Was Michael Lorenzen really the best choice to represent the Detroit Tigers at the 2023 MLB All-Star game?
The Detroit Tigers will only have one player represent the team at the 2023 MLB All-Star game on July 11. That player will be starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen, which was a surprise to everyone, including Lorenzen himself.
We mean no disrespect to Lorenzen here. He's a veteran guy who seems like a great dude. He was doing pretty well for the Tigers earlier this season, but he was 0-4 with an ERA of 5.30 in the month of June. He's currently 2-6 with an ERA of 4.25 and a K/9 of 6.80. He's perfectly fine as a fifth starter, but as an All-Star? That's pushing it.
Again, no disrespect to Lorenzen, but there were much better options for the All-Star team on the Detroit Tigers. Today, we're going to go over a few of those.
There aren't very many players deserving of an All-Star selection on this team, but there are still a handul that would have been better than Lorenzen.
Here are three Tigers that are more deserving of an All-Star nod than Michael Lorenzen
1. RHP Jason Foley
Foley has become the Tigers best reliever over the course of the season. With Alex Lange's recent struggles, it makes perfect sense why he wasn't seleted as the Tigers All-Star. But Foley has been flat out dominant.
In 37 games, Foley has a 2.17 ERA with a 1.2 fWAR in 37.1 IP. His 61% groundball rate in ninth among MLB relievers. He has yet to allow a home run this season.
He's recently started to rack up the strikeouts as well. He struck out 8.76 batters per nine in June. Combine that with his ability to miss barrels, and you have one shutdown reliever on your hands.
It's unfortunate Foley didn't get the nod. He was the most deserving player on the team. His sheer dominance deserves to be recognized on a national stage.