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When Derek Falvey and Thad Levine built this Twins team for Rocco Baldelli, they clearly had their sights set on pitching. During the offseason, Minnesota dealt Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins for Pablo Lopez, and the hope was that the organization would create pitching depth previously unseen.
Through the first half of the season, it’s hard to argue that they haven’t accomplished their goal. Minnesota checks in near the top of many pitching categories, and Sonny Gray has led that charge. Joe Ryan has been lights out aside from a couple of blowups, and Lopez has been better than the numbers suggest. Bailey Ober was left off the Opening Day roster, and all he has done since is pitch himself into a rotation cornerstone.
Baldelli has needed to cycle pitchers at times, calling on Louie Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson, and biding time for the return of Kenta Maeda. As a whole, Minnesota’s starting rotation has been among the best in baseball. Gray will receive Cy Young votes if he continues on this trajectory, and Ryan was right there with him for much of the first half.
All that said, it was no surprise on Sunday when Sonny Gray was named to his third All-Star Game and first since 2019. Gray represents Minnesota as their lone selection.
And that is the issue that many Twins fans may have had when they saw the All Star list on Sunday.
Gray was a clear choice as an All Star this season. However, it was the exclusion of closer Jhoan Duran that raised eyebrows.
Former Twins reliever Yennier Cano was named an all-star for the Baltimore Orioles alongside his bullpen mate Felix Bautista. Cano was sent to Baltimore when Minnesota acquired Jorge Lopez, and it was Cano who was seen as a throw-in with Cade Povich as the headliner. Now less than a year later, it is the Baltimore reliever making a national stage ahead of the Twins Jhoan Duran.
After debuting a year ago, Duran has fully embraced his role as a high-leverage reliever. Once a top starting pitcher prospect, Duran has turned his focus to unleashing the most incredible fastballs baseball has seen in some time. Posting a 1.86 ERA during his rookie campaign, Duran has been even more lights out this year for Minnesota.
Baldelli has subscribed to the idea that a "save" doesn’t always take place during the ninth inning, and he has shown no hesitation in deploying his best relief arm when the game matters most. Duran has consistently risen to the occasion, and he’s quickly earning a reputation around the game as an arm you don’t want to see.
Unfortunately the relievers on the American League All-Star Game team aren’t well represented. Bautista and Cano are joined only by Emmanuel Clase and Kenley Jansen. Twins fans certainly shouldn't have an issue with Clase making the All Star roster. However Jansen is on the roster as the lone Red Sox representative, in large part because all teams must be represented, and also likely because of his status in the game. The Orioles have been very good this year, and Bautista and Cano have been dominant much of the first half. While Cano has certainly slowed down in June, his overall numbers are very good. Do they both deserve to take a roster spot ahead of Duran? The Orioles are also represented by catcher Adley Rutschmann and outfielder Austin Hays, so the league weren't obligated to take both relievers.
There is hope that Duran could get named as a replacement in the coming week. Pitchers dealing with injury may opt out and those scheduled to start on Sunday will need to be replaced. but that’s definitely not the way he wanted to see his name called.
There is no denying that Gray is a worthy inclusion this season, but looking at a Twins team ready to make noise, it seems odd to leave Duran and his game-changing pitches out of the event. Maybe the All-Star Game includes him after all, but the next time Duran shouldn't be snubbed.
Along with Cano, two other former Twins will be All Stars. Earlier in the week, we learned that Luis Arraez will start at second base for the National League. On Sunday, Brent Rooker learned that he will represent the Oakland A's in Seattle. Congratulations to them!
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