The Pirate All-Stars selected today were Andrew McCutchen (.299, 9 HR), Jason Grilli (0-1-28, 2.15), Jeff Locke (8-1, 2.12) and Pedro Alvarez (.244, 22 HR). It's the third straight AS game for McCutchen, who is is the first Pirate position player with that many consecutive selections since Bobby Bonilla between 1988-91. It was the first time for the other three. All were coach's picks.
The starters were 1B: Joey Votto, 2B: Brandon Phillips
SS: Troy Tulowitzki
3B: David Wright
C: Yadier Molina
OF: Carlos Beltran
OF: Carlos Gomez
OF: Bryce Harper.
Russell Martin (.251, 8 HR) may have a shot as a replacement, depending how badly Yadier Molina is hurt. Mark Melancon (2-1-2, 0.87) was certainly deserving, but his set-up man status cost him a spot. Francisco Liiriano (8-2, 2.20) deserved consideration too, as did Starling Marte (.295, 8 HR). Liriano was hurt by missing the first month, and Marte cdoesn't seem to be much in the limelight yet. It's a good thing to have so many players performing at a high level and in the conversation. None of them are in the Final Five fan vote, which is a foregone conclusion to go to LA's Yasiel Puig.
The last time the Pirates had four All-Stars was in 1981, with Dave Parker, Bill Madlock, Phil Garner and Mike Easler. (Cobra, Mad Dog, Scrap Iron and the Hit Man respectively, if you're an All-Star nickname fan). The most they had was eight in 1960.
The All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 16th at Citi Field.
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