Jered Weaver will be named to the American League All-Star team as a replacement for CC Sabathia, as confirmed by both Angels broadcaster Victor Rojas and Bryan Hoch of MLB.com. Weaver will replace Sabathia because Sabathia is pitching Sunday, which makes him ineligible for the All-Star Game. Of course, Weaver is scheduled to pitch Sunday as well, but that's okay.
↵Weaver deserves to get a nice, long ovation from his home crowd in Anaheim when the teams are introduced on the field next Tuesday. He has really come into his own this season, leading the American League in strikeouts, with a 2.97 ERA and career lows in Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP, 3.02) and x-FIP (3.02). Weaver is fourth among AL starters in Wins Above Replacement this season. He is, by any definition, an All-Star.
↵It appeared when rosters were announced Sunday that Torii Hunter would be alone among Angels players on Tuesday, as he was named as a reserve via player vote. Having just one local All-Star isn't that uncommon. Here's a look at the last few All-Star Games, and players from the host team:
↵- ↵
- 2009: St. Louis - three (Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina, Ryan Franklin)
↵ - 2008: Yankees - three (Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Alex Rodriguez) ↵
- 2007: San Francisco - one (Barry Bonds) ↵
- 2006: Pittsburgh - two (Jason Bay, Freddy Sanchez) ↵
- 2005: Detroit - one (Ivan Rodriguez) ↵
Per the indispensable Cot's Baseball Contracts, we see that Weaver has a contract bonus of $50,000 for making the All-Star team. That is $50,000 well deserved.