic from KC, and deGrom or Eovaldi from Texas.  So let's look at it and you pick three of five.  One note being that you MUST pick a Texas pitcher as that is their only representative.  IMO, Ryan should replace Woo.  Seattle already has Raleigh and Munoz on the All-Star team.  2025 MLB All-Star Game rosters: Oversights, other takeaways - ESPN

It's not an easy call, but I think I have Ryan as one of the 3, with deGrom and Eovaldi, though I go back and forth on Bubic vs Eovaldi; the 1.75 ERA is gaudy and the ERA+ of 216 is remarkable for Eovaldi...but the 77 innings is not. 

Ryan got snubbed in that he was more than worthy of pitching in the all-star game, but at the same time it's not like he's gotten passed over for selection by someone truly unworthy. Unfortunately, the fact that the Twins have swooned in June likely counted against him, along with playing in a smaller media market (of course, our media reach would be better if ownership hadn't been incompetent boobs with the team's media rights and so forth over the past decade, but that's a different issue)

[Cody Christie]

Aaron Judge was the only outfielder, in either league, with more player votes than Buxton. Judge earned 898 votes from players. Buxton was second with 700. Buxton finished with the fourth-most votes from the players. Only Judge (898), Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh (823), and Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (746) had more.
 

 

[The Great Hambino]

22 minutes ago, Cody Christie said:

Aaron Judge was the only outfielder, in either league, with more player votes than Buxton. Judge earned 898 votes from players. Buxton was second with 700. Buxton finished with the fourth-most votes from the players. Only Judge (898), Seattle catcher Cal Raleigh (823), and Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez (746) had more.
 

 

Interesting.  The only player that won the fan vote and wasn't in the top 2 (or 6 for OF) in the player voting was Jacob Wilson, and I'd argue that AL SS had a pretty strong top 3.  All things considered, the fans could've done much worse

[Sjoski]

16 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

No Joe is a joke

The whole fan voting system that started in 1970 is a joke...it’s not an All-Star game—it’s a popularity contest.

[dxpavelka]

15 hours ago, Sjoski said:

The whole fan voting system that started in 1970 is a joke...it’s not an All-Star game—it’s a popularity contest.

I don't have a problem with fan voting.  Don't even have a problem with the rule that every team has to have a representative.  32 man rosters more than make up for that.  My problem is with the selections of certain pitchers who are NOT the only representative from their team and NOT having better seasons than Ryan.  Kris Bubic and Bryan Woo?  Sorry.  Nice young players but better than Ryan?  Don't think so. Just sayin

[stringer bell]

1 hour ago, dxpavelka said:

I don't have a problem with fan voting.  Don't even have a problem with the rule that every team has to have a representative.  32 man rosters more than make up for that.  My problem is with the selections of certain pitchers who are NOT the only representative from their team and NOT having better seasons than Ryan.  Kris Bubic and Bryan Woo?  Sorry.  Nice young players but better than Ryan?  Don't think so. Just sayin

Ryan and Woo have very similar top-line stats. Both seem to be qualified IMHO. Some pitchers will opt out or be disqualified by pitching on Sunday. I would hope that Joe is the first pick as a replacement. 

[dxpavelka]

15 hours ago, stringer bell said:

Ryan and Woo have very similar top-line stats. Both seem to be qualified IMHO. Some pitchers will opt out or be disqualified by pitching on Sunday. I would hope that Joe is the first pick as a replacement. 

Woo is close but I think Ryan is better.  And a LOT better than Bubic.

[RpR]

WOW, it seems not long ago this site was full of: How long before Buxton is on the IL; Trade Buxton and get some  rookies that will not physically fall apart; Buxton's best days are past....

It seems there are a number of Fair-Weather insincere fans here. ☺️