Blue Jays' Guerrero Jr., Kirk named starters for All-Star Game
Published
The Toronto Blue Jays will have two players in the American League starting lineup for the All-Star Game later this month at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will get the start at first base and Alejandro Kirk behind the plate.
It’s the second straight nod for Guerrero, who won last year’s All-Star Game MVP highlighted by a towering home run to left-centre field off eventual National League Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes in an AL victory.
The Blue Jays slugger also finished second in AL MVP voting last year behind two-way star Shohei Ohtani but has seen his numbers fall off a bit this season. Guerrero comes into play Friday hitting .268 with 19 home runs, 54 RBI and owns an OPS of .841 in 83 games.
Kirk – a first-time All-Star – is enjoying a breakout season for Toronto in his third big-league campaign and has established himself as one of the best hitting catchers in baseball. The 23-year-old is hitting .312 and slugging .491 with 10 homers and 33 driven in while appearing in 74 games so far this season.
The pitchers and reserves for both teams filling out the 23-player rosters will be determined with a player ballot and a round of voting by the commissioner’s office.
The complete rosters for each team will be announced Sunday evening while the All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 19.