After weeks of voting, MLB announced what we all already knew to be true: that a ton of Red Sox players will be in the All-Star Game. While it’s no surprise that the best team in baseball would be sending five – maybe six if you vote for Andrew Benintendi enough times – of its players to the show, it’s still always a thrill to see them get there. Though a few other teams also have five players on the ASG roster, the Red Sox are the only team with two in the starting lineup!
So in case you’ve been living under a rock, here are your 2018 Red Sox All-Stars!
Mookie Betts
The man whose God-given initials are M.L.B. seems predestined for baseball greatness. Mookie led ASG voting for most of the season on his way to his 3rd straight All-Star Game. Mookie leads all of MLB in batting average, slugging, and OPS! If he hadn’t missed a few weeks on the DL, he’d probably have as many homers as his teammate JD.
Stats: .342 AVG / 1.105 OPS/ 22 HR / 44 RBI
JD Martinez
On top of the leaderboards and a team leader, the hottest hitter in baseball was a lock for All-Star DH. Ahead of his second All-Star Game, JD leads the entirety of MLB in home runs (27) and RBIs, and Alex Cora said recently that he’s very proud to see JD becoming a real team leader as well.
Stats: .329 AVG / 1.039 OPS / 27 HR / 74 RBI
Mitch Moreland
Welcome to the show, Mitchy! My favorite Sox player is appearing in his first ASG, and I’m over the moon about it. I’ve been a fan of the underrated first baseman since he joined the team last year, and my adoration has only grown.
Moreland currently leads AL first basemen in slugging (.525) and OPS (.884)! He’s a consistent hitter, always good for an RBI, and just seems like a great person. I firmly believe that if someone is a good person, they’re automatically a better athlete, and Mitch Moreland continues to prove me right.
Stats: .288 AVG / .884 / 11 HR / 43 RBI
Chris Sale
This will be Sale’s 7th straight All-Star Game, a feat not accomplished by any other player in these seven years.
Sale has been one of the greatest pitchers in the league for a few years now, but lately, he’s really turned up the heat. Ahead of his 100th win this weekend, he had a 1.10 ERA in his last 6 starts, and hadn’t allowed a home run in his last 44 innings, the longest streak of his career.
He’s 9-4 on the season, with 176 strikeouts over 122 innings pitched in 19 games. If the lineup hadn’t gone to sleep during a few of his earlier games, that record would be even better.
Sale leads MLB pitchers in strikeouts per 9 IP with 12.984 and is only one strikeout behind Max Scherzer on the leaderboard. For WAR, he’s 3rd for pitchers and 7th overall. He also has the lowest ERA for any pitcher against the Yankees in the live-ball era, meaning the last 98 years.
Stats: 2.36 ERA / 176 SO
Craig Kimbrel
The man who reached 300 saves faster than any pitcher in MLB history? Of course, he’s on the roster. He has 27 saves this season, and is averaging 13.4 strikeouts per nine innings. He has 54 strikeouts over 36.1 innings pitched in 37 games.
He and Sale are both seven-time All-Stars now, with Kimbrel making the team every season except for 2015.
Stats: 1.98 ERA / 54 SO
Photo: Red Sox Twitter
