Joc Pederson won’t be going alone to the All-Star Game next week in Los Angeles.
Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that he’d be joined by first-year Giants pitcher Carlos Rodón, named as a replacement for Brewers reliever Josh Hader.
Rodón is joined by Miami’s Garrett Cooper and Boston’s J.D. Martinez, replacing Bryce Harper and Yordan Àlvarez, respectively.
The 29-year-old Rodón was a surprise omission from the initial All-Star list, leading his wife to point out on Twitter that he leads all National League pitchers in wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs’ model.
Rodón was considered one of the biggest snubs when the N.L. roster was announced over the weekend and it figured to just be a matter of time before he was added to the team.
Rodón is 8-5 and his 2.70 ERA is eighth in the league. He’s also averaging more than 11 strikeouts per nine innings.
The veteran left-hander was named to the A.L. All-Star team last season with the Chicago White Sox and said he was more disappointed that rotation mate Logan Webb was not on the initial list.
“Competing for my team is way more important than pitching in an All-Star Game. It is what it is. If you don’t like it, pitch better,” said Rodón. “I made it last year. … For guys that have never been like Webby and some other guys around the league, it’s probably a bummer for them because they put together such a good first half.”
Rodón’s wife, Ashley, voiced her frustration via social media, tweeting (along with a crying laughing face emoji): “Are you actually kidding…. Man leads the NL in WAR. Wtf.”
Rodón leads all National League starting pitchers with 3.7 fWAR. His 11.16 K/9 ranks second. Only Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes and Miami’s Sandy Alcantara have generated more swings and misses, and only Burnes has struck out more batters. Nobody has allowed fewer home runs per nine innings.
