Though Adley Rutschman finished second to Texas Rangers catcher (and former Baltimore Orioles farmhand) Jonah Heim, he was still named to his first All-Star Game as an American League reserve.
Joining him will be three other Orioles, all making their first appearances in the Midsummer Classic: relief pitchers Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano, and outfielder Austin Hays.
With four representatives, the Birds have their highest number in the game since back in 2016, when they had five (Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo, Brad Brach, Zach Britton, and Matt Wieters).
Rutschman’s recent offensive slump may have doomed him when it came to being named starter over Heim, and while we would have loved to see him starting the game, if we’re honest Heim deserves it. He currently boasts an AL-leading 3.0 fWAR as catcher, compared to Adley’s 1.8, driven largely by his defensive metrics, which dwarf Rutschman’s. Though Adley walks twice as much as Heim (14.7% to 7.1%) and strikes out less (14.2% to 17.9%), and their slash lines are similar, Heim has simply been a more productive offensive player. leading Rutschman in home runs (12 to 11), RBI (56 to 35, in a much more productive lineup, I must note), and a higher batting average (.282 to .268) and slugging percentage (.484 to .415).
Hays is currently second in fWAR among AL left fielders at 1.9 (Randy Arozarena is at 2.9), and is third in the AL in batting average at .312, behind just Yandy Diaz (.318) and Bo Bichette (.317). He is in the midst of a career year, batting .312/.352/.491 with eight homers and 34 RBI. We always knew Hays had this kind of season in him, could he ever manage to stay healthy. We had a bit of a scare in yesterday’s game when he was involved in a collision at first base and was later removed from the game with a hip contusion, but it looks like he will avoid the IL.
Baltimore’s Twin Peaks at the back of the bullpen, Cano and Bautista, represent one of baseball’s best late-inning duos. Though Cano has been mortal since his incredible start, his season numbers are still quite impressive. In 40.1 IP, he’s posted a 1.12 ERA with 8.26 K/9 to 1.34 BB/9, and has not allowed a single home run, good for a 2.05 FIP and 2.68 xFIP, and 1.5 fWAR. Bautista’s season has been sort of the opposite of Cano’s, as there were some chinks in his armor for a few weeks at the start of the season, as he struggled with his fastball command, but he’s been absolutely dominant of late.
Lost in Felix Bautista’s dominance is the fact that he had 16 walks through his first 23 innings this year. There were some really dicey outings, and with how he holds runners it was very concerning.
Since, 15.2 innings, 34(!!!) strikeouts, and ONE walk. He is dialed in.
— TJ Lighton (@enLIGHTONment) July 2, 2023
Bautista has a ridiculous 18.39 K/9 in 38.2 IP, compared to a 3.96 BB/9 (elevated by those aforementioned early command issues), a 0.70 HR/9, a 1.16 ERA, 1.60 FIP, and 1.46 xFIP, and 22 saves.
Congratulations to the All-Star Orioles!
