Orioles right hand Corbin Burns has been named the starting pitcher for the American League side in this year’s All-Star game, according to announcements from Major League Baseball and the O’s. This will be his fourth All-Star selection but his first start.
Burnes, 29, has been one of the best shortstops in the majors in recent years. He spent most of his career with the Brewers but came to the O’s in an offseason trade. From 2020 to 2023, Burnes logged over 600 innings with Milwaukee, posting a 2.86 ERA during that time. He struck out 30.9% of the batters he faced, walked at a 7.1% clip and kept balls in play at a 46.4% rate. He made the All-Star team in three consecutive years from 2021 to 2023 and won the National League Cy Young in the first season of that stretch.
Since arriving in the American League, he has continued in the same vein. In 19 starts as an Oriole, he has a 2.43 ERA in 118 2/3 innings. His 23.3% strikeout rate is down from his previous career but he also lowered his walk rate to 5.3% and increased his groundball rate to 49.4%.
There was some doubt as to whether Burnes would be able to participate in the game since his wife recently gave birth to twins, but apparently he signed up to appear in the game, according to Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic on X. Rangers manager Bruce Bochy is the American League captain and has been credited with the O’s success. and Burnes’ track record as factors in his decision, according to MLB.com’s Jake Rill on X.
Burnes is in his final season of arbitration and will become a free agent at the end of the season. He ranked second in the latest edition of the MLBTR Free Agent Power Rankings, trailing only Juan Soto of the Yankees.
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