Cleveland Indians Corey Kluber Named to All-Star Team

Corey Kluber Finally Named to All-Star Team

As the saying goes, “better late than never” and that certainly is the case as Corey Kluber will now represent the Cleveland Indians at the 2016 All-Star game after being named to the team as an injury replacement. Kluber will replace Toronto’s Marco Estrada who was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

Kluber is now only the sixth American League starting pitcher to be named to the All-Star squad, joining

,

,

,

, and the injured Marco Estrada. While he may be an injury replacement, Kluber was more than worthy to be a member of the All-Star team ranking in the top five in the American League in most categories including having the lowest FIP in the American League at 2.96 and the second highest fWAR at 3.1.  Here are several of Kluber’s stats and where he ranks among American League starting pitchers:

"fWAR: 3.1 (2nd)FIP: 2.96 (1st)cFIP: 71 (1st)xFIP: 3.38 (3rd)AVG: .214 (4th)WHIP: 1.04 (4th)Strikeouts: 114 (5th)"

Initially one of the biggest All-Star snubs of the year, Kluber finally gets the recognition that has eluded him the past three seasons. Since the start of the 2014 season, Corey Kluber has been arguably the best pitcher in the American League, posting the highest fWAR (16.0) and lowest FIP (2.71). In fact, over the last 2.5 seasons only Clayton Kershaw has a higher fWAR than Kluber and only Kershaw and Jake Arrieta have a lower FIP.

The only “black eye” with Kluber’s All-Star case is his 3.79 ERA that ranks only 16th in the American League. However, it’s good to see that the players and AL Manager Ned Yost were able to look past the outdated stat and see Kluber for what he’s been: one of the best and most dominant starters in the American League. In addition to the numbers listed above, Kluber is also tied for first in the AL in complete games with three and leads the league with two complete game shutouts.

Next: Indians vs Yankees Series Preview

Kluber joins fellow Indians Danny Salazar and Francisco Lindor on the All-Star team. It’s the first All-Star game for all three players as well.  It’s the first time since 2007 that the Indians have had three All-Stars (Victor Martinez, Grady Sizemore, CC Sabathia), which also just so happens to be the last time the Indians won the American League Central Division…

The All-Star Game takes place this Tuesday, July 12th at Petco Park in San Diego.