Joe Ryan All-Star Snub Stings Minnesota Twins' De Facto Ace, But He Goes On

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

You could hear the scraped note in Joe Ryan's voice, at last, when a columnist who had misunderstood him asked to clarify how All-Star selections seem to be based on more than stats.

"No, no," said the Twins righthander, certainly a star but not quite an All-Star, yet again. "It's NOT on stats."

In other words, while Ryan claimed not to have dived too deeply into his own numbers, he's aware of them. He feels as though he's earned his place at next week's All-Star Game in Georgia, and he's at a loss to explain or defend himself in the wake of the fact that the game didn't make room for him.

"Yeah, I mean, another year," he had said when the subject was first raised, letting listeners feel the gathering weight that had hit him when he was informed that he had missed out again this summer, "but at the same time, it's not based on stats, so it is what it is. And I'll leave it there."

Ryan, 29, has been one of the best first-half pitchers in baseball for each of the last four seasons—especially the last three. Here are his numbers for each of those campaigns, at the All-Star break:

• 2023: 18 starts, 107 innings, 3.70 ERA, 8-6, 124 strikeouts, 18 walks, .636 opponent OPS
• 2024: 19 starts, 114 2/3 innings, 3.53 ERA, 6-6, 124 strikeouts, 19 walks, .668 opponent OPS
• 2025: 18 starts, 104 1/3 innings, 2.76 ERA, 8-4, 116 strikeouts, 21 walks, .589 opponent OPS

As things stand now, Ryan is slated to make one more start before this year's break, on Saturday against the Pirates. Though the righty didn't want to make it about himself Sunday, his frustration with the process that has denied him the recognition that he belongs among the game's elite was palpable. If voters were paying close enough attention, they might even have given him extra credit for bearing up so well in a campaign that has seen his partners at the front end of the Twins rotation (Pablo López and Bailey Ober) felled by injuries. He can't do much more to earn that status, but so far, it hasn't been conferred on him.

Nor did he seem especially hopeful when asked whether the possibility of being named as a replacement player due to injuries or unavailability was on his mind.

"I mean, it's beyond me now, so I have no control over that," Ryan said. "That's all, I guess. Just trying to win games."

Ryan didn't seek to make the moment about himself, and the team is unanimously happy for Byron Buxton (who was named to the team Sunday). The hurler even went out of his way to mention the support he's gotten from teammates.

"I mean, I just try to pitch well," he said. "We've had really good defense all year that put me in a really good spot to be considered, so I don't know."

In truth, if the Twins were having a better season, Ryan might well have gotten over the hump this time. He's pitched in and out of trouble at times, but his control is superb, and his strikeout rates have been uniformly impressive over the last few years, especially early in seasons. He's doing better at keeping the ball in the park in 2025. He just can't seem to catch the eye of fellow players or coaches, to gain the selection he clearly craves—and arguably deserves.

Ryan was upbeat about his outing Sunday, in which he pitched a solid six innings and kept the Twins in the game to set up a late comeback. Minnesota dropped the final contest of their series against the Rays in 10 innings, but Ryan's work helped them get that far, and he said the team took some solace in having bounced back enough to push the game into extras.

"I think it's a good sign whenever you can come back, even if it falls apart," Ryan said. "Obviously, that's not what you want, and you want to win the game, and hold that there. Our bullpen's been really solid, so I think we have that potential to just keep going. We had two really good wins this weekend, so just ride those, and keep playing good baseball. It'll come together."

That's what he's hoping, now: that he and his team can keep playing good baseball, and it'll come together. He has to wait another year for the possibility of being named an All-Star, but in the meantime, he can set the goal of pitching a full season without an injury or a prolonged (perhaps injury-driven) period of struggle. He can also keep trying to help his team shake off their bouts of inconsistency and play solid enough baseball throughout the second half to avoid becoming trade deadline sellers—in which case, of course, he might be making next year's All-Star case in different colors.

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[Sjoski]

Not sure how you can call it an "All-Star Game", when it's really a popularity contest with a mandatory attendance rule. 

Congrats, CWS—your bat boy made it!

[Hrbeks Divot]

Joe Ryan deserves to be an All Star. Maybe as a consolation prize the Twins could sign him to a long term contract rather than trade him at the deadline. He’s a member of the core, whether now or in 2026.

[Mahoning]

How can anyone write "keep playing good baseball" about the Twins? They have won two series since May. After the winning streak they were 7 games over. Now they are 4 games under; put another way, they have given almost all of the winning streak back. Carlos Correa is on a pace to drive in maybe 60. Matt Wallner is on a pace to drive in 25. Lately they've been kept afloat by Harrison Bader (they should keep him.) Four games under .500 is pretty much who they are. Can you imagine them in the playoffs against the Yankees or the Tigers or the Jays? Not a fair fight.

