Joe Ryan Is An Ace Straight Out Of the 2000s

In Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Baltimore Orioles, questions surrounding Kyle Bradish’s first-inning command prompted analyst Tom Verducci to turn his attention to the Minnesota Twins’ Thursday starter, Joe Ryan.

“Just to give an example [of command]…” Verducci observed. “Joe Ryan pounds the strike zone.”

The implication in Verducci’s comparison, at least in the moment, is that Ryan’s approach distinguishes him from most other major league pitchers. I suppose that’s true, considering his terrific 2025 season (which included an All-Star appearance), his momentary place on Team USA’s staff before the WBC, and the regular discussion of his high-value fastball.

Ryan’s 13 wins last year were almost 20% of the team’s total, and he has become a household name -- at least in Twins Territory. Metrics aside (we’ll return to some of them later): Joe Ryan has ascended to the ranks of Minnesota’s great aces of the past, and he’s getting better.

On February 28, deep into Spring Training and just before he had to recuse himself from the WBC roster on account of lower back tightness, Ryan was forthcoming about the current state of his preparations for the 2026 season:

In his interview, Ryan speaks with expectation; he speaks with conviction. In two minutes, he covers his health, muses on various preparation techniques, and credits his teammates with a "good attitude." Most importantly, he sets reasonable expectations for competing during the season.

These are small things on their own, perhaps. Still, for Ryan to direct the focus of his interview away from himself and toward the team suggests the perspective of a clubhouse leader who understands his responsibilities and takes his work seriously.

Ryan’s early quality gets lost in the tumult of 2023, in Pabló Lopez and Sonny Gray’s playoff wins against the Toronto Maple Leafs and the end of that streak. Ryan’s stat line from 2023 doesn’t exactly hide anything: He was a mid-4.00 ERA pitcher with more wins than losses (if only by 1) and a respectable 161.2 innings pitched in 29 starts. He gave up a lot of home runs and struck out a lot of batters. By any metric, Joe Ryan performed like most starting pitchers still figuring it all out.

What makes Ryan remarkable among Minneota’s class of starters is the two campaigns that followed. He’s getting better, and each year, he shows us something new.

In 2024, his ERA settled into its current mid-3.00 quality, dropping from 4.51 to 3.60. In 2025, he pitched his career-best in IP and ERA, thanks largely to the continued development of his fastball, which ranks as the best four-seam fastball in baseball since 2022 (and fifth-highest in strikeout among all pitches in the same span). He’s striking out almost 200 batters a year if he can get north of 150 innings pitched, and his WHIP and BAA have remained remarkably close to his career average over the past two years.

In an era of boom-or-bust pitching, of three-inning starts and seven-pitcher Sundays, Ryan has transformed himself into the single most consistent player on the Twins roster in an age that will be remembered for its staggering, and often painful, inconsistency.

None of those things can make him a true league “ace” until he gets the run support he deserves, and a few playoff wins on his stat sheet. In 2026, both are premium goods for elite pitchers on midmarket teams for however long that archetype lasts.

What settles Ryan into the company of great Twins aces is the way in which he has embraced his role on the team. Given his performance at the top of Minnesota's rotation, it’s not surprising to hear his name on his off days. Still, Verducci is doing more than making conversation about a team he doesn’t provide in-game analysis of very often. He’s speaking to a pitching identity the Twins already possess by way of the competitor and athlete Joe Ryan has become in the last half-decade.

None of this matters if he cannot lead from the pitching mound. His first appearance of the year came on Opening Day.

In Ryan's debut this season, his contract, the Twins’ ownership issues, and the advent of labor difficulties have immediately prompted some to speculate that Ryan could be an early-season trade chip for a Twins team not looking to contend in 2026.

That would be a colossal mistake. Ryan’s first five seasons are far better than Brad Radke’s, who never posted a WHIP below 1.1. Still, somehow, through immaculate command and ownership of his role, he became rooted in Minnesota’s rotation. Radke was partially responsible for their run of winning seasons and three division titles in the early and mid-2000s.

Ryan’s fastball also draws the kind of attention Johan Santana’s changeup did in 2005. Santana’s first few years were far less remarkable than Ryan’s before. In 2004, that changeup made Santana the best pitcher in baseball.

Joe Ryan has settled beautifully into the expectations placed on him; seemingly, the more expectations, the better he performs. The Twins are lucky to have him, in much the same way as the 68-win 1997 Twins -- in possession of a 20-game winner and no idea what to do with him -- kept at it. They let Brad Radke lead, and found their way back to the top of the American League a few short years later.

In Joe Ryan, the Twins know what they have: a dynamite fastball in the hands of a true Minnesota ace, and one who seems to be very much at home at the top of their rotation.