Story byPioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

Two Twins, two locals named to MLB All-Star teams

Betsy Helfand, Pioneer PressSun, Jul 5, 2026·4 min read

Byron Buxton’s inclusion in the upcoming All-Star Game has been a foregone conclusion for some time now.

The Twins’ center fielder has been among the best hitters in the American League and has consistently been among the leading vote getters in fan balloting updates. Whether Joe Ryan would join him was more in question.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

“We were talking about it a a couple weeks ago like ‘Do you think we’ll be able to run this back again?” Ryan told reporters in New York.

As it turns out, they will.

Buxton and Ryan were named All-Stars officially on Saturday for the second consecutive year. It’s Buxton’s third nod and Ryan’s second. The July 14 game in Philadelphia will mark Buxton’s second start in the Midsummer Classic, but first time he has been voted in by the fans as he started in 2022 as an injury replacement.

“It means a lot to be able to represent the Twins but also to be able to start out the season good,” Buxton told reporters. “To be able to run it back with Joe is a little bit more special to me.”

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Buxton returned to the Twins’ lineup in Saturday’s win over the New York Yankees with a hit and a pair of RBIs, but left Sunday’s game after re-aggravating the hip injury that caused him to miss four games last week.

But, when healthy, he’s been near his best this season.

He’s hitting .271/.328/.575 with 25 home runs, which was tied for fourth in the majors as of Saturday evening. His .575 slugging percentage is second in the majors behind just Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez and his .903 OPS sits just outside the top-10 in the majors.

Though his hip has caused a pair of short absences, he’s played in 75 of the Twins’ 91 games thus far this season.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

“It’s just one of those things where I’ve been blessed, being able to play,” Buxton told reporters. “I haven’t been hurt too much. I haven’t been on the IL. It’s the little things that adds up to getting to this spot for sure.”

Accompanying Buxton for the second time in as many years is “kind of déjà vu,” Ryan said.

Ryan has a 3.36 ERA this season across 19 starts, striking out 122 in his 104 1/3 innings pitched. The starter threw seven scoreless innings at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, allowing just three hits, and has provided much-needed consistency for a rotation that has been ravaged by injuries.

“As a team, how well the offense has been doing and how consistent they’ve been, it’s something I’ve leaned on,” Ryan told reporters. “It’s taken pressure off a little bit where I can go pitch a little more free.”

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

That pair will be joined at the game by manager Derek Shelton, who was asked to be on the coaching staff by Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider.

There will also be another familiar face on the American League team in the form of North St. Paul and Concordia alum Louie Varland, who was named to his first All-Star team. Varland, traded by the Twins in a shocking deal in the minutes before last July’s trade deadline, had emerged as a reliable reliever last season.

This year, he’s taken it to another level.

Entering Saturday’s play, the local standout had a 0.96 ERA across 47 innings pitched. He had struck out 65 batters to 13 walks, allowed just five earned runs all year and his 18 saves had him tied for seventh in the majors.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement

Over on the National League side, Jhoan Duran (1.52 ERA, 21 saves) was named to his first All-Star team, and so was Woodbury’s Max Meyer. Meyer, 27, is 9-1 with a 2.53 ERA this season in 18 starts for the Miami Marlins. After dealing with a myriad of injuries earlier in his major league career, he’s shown this year exactly why the Marlins made him the third overall pick out of the University of Minnesota years earlier.

The Twins just achieved this feat for the first time in 12 years

Twins belt six homers, Byron Buxton returns, in win over Yankees

Twins prospect Kaelen Culpepper named to All-Star Futures Game again

Meet Seigo Masubuchi, still a Saints’ star three decades later

Twins drop series opener vs. Yankees