To say Bryan Reynolds is a man of few words is an understatement, but the Pittsburgh Pirates left fielder didn’t mince words when asked if he deserves a spot on the National League All-Star roster.
“I think I should be a part of it,” Reynolds, a 2021 All-Star, told TribLive before Friday’s game. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t think so. We’ll see.”
Reynolds backed up those comments by going 4-for-5 innings, hitting two home runs, including a grand slam, and matching his career high with six RBIs in the Pirates’ 14-2 victory over the New York Mets at PNC Park.
Although Derek Shelton said before the game that Reynolds “should definitely be in the conversation” for the All-Star Game, the Pirates manager was more emphatic after a performance he called “pretty impressive” by saying he hoped the voting wasn’t over yet.
While the Pirates don’t have anyone elected to the starting lineup, they do have a handful of promising candidates under consideration before the full rosters are revealed at 5:30 p.m. Sunday on ESPN for the Midsummer Classic on July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
To avoid potential conflicts of interest, the All-Star replacements are no longer selected by the manager, but rather by a collective effort between the players’ vote and the commissioner’s office. Eight pitchers will be selected – five starters and three relievers – and one replacement at each position.
The Pirates’ most obvious position player is Reynolds, who is hitting .280/.344/.487 with 19 doubles, three triples, 16 homers and 54 RBIs while playing in all 87 games. He posted a .330 batting average and .992 OPS in June and had an MLB-best 25-game hitting streak.
“I think Reynolds should be an All-Star,” Pirates rookie right-hander Paul Skenes said after Reynolds’ monster game Friday night. “I don’t know who plays left in the National League, but it’s hard for me to think of anyone better than him.”
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington believes three starters “are worth considering,” citing 2023 All-Star Mitch Keller and rookies Jared Jones and Paul Skenes.
Jones (5-6, 3.56 ERA) leads the Pirates with 98 strikeouts in 91 innings over 16 starts and is holding hitters to a .220 batting average, but was placed on the 15-day injured list Friday with a right back muscle strain.
Skenes, the 2023 No. 1 overall pick, is 5-0 with a 2.12 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in 59 1/3 innings over 10 starts since making his major league debut on May 11.
“Since he’s been here, he’s been one of the best in baseball,” Reynolds said, “and that’s what it’s supposed to be.”
At just 22 years old, Skenes has become one of baseball’s hottest attractions, regularly topping 100 mph on the radar and displaying a five-pitch repertoire that includes a splitter-sinker hybrid that gives hitters a hard time. Skenes became the first pitcher in MLB history to record at least seven strikeouts in nine of his first 10 career starts.
“I think he’s going to be in the conversation because of his record and his earned run average, and as we know, pitching is determined in a different way,” Shelton said. “There’s a lot of good starting pitchers, and there’s a lot of good pitchers in the National League. It’s going to be a challenge for whoever decides.”
While Shelton advocated rewarding players with the best first half of the season with selection to the All-Star Game, he noted that it is still an exhibition game that has no bearing on the playoffs. Cherington acknowledged that as a showcase for the sport’s superstars for fans to enjoy, Skenes could be a nice addition.
“I’ll let other people make that decision, but he’s pitching pretty well. He’s pitching at that level,” Cherington said. “I respect that the All-Star Game is supposed to be an opportunity for the fans and to celebrate the game. I’m all for anything that can help that.”
Shelton added: “There’s a different atmosphere in the stadium when he pitches. And I think that’s really cool, and I think people have paid attention to it. And the fact that he was 1/1 and he got here in less than a year and the fact that he got off to a good start.”
After striking out MVPs Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in his June 5 game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Skenes isn’t shy about facing the American League’s top hitters, such as Aaron Judge and Juan Soto of the New York Yankees. Skenes hopes his resume is good enough to warrant his first All-Star selection as a rookie.
“I’d like to think of myself as that guy,” Skenes said. “But I think it was (Elly) De La Cruz last year who got there a month or a month and a half before the All-Star Game and didn’t get to play. I don’t know what the precedent is. I’d definitely like to be there. It’s a cool event. I grew up watching it and devoting time to it. It’s always been an event for my family to watch that game. To be there would be pretty surreal, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over not being there.”
If Skenes is selected, it could come at the expense of Pirates stalwart Mitch Keller, who made his first All-Star appearance last year. Keller is 9-5 with a 3.48 ERA and 1.25 WHIP in 101 1/3 innings over 17 starts, including one complete game. Keller is on a 48-game streak with at least five innings pitched, but he knows he’s not guaranteed to play in that game.
“I try not to think about it,” Keller said. “I hope so, but if not, that’s OK. That’s not really what I’m looking for either. That would be nice, yeah, but I just want to go out there and give us a chance to win every game, to be in the playoffs. That would be bigger to me than an All-Star Game. But, obviously, that would be nice.”
The wild card is reliever Colin Holderman, who has emerged as one of the best relief pitchers in baseball. The diving pitcher is 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 1.11 WHIP in 31 2/3 innings over 33 appearances, with 13 strikeouts. He has allowed just two earned runs in his first 26 2/3 innings of the season.
“It’s really tough to be a reliever who’s not a closer. You have to do special things. Hopefully these numbers will speak for themselves. I’m going to take it day by day. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t happen, I’m going to take my three-day break and have a good second half of the season. I’d like to be there, but I’m going to let it happen.”
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.