The Minnesota Twins entered the season with no star players outside of starting pitcher Joe Ryan and outfielder Byron Buxton. However, fellow starting pitcher Bailey Ober performed like a star on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-9, 260-pounder pitched a complete-game shutout in the 3-0 win over the Miami Marlins, logging seven strikeouts against no walks and two hits allowed. The two hits were a single to right by Kyle Stowers in the fourth and a bunt single by Jakob Marsee in the second.

One sensational game doesn't mean much on its own, but Ober has been effective all season. The right-hander is now 4-2 with a 3.46 ERA over nine outings, including four quality starts.

Ober has also allowed three runs or fewer over at least five innings six times, and his 1.02 WHIP leads Minnesota pitchers who have played the whole season. There's plenty of time for the veteran to struggle, but he's having a bounce-back campaign thus far after going 6-9 with a 5.10 ERA across 27 starts in 2025.

If Ober continues performing on this level, the Twins must extend him.

Ober is making $5.2 million on his arbitration deal this year and has one more season of team control left, per Spotrac. Minnesota would be wise to re-sign the North Carolina native before then if he continues to produce quality starts over the next few weeks. 

If Bailey blossoms into an elite hurler this year, his value will be higher than it is now. In that case, the 2017 12th-round draft pick would be more expensive to sign once he hits unrestricted free agency in 2027.

If the Twins act now, they could retain Ober on a contract akin to Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara's. The Marlins signed the 6-foot-5, 200-pounder to a five-year, $56 million arbitration extension in November 2022 after he went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA over 32 starts that year, per Spotrac. He hasn't performed at that level since, but he's still on an affordable deal.

However, Ober's contract value could be double Alcantara's if he maintains his momentum until the 2027 offseason. If Minnesota has faith in him to do so, then it must be proactive.

The Twins are now tied with the Detroit Tigers for third place in the AL Central at 19-23 and are three games behind the Cleveland Guardians for first. Wednesday's rematch with the Marlins starts at 7:40 p.m. ET.