[RpR]

He is not the only one, nor is TD that sees this:

https://lastwordonsports.com/baseball/2025/07/06/six-biggest-snubs-2025-mlb-all-star-game/

Six Biggest Snubs from MLB All-Star Game

[DJL44]

I still think he has a very good chance of getting selected. Starting pitchers get snubbed every year by all the slots taken up by relievers.

[Western SD Fan]

6 hours ago, DJL44 said:

I still think he has a very good chance of getting selected. Starting pitchers get snubbed every year by all the slots taken up by relievers.

All 3 relievers with Munoz, Hader, and Chapman?  I do agree that had the Twins played better as a team that Ryan probably would have been picked.  This was the comparison that ESPN ran with their snub article comparing all of these pitchers and suggesting that you could have picked any three of five and been fine.  For reference, deGrom, Woo, and Bubic made the team, and you would have to pick a Texas pitcher as your three as that is their only representative.  I made the suggestion that Ryan should have been picked over Woo, but Seattle has a better record AND the reputation of a better pitching staff than the Twins, so they picked the best pitcher out of this year's Seattle rotation, which is Woo.

[DJL44]

4 hours ago, Western SD Fan said:

All 3 relievers with Munoz, Hader, and Chapman? 

I would take Joe Ryan for my pitching staff over any of them.

[Doctor Wu]

Every year there are some extra (injury placement, etc.) picks, so Ryan could still sneak in. Sure,  he's very deserving, but as you noted, so are several other pitchers this year. 

[Bodie]

13 hours ago, Hrbeks Divot said:

Joe Ryan deserves to be an All Star. Maybe as a consolation prize the Twins could sign him to a long term contract rather than trade him at the deadline. He’s a member of the core, whether now or in 2026.

Why are insisting on punishing Joe???

 

Seriously, outside the normal risk associated with multi-year contracts to pitchers, Joe Ryan should be offered a 5ish year deal.  A bit extra for his controlled years, and maybe a bit of a discount on his initial FA years.  Kinda the standard (structurally) deal offered to controlled guys.

Pretty high floor (barring injury, of course, but...) for a premium+ position. And a position historically in demand league wide, the Twins even more so.

Maybe he jumps for this in the name of financial security.  Maybe he laughs his Greatful Dead headband off and gambles on himself.  One way to find out...

[Western SD Fan]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

I would take Joe Ryan for my pitching staff over any of them.

I guess my point was that they didn't select many relief pitchers and it soon becomes a numbers game.  I've already made my pitch on who Joe Ryan should have replaced on the All-Star roster in swapping him out for Bryan Woo.

[TopGunn#22]

I appreciate how Western SD Fan laid out the 5 pitchers, 3 of whom were All Star selections and two of whom (Ryan and Eovaldi) were not.  It's interesting to note that Ryan has the highest mid-season WAR of all of them (although with deGrom having better stats top to bottom than Ryan,  I'm not sure what the calculation for WAR is missing there).  Clearly, with Bobby Witt Jr. making the team, Ryan should have been selected over Bubic.  

Like the Twins, the Royals have really been floundering lately, but I would have ranked Ryan's snub equal to the snub of Maikal Garcia.  He's CLEARLY had a better season than Jazz Chisolm.  This is what is frustrating as a baseball fan.  You see a Yankee selected over a Royal and it's infuriating.  But just as you're getting ready to have a slow boil over "New York Favoritism,"  you see a stud like the Mets Juan Soto passed over and you just throw your hands up in exasperated confusion.

I will ALWAYS love the Baseball All Star Game.  It's the best of them all by a mile.  But I guess there will always be controversy over who makes the team and who does not.  Especially with a rule that says every team must be represented no matter how lacking in talent that team is.  

[William K Johnson]

Joe, go home rest, enjoy your family, grab a quick dip in the ocean.   Who cares about this exhibition game anyway?   We need you ready for the second half of the season.   I wish Buxton was doing the same.

[DJL44]

10 minutes ago, William K Johnson said:

Joe, go home rest, enjoy your family, grab a quick dip in the ocean.   Who cares about this exhibition game anyway?   We need you ready for the second half of the season.   I wish Buxton was doing the same.

The season's over for the Twins. The ASG will be one of the highlights of Buxton's entire career.

[William K Johnson]

On 7/8/2025 at 10:05 AM, DJL44 said:

The season's over for the Twins. The ASG will be one of the highlights of Buxton's entire career.

I think the highlight of Buxton's career would be winning a world series ring.