Felipe Vazquez Named The Pirates 2018 All Star

Pittsburgh Pirates left-handed reliever Felipe Vazquez has been named a 2018 All-Star.

Felipe Vazquez will be heading to the Nation’s Capital, Washington D.C., as the Pirates lone All-Star representative.  After being snubbed a year ago, when his first half numbers included a 0.76 ERA, 2.33 FIP, and 30.6 percent strike out rate Vazquez will get his first nod this year.

So far in 2018, Vazquez has a 3.38 ERA, 2.10 FIP, and a 31.1 percent strikeout rate.  In his first 18 games, Vazquez posted a 2.41 ERA and 27.6 percent strikeout rate and in his last 14 games a 1.20 ERA and 36.7 percent strikeout rate.  In the middle six, however, Vazquez posted a 17.18 ERA and struck out 7.1 percent of hitters.

When Vazquez is on, there’s not many relievers better in the game.  The power fastball with the wipeout slider and changeup make him a devastating reliever that is fun to watch, something that is fun to watch, perfect for exhibition.

Players that didn’t get in include Francisco Cervelli, who has hit .258/.392/.489 with 1.9 WARP didn’t get in.  Not playing for a two-week period, especially this close to the selection, probably came into play here.  The National League is also loaded at catcher with Buster Posey and J.T. Realmuto backing up Willson Contreras, who was voted in by the fans.

Corey Dickerson has hit .308/.341/.458 with a 1.7 WARP and Starling Marte has hit .278/.328/.457 with a 2.8 WARP.  In terms of the All Star Game, these two peaked early and had a rough stretch leading up to the selection.

The dark horse candidate was Kyle Crick, who has a 2.18 ERA and 24.6 percent strikeout rate. He could’ve been considered over Vazquez, but as a reliever that isn’t a closer, Crick’s odds were low, though he would’ve been my pick for the Pirates All-Star representative.

Next: Dickerson Getting Hot At The Right Time

Other notes for the weekend include Ke’Bryan Hayes and Mitch Keller playing in the Futures Game, which is this Sunday at 4:00 on MLB Network.  The Home Run Derby is on Monday the 16th at 8:00 on ESPN.  And the All-Star game, featuring Felipe Vazquez, will take place on Tuesday the 17th at 8:00 on FOX, with the pregame starting at 7:30.