Following the Red Sox' 15-1 win over the Royals Thursday, there was a sense this might be coming. Sure enough.
Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers have been named starters for the American League All-Star team.
While the announcement didn't come until later in the day, the buzz had already been building, as was evident by Alex Cora's comments on the scenario in his postgame press conference.
“I think for Xander to be a starter, that means the world," Cora said. "He’s one of the best, if not the best shortstop in the big leagues. The way he goes about his business is amazing. I’ve been saying all along, he’s the most consistent person in this organization. He’s amazing. Day in and day out, he shows up, he works and he goes out there and performs. There’s no red flags on the field and off the field. This kid got here and he contributed to win the World Series, and he didn’t believe the hype, he just kept working.
"And then Raffy, we had a conversation early in the season. Actually in spring training. It was him understanding what was going on in the business and how this guy, people … just looking around and everybody’s talking about all these young kids, right? Tatis, Acuna, Vladdy, Biggio, Bichette, and people forget about the fact that he’s 24 and he led the big leagues in extra-base hits two years ago and he’s doing what he’s doing now. For him to be recognized, I know it means the world for him. I know it means the world for the organization. Hopefully that’s the case.”
Is this the case, with Bogaerts making his third All-Star appearances and Devers notching his first invitation.
Bogaerts leads American League shortstops in virtually every offensive category, heading into Friday with a .329 batting average, .941 OPS along with 13 home runs and 25 doubles.
Devers currently leads the A.L. in RBIs, totaling 69 after putting up five more Thursday. He also now sits with 20 homers after going deep in the latest Red Sox' win, sharing the same OPS (.941) as Bogaerts to go along with a .288 batting average. He trails only Shohei Ohtani in the race for most extra-base among American League hitters.
The entire A.L. lineup looks like this: Salvador Perez (C), Vlad Guerrero Jr. (1B), Marcus Semien (2B), Bogaerts (SS), Devers (3B), Aaron Judge (OF), Teoscar Hernandez (OF), Mike Trout (OF), and Ohtani (DH). Trout will need to be replaced due to his current existence on the 60-day disabled list.
The All-Star Game will be held July 13 at Coors Field.
