Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Though every fifth day Detroit Tigers SP Justin Verlander garners as much respect and attention as any starter in baseball, he has not performed to an All-Star level thus far in 2013. Averaging a shade over six innings per start in his 13 starts, Verlander has a 3.71 ERA. Though his advanced numbers indicate he has gotten slightly unlucky – and the Tigers defense does not help – he is not pitching at his usual level.
The best barometer of Verlander’s performance is by comparison to his rotation mates. Verlander has the fourth best ERA, third best xFIP, and third best K/9 of the top four starters in his rotation. Anibal Sanchez (2.65 ERA), Max Scherzer (3.24 ERA), and Doug Fister (3.27 ERA) have all performed as well or better than Verlander thus far. There is no chance that all four of these pitchers are selected for the Mid-Summer Classic, so it is hard to imagine Verlander can make it over two of those options.
With pitchers like Grant Balfour and Chris Sale needing to be selected as their team’s representatives and pitchers like Clay Buchholz, Alex Cobb, Felix Hernandez, Yu Darvish and others being obvious selections, there are not enough spots for all of the Tigers’ starters. Assuming Sanchez’s recent injury is not too serious, he seems to be the most obvious selection. With the second best K/9, BB/9, ERA, and xFIP in the rotation, Scherzer deserves to be the second selection from the Tigers’ rotation. After that, it is difficult to imagine Verlander earning a spot onto the team for any reason besides name-brand recognition.
While I am an adamant believer that the All-Star game is about marketing and that the best players – in terms of past, present, and future production – should be selected, Verlander does not deserve to be selected to the 2013 All-Star Game.
Gabe Isaacson is a writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter: @gabeisaacson.
