The National League reserves and pitchers were announced on Monday night and the Pittsburgh Pirates have four players on the roster, including three pitchers.
Andrew McCutchen will make his fifth straight All-Star appearance. He is hitting .297/.391/493 this season, ranking him tenth in the NL in OPS coming into action on Monday. McCutchen will be a starter, replacing Giancarlo Stanton, who won’t be able to play. Matt Holliday may not play either, so there could be two openings in the NL outfield. McCutchen becomes the first Pirates’ player to make five straight All-Star appearances since Roberto Clemente, who made 11 straight from 1960-67(1960-62 they played two separate All-Star games).
Gerrit Cole has been selected for the first time. He has a 2.28 ERA, which is fifth in the league. His 113 strikeouts are sixth best in the NL. Cole leads the league in wins with 12, which no doubt helped his case. He becomes the second youngest pitcher to represent the Pirates in the All-Star game, trailing only John Candelaria in 1977.
Mark Melancon has a 1.58 ERA in 40 innings, with 27 saves in 28 chances. He has an 0.98 WHIP. He also made the All-Star game in 2013.
A.J. Burnett has a 2.05 ERA this season in 105.1 innings. He has 90 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP. He had never made the All-Star game before now. This is the first time since 1960 that the Pirates will send two starting pitchers to the All-Star game. That year, the Pirates sent Bob Friend and Vern Law.
The biggest snub would be Francisco Cervelli, who has had an outstanding season with a .301/.376/.406 line in 63 games. While he was not selected, there is always a chance he can be added later in place of an injured player.
