Royals 28-Year-Old Could Be Unexpected First-Time All-Star, MLB Writer Claims
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Now that the calendar has turned to May, it will amaze us all how quickly July and the Major League Baseball All-Star Game roll around.
Last year, the Kansas City Royals were one of the most impressive teams of the first half, and they sent an unexpected four participants to the All-Star Game. This season, they wouldn't appear at first glance to have four deserving players, but there's certainly room for a surprise or two.
There are the usual suspects, like shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and closer Carlos Estévez. But one baseball writer believes there's a relatively unknown Royals pitcher making enough noise to warrant All-Star consideration.
On Friday, FanSided's Mike Gillespie named Royals left-handed reliever Daniel Lynch IV as a player who should be given All-Star consideration after his strong start this past month.
"It's possible. After boosting his career with an excellent 2-0, 3.30 ERA, 0.992 WHIP, 16-game performance primarily out of Quatraro's 2024 bullpen, Lynch isn't letting anything get in his way this season," Gillespie wrote.
"Through Thursday's victory, Lynch is 3-0 with a 1.26 ERA, 0.98 WHIP and .184 BAA in 13 appearances."
Lynch has been phenomenal, there's no doubt about it. But making it to the All-Star Game as a reliever who isn't a closer is extremely tough. Two Philadelphia Phillies did it last season (Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman), but their team had the best record in baseball at the time.
So is it possible? Absolutely. But the Royals would probably have to play close to .700 baseball between now and mid-July, and Lynch would have to give up one or two runs in that time frame at a maximum.
Have crazier things happened? Absolutely.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org
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