Minnesota Twins pitcher Joe Ryan found himself in an impromptu photo shoot before a game in Cleveland last week.

He'd recently helped design Grateful Dead-themed Twins T-shirts for the apparel company Homage, headquartered down the interstate in Columbus. The company's social media coordinator and a photographer had traveled up I-71 hoping he'd agree to model some of the T-shirts. So, on the warning track near the visiting dugout, the affable Ryan pulled over his head (and off again) a number of his screen-printed shirt designs – one featuring a skeleton riding a surfboard, and another with an iconic Grateful Dead bear ice fishing on a frozen Minnesota lake. His walk-up song at Target Field is "Fire on the Mountain" by the band.

As they concluded, as the Guardians took batting practice on the field pregame in the late afternoon, Homage's social media coordinator asked Ryan a few questions for a video interview, wrapping with a basic query:

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What do you like about baseball?

It wasn't a question Ryan was often asked anymore – certainly not by beat writers covering the team. Seated in the visiting dugout, he paused for a moment and reflected. He said he liked how the game was always evolving, how players are forced to adapt.

And few have evolved quite like Ryan this season.

Ryan reached the majors with one of the game's best four-seam fastballs. Despite the pitch possessing modest velocity, sitting around 92 mph, it generates a rare amount of swing-and-miss for a four-seamer, ranking in the 85th percentile for whiffs per swing. Ryan's combination of an unusually low release point, and the pitch's rise effect tied to its spin efficiency – and probably some element of deception – makes it one of the game's most effective fastballs. His impeccable command also aids the offering.

But even after the 26-year-old's first full season in the majors last year, an excellent one in which he posted a 13-5 record with a 3.55 ERA and 2.1 WAR, Ryan wanted to get better, to keep evolving.

So right after the Twins concluded their season last fall, he made a trip to Driveline Baseball in suburban Seattle.