Every year in baseball, the best of the best have an opportunity to represent their respective teams in the MLB All-Star game. This year, however, it would be an understatement to say that the Red Sox are well-represented; they have five players who made the cut. That said, let’s take a look at all of them individually.
Chris Sale -- Damn right Chris Sale is an All-Star. He is working on what could end up being the best year of his career. He is 10-4 with a 2.23 ERA in 20 starts this season and has struck out 188 batters over 129 innings. It’s an obvious pick.
Craig Kimbrel -- Yeah, so the Red Sox have one of the best closers in MLB history at the moment. Kimbrel isn’t who he was last year, but he’s not shabby either. With a 1.91 ERA and 58 punchouts in 37.2 innings, the pick makes a ton of sense.
Mookie Betts -- It’s weird that an elite player is having a bounce-back year after an excellent 2017, but that’s exactly what’s happening here. Betts is on the level of Mike Trout this year. The guy is hitting .350 with 22 home runs, 16 stolen bases and a 1.114 OPS through 74 games this season.
JD Martinez -- The Manny comparisons aren’t far off here. Martinez is certainly their best left fielder since him. Why? Because he is hitting .330 with 29 home runs, 79 RBI and a 1.042 OPS through 88 games played.
Mitch Moreland -- Remember when this guy was supposed to start the year on the bench? Well, he proved the Red Sox don’t need Hanley Ramirez and earned his first ever All-Star bid in the process. With a healthy toe this season, he is hitting .282 with 11 home runs and an .864 OPS in 74 games this year. The talent pool at 1B in the AL was thin but hey, he’s doing really well.