Joe Jimenez in, Nick Castellanos out of AL All-Star team
The Detroit Tigers will send reliever Joe Jimenez to the All-Star game this week, but right fielder Nicholas Castellanos will not be there.
Major League Baseball’s All-Star rosters were announced Saturday and the Detroit Tigers were represented by reliever Joe Jimenez. Nicholas Castellanos, however, the team’s star right fielder, was left off the American League team.
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Jimenez, a 23-year-old reliever from Puerto Rico, has pitched 41 innings for the Tigers in 2018/ He has earned a 2.85 ERA and picked up three saves. Opponents have hit .224 against him, and he has given up a combined 49 baserunners (35 hits, 12 walks and two hit by pitch) while striking out 46 batters.
In many circles, however, Jimenez’ solid season and All-Star nod have been overshadowed by a perceived snub: right fielder Castellanos. Castellanos, 26, leads the AL’s outfielders in at-bats with 355 and turned those at-bats into 107 hits for a .301 batting average, tied for fifth among AL outfielders.
Castellanos is not a power hitter, with 15 home runs. However, his 43 extra-base hits are tied for fifth among AL outfielders. He doesn’t pick up a lot of free bases, having only been walked 24 times, hit by four pitches and stealing just one base all season. That means he picks up about 0.556 bases per plate appearance. He ranks above two of the AL’s outfield selections, George Springer and Mitch Haniger.
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Castellanos could still play in the game as an injury alternate, which will take place on July 17 at 7:30 p.m. on FOX. The Tigers are 40-52 through Monday. That puts them 11 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central and 17.5 games out of the second wildcard spot.