Five starting pitchers were named to the American League All-Star team ahead of the Midsummer Classic, but only one of them will be making the start for the AL in the MLB All-Star Game.
The votes are in and the rosters are set. Major League Baseball has officially announced the majority of the players who will be representing their clubs in the 87th annual MLB All-Star Game on July 12 in San Diego, California. The best players in the league will be thrust onto one field to showcase their talents and fight for home-field advantage in the World Series.
In the American League, five different starting pitchers were selected to fill up the pitching staff. From five-time All-Star Chris Sale to knuckleballer Steven Wright to 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels, the roster is stacked with some of the top arms in the game.
Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost is tasked with making one of the most unenviable decisions surrounding the Midsummer Classic: who will be the starting pitcher for the American League? While Blue Jays starter Marco Estrada was just placed on the 15-Day Disabled List with a lower back injury, Yost’s decision remains a difficult one.
So who will be taking the mound in the first inning of Tuesday’s exhibition game between the best squads baseball has to offer? Three candidates stand out among the rest, but only one will be given the honor.
Next: The Rising Star
Danny Salazar
Coming into this season, if anyone were to guess which member of the Indians’ starting rotation was going to be representing Cleveland at the All-Star Game, most probably would have picked 2014 AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. While Kluber was named as the injury replacement for Estrada Thursday morning, Danny Salazar has emerged as the top arm on this first place club’s staff.
For anyone who’s been watching this team closely over the past two and a half seasons, this comes as no surprise. Salazar (10-3, 2.36 ERA) has seen his earned run average drop almost two full runs since 2014, and he is well on his way to setting a new career high in strikeouts.
The 26-year old right-handed currently leads the AL with an ERA+ of 197, further cementing his place among the game’s elite. While his walks per nine innings is at a career-high 4.0, Salazar’s ability to keep the ball in the yard (0.7 HR/9) has limited the damage.
Prediction: While Salazar has been one of the best run preventers in the game, Ned Yost has a flair for the dramatic. If he opts not to give the ball to his division rival, Yost may decide to go with…
Next: The Knuckleballer
Steven Wright
Knuckleball-throwing sensation Steven Wright is not only enduring the best year of his career, he is having the best season by a knuckleballer since R.A. Dickey won the NL Cy Young in 2012–and perhaps even better. With a 2.68 ERA and three complete games under his belt, he has single-handedly carried a Red Sox rotation that includes the likes of $217 million man David Price.
If Yost decides to go with the player fans most want to see, Wright is easily the most logical option. It’s not every day the casual fan gets to see a knuckleballer, and getting the chance to watch Wright attempt to baffle some of the best hitters in the majors is a sight worth seeing.
Keeping hitters honest and preventing home runs is going to be especially tough Tuesday night, as three of the NL starters have already smacked 20 or more homers on the year. Wright has been the best in the AL at limiting the long ball, however, leading the league with a 0.55 HR/9.
Prediction: Wright may be flashy, but when it comes down to it, Yost is most likely going to go with the best pitcher he has available. So far in 2016, the best starter in the American League has been…
Next: The Proven Superstar
Chris Sale
Over the past four seasons, White Sox ace Chris Sale has finished sixth, fifth, third and fourth in American League Cy Young voting. This season, he may actually finish on top. Sale leads all of baseball with 14 wins on the year, posting a 2.93 ERA and minuscule 0.983 WHIP through his first 17 starts. He is not striking out hitters at as prolific a pace as he has the past two seasons, but the five-time All-Star still ranks third in the AL in K’s (118).
The indisputable best left-handed pitcher not named Clayton Kershaw in the game since the start of the 2012 season, Sale has held lefties to a stifling .509 OPS since becoming a full-time starter. Two of the biggest threats on the National League roster swing from the left side of the plate: Bryce Harper and Anthony Rizzo. Silencing their bats could be the key to handling this dangerous NL lineup.
Next: Who Should Start for the National League?
Prediction: Sale is, has been, and will be the best pitcher in the American League in 2016. Not sending him out there to throw the first pitch of the game would be doing him a disservice for the work he’s put in on the field.