Nelson Cruz Named to All Star Team

With the Twins record sitting at just 34-48, it was probably too much to hope that the Twins would be represented by more than one All Star. While pitchers Jose Berrios and Taylor Rogers were certainly viable choices, it is Nelson Cruz who will represent the organization on July 13th in Denver. . 

It is Cruz's seventh All Star Game. He has previously represented the Rangers (2009, 2013), Orioles (2014) and Mariners (2015, 2017, 2018).

Coming into play on Sunday, Cruz had played in 72 games. He has hit .306/.381/.571 (.952) with 11 doubles and 18 home runs. He has 45 RBI. He even has a triple, a stolen base and several infield singles. 

Over his two-and-a-half seasons with the Twins, he has twice been a Top 10 finisher in MVP voting and won a Silver Slugger both years. The starting DH for the American League this year will be Angels' slugger/ace Shohei Ohtani, who hit his 31st homer on Sunday. 

Jose Berrios is having another strong first half. He is 7-2 with a 3.52 ERA over 16 starts. 

Taylor Rogers has returned to the form that made him one of baseball's top left-handed relievers since 2017. He deserves to be an All Star. In 32 games, he is 2-3 with seven saves. He has a 2.73 ERA and after striking out two batters in a scoreless inning on Sunday has 46 strikeouts in 34 innings

Hopefully Berrios and Rogers will be considered as potential replacement players if needed. 

Former Twins pitchers Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Liam Hendriks and Ryan Pressly are on the American League All Star team. In addition, Eduardo Escobar is making his first All Star game as well, as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, at least for now.