Sonny Gray named All Star as a replacement for Max Scherzer

The MLB All Star break begins after the conclusion of Sunday’s games, with the Home Run Derby scheduled for Monday and the game itself scheduled for Tuesday. Which means that players named to the All Star game that are pitching this weekend aren’t going to have the requisite rest in order to be available for the game.

Max Scherzer, a National League All Star selection, pitched earlier today. And it was a performance you’d expect from Max Scherzer; 7 IP, 4 H, 11 K, 1 BB. But, it does mean that he’ll be unavailable for the game on Tuesday, which leaves the National League team a pitcher short.

No longer.

This is a little surprising to me, inasmuch as I’d never really considered Sonny Gray being in the midst of a All Star season. He’s been very good, no doubt, and he’s just a few days off of what is probably one of the best starts of his career.

Gray’s numbers are legit. He’s got an ERA of 3.59, with a 10.3 K/9 and 1.185 WHIP, good for a 3.35 FIP in 90.1 innings pitched. What’s a little bit interesting is that his rotation mate, Tanner Roark, has pitched to slightly better results (3.51 ERA) in a couple more innings, and both of them have pitched to a 2.2 bWAR. I think we’d all generally agree that Sonny Gray is the better pitcher, and Gray’s peripherals are better, too. But, if Sonny Gray is getting picked for this spot, Roark can’t be too far behind.

So, yeah! Congrats to Sonny, a 2019 National League All Star!