Pittsburgh Pirates News: Bryan Reynolds to Start in the All-Star Game

After being one of the best hitters in baseball through the first half of the season Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds has been named a starter for the National League in the All-Star Game

Since the start of the 2021 MLB season Bryan Reynolds has been not just one of the best outfielders, but one of the best hitters in all of baseball. This led to the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder earning his first All-Star berth.

While Reynolds was named as an All-Star reserve it appeared he had been a bit hosed by not being named a starter in the game. Well, even though it came as a result of an unfortunate injury, Reynolds will now start for the National League in Tuesday’s Mid-Summer Classic.

Over the weekend Atlanta superstar Ronald Acuña Jr. tore his ACL. While Acuña Jr. will miss the rest of the season this led to the NL needing another starting outfielder. This spot has been filled by Reynolds.

On Tuesday night Reynolds will start in center field and bat 8th for the National League. This puts him one spot ahead of Pirate teammate Adam Frazier in the lineup, as Frazier will start at second base and bat 9th.

Reynolds certainly deserves this honor. On the season he is hitting for a .302/.387/.519 slash line. He has already hit 16 home runs, which ties a career-high, and his .217 ISO, 146 wRC+ and his 10.2% extra base hit rate are all career-highs as well. His on-base percentage and slugging are new career-bests as well.

Reynolds currently owns a 3.0 fWAR, which is just shy of his career-high fWAR of 3.1 set during his rookie campaign in 2019. This puts him on pace to finish the season as a 5+ fWAR player.

Make sure to tune into the 2021 MLB All-Star Game as the Pittsburgh Pirates will now have a pair of starters in the game. First pitch from Coors Field in Denver is scheduled for 7:30 PM ET on Tuesday night and the game will air on FOX.