Kluber going to All-Star Game for first time
Indians right-hander named to AL team in place of Blue Jays' Estrada
CLEVELAND -- For the past two years, Corey Kluber had the distinction of being a Cy Young Award winner, but never a member of an All-Star team. That is no longer the case.
On Thursday, Kluber was named to the American League All-Star team for the first time in his career, serving as a replacement for Blue Jays right-hander Marco Estrada. Toronto placed Estrada on the disabled list due to a lower back issue, allowing Kluber to join teammates Danny Salazar and Francisco Lindor in San Diego for Tuesday's All-Star Game presented by MasterCard.
Kluber, Salazar and Lindor are all first-time All-Stars.
This marks the first time since 2007 (CC Sabathia, Victor Martinez and Grady Sizemore) that Cleveland will send at least three players to an All-Star Game. It is the first time since Sabathia and Jake Westbrook got the nod in 2004 that the Indians have sent at least two pitchers to MLB's annual showcase of superstars.
It is a first for the 30-year-old Kluber, whose breakout 2014 campaign netted him the AL Cy Young Award. His second-half surge that season, combined with a 9-16 record that marred a solid overall showing in '15, contributed to the fact that he never made an All-Star team prior to now.
Kluber, Salazar, Carlos Carrasco, Trevor Bauer and Josh Tomlin have combined to form the top starting rotation in the AL, so it is fitting that two members of the staff will represent Cleveland at the All-Star Game in San Diego.
Kluber was 8-8 with a 3.79 ERA heading into Thursday's game against the Yankees, but the right-hander was near or at the top of the league in multiple categories.
Kluber was tied for first among AL starters in WAR (3.1, according to Fangraphs.com), first in Fielding Independent Pitching (2.96), second in home runs per nine innings (0.71) and fourth in innings (114). He also ranked in the top five in strikeouts, WHIP and opponents' average, and in the top 10 in opponents' OPS, strikeouts per nine innings and strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Jordan Bastian has covered the Indians for MLB.com since 2011, and previously covered the Blue Jays from 2006-10. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, follow him on Twitter @MLBastian and listen to his podcast. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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