Four Dodgers selected to NL All-Star team

The Los Angeles Dodgers today had four players named to the National League All-Star team: first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, catcher Yasmani Grandal, right-handed pitcher Zack Greinke and outfielder Joc Pederson. Greinke and Pederson were selected to the team as a result of player balloting, while Grandal and Gonzalez were chosen by NL manager Bruce Bochy.

Major League Baseball’s 86th All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 14 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.

In addition, Dodger left-hander Clayton Kershaw was selected as a Final Vote candidate and has the opportunity to join Gonzalez, Grandal, Greinke and Pederson on the NL All-Star team via fan balloting, which begins immediately on Dodgers.com or MLB.com/vote, and runs through this Friday, July 10, at 1:00 p.m. PT.

This marks the second consecutive season that the Dodgers have had four All-Star representatives (2014: Dee Gordon, Greinke, Kershaw, Puig) and if Kershaw were to win the Final Vote, the club’s five All-Stars would be its most since 1995 (Raul Mondesi, Hideo Nomo, Jose Offerman, Mike Piazza, Todd Worrell).

Gonzalez was selected to his fifth-career All-Star Game (also: 2008, ’09, ’10, ’11) and first as a Dodger, with a .291 batting average, 15 homers (T-7th, NL) and 50 RBI (10th, NL) in 82 games. Gonzalez also ranks third in the NL with 23 doubles and places eighth with a .518 slugging percentage. He is the first Dodger first baseman to earn an All-Star selection since Nomar Garciaparra in 2006.

Grandal earned his first-career All-Star selection, batting .271 and ranking among NL catchers in on-base percentage (.384, 1st), slugging percentage (.497, 2nd), home runs (12, 2nd) and walks (37, 1st) in 64 games. He is the first Dodger catcher to be recognized as an All-Star since Russell Martin in 2008.

Greinke was named to his second consecutive and third-career All-Star team (also: 2009, ’14), and could be the first Dodger pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Brad Penny in 2006. He has fired 27.2 scoreless innings in his last four starts and leads the Majors with a 1.48 ERA, while going 7-2 in 17 starts. Greinke also ranks among the NL leaders in winning percentage (.778, 7-2, 2nd), innings pitched (115.1, 2nd), opponents’ batting average (.200, 4th) and WHIP (0.89, 2nd).

Pederson will be the first Dodger rookie All-Star since Hideo Nomo in 1995 and the first rookie position player to earn a selection since Mike Piazza in 1993. His 20 home runs are the second most ever for an NL rookie before the All-Star break, behind only the 21 hit by Dave Kingman (1972, SF) and Albert Pujols (2001, STL), and are tied for the fifth most in the NL this year. Pederson also ranks among the NL leaders in walks (56, 3rd), on-base percentage (.372, 12th) and slugging percentage (.504, 10th) in 82 games. In addition to Nomo and Piazza, the only other Dodgers to earn a rookie All-Star selection were Don Newcombe (1949), Fernando Valenzuela (1981) and Steve Sax (1982).

Kershaw is seeking his fifth consecutive All-Star selection (2011-14) and has made a strong All-Star push by posting a 1.78 ERA (11 ER/55.2 IP) in his last eight starts since May 26. Though his record sits below .500 at 5-6 in 17 starts, he leads the Majors with 147 strikeouts and ranks among the NL’s best in innings pitched (114.0, 3rd), opponents’ batting average (.216, 8th) and WHIP (1.04, 8th).



By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com