Oakland Athletics: Ranking the most likely All-Star candidates
The 2019 MLB All-Star Game will take place on July 9th and while no Oakland Athletics made it to the fan-voted final vote as starters, they still have a chance of being chosen as a reserve in the players’ vote.
The Oakland Athletics are notorious for usually having only one representative at the All-Star Game, which very well may be the case again this year. Although the A’s have many potential All-Stars, it just isn’t plausible to assume that more than a couple will be selected as reserves.
Not every year can be like 2014 when Oakland had seven All-Stars. Each team must have at least one All-Star though, so the A’s can’t be completely left out even though they do not have a player starting.
Last season, Jed Lowrie and Blake Treinen represented the A’s at the All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington D.C.
The complete All-Star rosters will be announced Sunday, June 30 at 2:30 p.m. PT on ESPN. Here is a ranking of the A’s who are the most likely candidates including one dishonorable mention.
Dishonorable Mention: P Frankie Montas
Up until last Friday, it looked fairly certain that A’s starter, Frankie Montas would be pitching for the American League in the All-Star Game. Well, not anymore. Montas was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.
Montas defended himself through his press conference through the MLB Players Association and had the following to say.
"“While I never intended to take any prohibited substance, I unfortunately and unknowingly ingested a contaminated supplement that I had purchased over-the-counter at a nutrition store here in the United States.”"
According to A’s GM David Forst, Montas attempted to appeal his suspension but was ultimately unsuccessful. He is now ineligible for All-Star and postseason games — which could possibly come back to hurt the A’s, even more, come October.
In 15 games this season, Montas was 9-2 with an ERA of 2.70. He was a great asset for the A’s and could have been a great representative for the American League, yet his poor choices have foiled this possibility.