FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 6, 2026) - Former Fort Myers Mighty Mussels’ pitcher Louis Varland has been named to the 2026 American League All-Star Team, as announced by Major League Baseball on Saturday, July 4.
Varland becomes the first Mussels’ era (since 2020) alum to be named to an All-Star team after climbing through the Minnesota Twins system. He debuted in the majors with the Twins in 2022 but was dealt to the Toronto Blue Jays at the 2025 trade deadline.
A 15th round selection in 2019, Varland spent half of the 2021 season in Fort Myers. The righty compiled a 2.09 ERA with 76 strikeouts in 47.1 innings pitched.
Miracle era (1992-2019) alum Byron Buxton was named to his third All-Star Team as a starting outfielder for the American League. Buxton is back at the mid-summer classic for the second straight year. The career Twin was with the Miracle in 2013 and 2014 while also coming to Fort Myers on a rehab assignment in 2018. He appeared in 88 games with the Miracle and batted .292 with an .819 OPS. Buxton is closing in on 1,000 career big league games and is on pace to become the 35th player to appear in 1,000 games in a Twins/Senators' uniform before the end of this season. He would be the 15th player to reach that milestone since the franchise moved from Washington to Minnesota in 1961.
Former Twins' closer Johan Duran was named to the National League squad as a representative of the host Philadelphia Phillies. The flamethrower pitched for the Miracle in 2019 and had a 3.23 ERA in 16 games while making 15 starts. He had 95 strikeouts in 78 innings during that time. Duran pitched for the Twins from 2022-25 before being traded at the deadline last summer.
Varland (18) and Duran (21) rank third in their respective leagues in saves this season while Buxton has hit the third most home runs (25) in the AL.
Fort Myers’ franchise alums have totaled 97 All-Star selections, with David Ortiz (10) Nelson Cruz (7) Joe Mauer (6) and Torii Hunter (5) leading the way. Ortiz, Mauer, and Hunter were true Miracle era players while Cruz was a rehabber.
Of note, three-time All-Star Sonny Gray pitched in one game as a rehabber with the Mighty Mussels in 2022 but was already an established major league player by that time, making Varland the first home grown All-Star of this era of Fort Myers baseball.
The 2026 All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 14 at 8 p.m. ET. The game is being hosted at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA and can be watched on FOX.
Click here for a full list of 2026 All-Stars.