Five Baltimore Orioles Named to 2016 All-Star Team

For O’s fans, the All-Star break can’t get here soon enough. We’ve watched our squad go from winning seven in a row just over a week ago to now losing five straight, while their AL East lead has been trimmed from 4.5 to just 2.0 games.

The Birds have five more games before the break, and five Orioles won’t even be getting much of a vacation, as they’ve been named to the 2016 All-Star team. Congratulations to Manny Machado (the O’s only starter), Mark Trumbo, Zach Britton, Matt Wieters, and Brad Brach!

This is the third All-Star appearance for Machado (2013, 2015), who has catapulted into the “Best Player on the Planet” conversation with his stellar first half. Manny is hitting .325/.380/.584 with 29 2B, 18 HR, and 50 RBI. His 4.0 fWAR is good for fourth in the AL.

Trumbo is an All-Star for the second time (2012). His 24 HR are tied for first in MLB with the Cubs’ Kris Bryant. Mark is slashing .280/.328/.552 with 62 RBI and a 1.5 fWAR. Trading Steve Clevenger for Trumbo is easily Dan Duquette’s shrewdest move since signing Nelson Cruz on the cheap before the 2014 campaign.

Britton is making his second All-Star appearance, having also gone to the game last year. He is 23/23 in save opportunities (having had not nearly enough such chances of late), with a sparkling ERA of 0.80, FIP of 1.83, and xFIP of 1.64. His 1.3 fWAR is tied for the O’s team lead among pitchers with Kevin Gausman (in nearly 50 fewer innings pitched) and Chris Tillman (in nearly 70 fewer IP).

Wieters is making his fourth trip to the Midsummer Classic (2011, 2012, 2014). His 1.0 fWAR is good for third among AL catchers, behind Salvador Perez and Brian McCann, who have both played in more games (13 and 8, respectively) than Matt.

Brach is making his first trip to the All-Star game. He’s third among O’s pitchers in fWAR at 1.0, and he’s put up a 1.01 ERA in 44.2 IP. Like Darren O’Day last year, Brach was considered a (deserving) long-shot, so it’s nice to see non-closer relief pitchers continue to get their due.

As far as snubs go, look no further than Chris Davis, who leads AL first basemen in fWAR at 2.2, beating out AL starter Eric Hosmer of Kansas City by 1.5, and backup Miguel Cabrera by 0.3. Crush is batting .240/.349/.507 with 21 HR and 56 RBI, along with – by my eye – playing a Gold Glove-caliber first base.

Jonathan Schoop is sixth in fWAR among AL second basemen, with a slash line of .301/.331/.507, but he wasn’t going to get in over Jose Altuve or Robinson Cano. Maybe someday soon, though.

Congrats to the Birds All-Stars.