Márquez named to NL All-Star Team; joins rare group of Rockies pitchers to receive the honor

Robinson Cano hit a sharp ground ball to second base for the final out in the second inning in Anaheim to finish the day for Ubaldo Jiménez.

Since that day in 2010, the Colorado Rockies have yet to be represented by another starting pitcher in the All-Star Game. Until now.

On Sunday, while Germán Márquez was putting the finished touches on his fourth consecutive quality start to lower his ERA during that span to a minuscule 0.93, he was selected to his first Midsummer Classic.

Ahead of the matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals, manager Bud Black delayed sharing the news with Márquez.

“He’s in such a good spot mentally. Everything is going in the right direction over the last six weeks and his last number of starts. I just didn’t want to disrupt that,” Black said after the game. “I couldn’t wait to tell him.”

The 26-year-old becomes just the eighth Rockies’ pitcher to make the team and only the sixth starting pitcher following the likes of Jiménez (2010), Jason Marquis (2009), Aaron Cook (2008), Shawn Chacon (2003) and Mike Hampton (2001).

Furthermore, Márquez hopes to get in the action, as only Jiménez, Cook and Hampton actually participated in the game; relievers Greg Holland (2017) and Brian Fuentes (2006) also represented Colorado, both tossing a scoreless frame.

Márquez has had two shaky starts this season – at home against San Francisco (0.2 IP, 8 ER) and at Cincinnati (5.0 IP, 8 ER) – but with a lot more excellent outings. In seven starts at Coors Field since May 14, the Venezuelan-born hurler has surrendered just eight earned runs and struck out 47 in the process. 

Since that rough performance against the Giants, Márquez has been worth 2.0 fWAR, fourth-most by any starting pitcher during that time. His 72.0 innings over those 11 starts are second-most in the National League.

Diamond Details

Sunday’s announcement of the All-Star Game rosters were highlighted by Angels’ Shohei Ohtani becoming the first player selected as both a pitcher and position player. The 27-year-old leads MLB with 31 home runs and has a 3.60 ERA across 12 starts as a pitcher. 

Boston Red Sox had the most selections with five while the San Diego Padres led the NL with four players. 

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays is the youngest All-Star at 22-years-old. Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. and the Washington Nationals’ Juan Soto are also age-22.

Bo Bichette, son of former Blake Street Bomber Dante, is a first-time All-Star. The 23-year-old shortstop for the Blue Jays is one of six players named to the team age-23 or younger along with Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. and Miami Marlins starting pitcher Trevor Rogers.

Two Colorado-born players will making an appearance on July 13 at Coors Field: Giants’ pitcher Kevin Gausman and Padres’ closer Mark Melancon. Gausman, a graduate of Grandview High School in Aurora, is making his first All-Star Team while Melancon, a Golden High School alum, is now a four-timer.