Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Sonny Gray has been added to the National League All-Star team! He is replacing Washington Nationals starter Max Scherzer on the squad. Scherzer, who pitched today, isn’t injured, but will not participate in the game. That opened up a spot on the National League squad. Gray will join fellow Reds starter Luis Castillo on the team.
This will be the second time that Sonny Gray will be an All-Star. He was named as an American League All-Star back in 2015 when he was with the Oakland Athletics. That season he finished with a 2.73 ERA in 208.0 innings and finished 3rd in the Cy Young Award voting.
This season must feel great for Sonny Gray. After struggling in 2018 with the New York Yankees, he was acquired by the Reds in the offseason and paired up with Derek Johnson, who was his pitching coach in college. And the difference has been huge as he’s gotten back to the pitch selection that he used to have before the Yankees overall philosophy changed things up for him.
In Cincinnati this season, Sonny Gray has posted a 3.59 ERA and a 3.35 FIP through 17 starts. He’s racked up 90.1 innings pitched, allowed just 74 hits – including 9 home runs – and walked 33 batters. That’s good for a WHIP of 1.19 on the year. He’s also struck out 103 of the 371 batters that he’s faced this season.
| W | L | ERA | FIP | xFIP | IP | H | HR | BB | K |
| 5 | 5 | 3.59 | 3.35 | 3.47 | 90.1 | 74 | 9 | 33 | 103 |
Sonny Gray ranks in the Top 10 among National League starting pitchers in FIP (9th), xFIP (8th), strikeout percentage (7th), and ground ball rate (4th). He’s in the Top 15 in the league in ERA (15th), fWAR (14th), and 13th in K-BB% (13th).
If you had told RLN in March that the Reds would have two starting pitchers on the NL All Star team we’d have all been thrilled, and assum that the Reds would be a winning team right now. They’re not. And that’s because the offense, especially lately at 2B (free JVM), SS and catcher has been weak, and because the bullpen has struggled at times. BUT the two all stars – Gray and Castillo – are two guys who will definitely be part of the rotation for at least a couple more years. That bodes well. A tip of the Reds cap to Sonny Gray (and Derek Johnson).
Would Garrett have gotton the call if he was healthy?
If healthy, the Reds would have three pitchers in the game.