Chicago White Sox: Will Chris Sale be lone All-Star selection?
By Brett Pnazek
No Chicago White Sox player was be voted in as a starter to the 2015 MLB All-Star Game and rightfully so. When no player has fully lived up to the hype that was being generated about the team and its players at the start of the season no player on the roster deserved to be voted in by the fans.
Sox fans may not even be interested in who wins or loses the Midsummer Classic because it is highly unlikely our beloved team will be playing late in October, but it’s still a great honor for the players to be chosen by the fans or their peers.
The question is how many representatives will the White Sox get? They are guaranteed one as every team has to be represented but who shall it be? With a dismal record and poor offensive showing it pretty much limits the choices to the pitching.
Chris Sale is the obvious choice.
Sale has a 2.87 ERA entering Monday’s atart vs. the Toronto Blue Jays, which ranks ninth in the AL entering Monday. He is 6-4 and currently tied for first in the AL for strikeouts with 141. He has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the AL this year, and will not only make the team but could very well start the game for the AL.
Is Sale going to be the only Sox to receive that call to Cincinnati?
Jul 4, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago White Sox relief pitcher David Robertson (30) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at U.S Cellular Field. Chicago won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
It is likely but there is one other guy who is worthy of being selected if the roster allows it and that would be the White Sox closer, David Robertson.
Robertson has recorded a save in 18 of the White Sox 36 victories and amassed an ERA of 2.60. He’s only blown four saves on the season and holds an impressive 49 strikeouts over 34.2 innings.
The closer could very well be the best closer in the American League, but has not received as many opportunities as the guys who have played on teams that have won more. In a game that is likely to be close one would imagine that Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost will want guys who have that one inning experience like Robertson has over maybe guys who are more used to starting.
The only other candidate who may be selected would be first baseman Jose Abreu.
In other years he may have been able to get in but with a resurgence of some familiar names he’ll likely miss out. He’s had a solid but unspectacular year with 14 homers and 44 RBIs.
That would place him seventh in both those categories among AL first basemen. His cause may have been helped with the recent news that Miguel Cabrera is now on the DL for the foreseeable future but I think it will be hard to overlook the seasons that Pujols, Encarnacion, and Fielder are having.
Which White Sox players to you think will earn a spot in the All-Star Game. Results will be released Monday night.
Next: Who is the future at 2nd base for the White Sox?