Though he was not voted in as a starter, Paul Goldschmidt will be in the National League starting lineup Tuesday for the MLB All-Star Game at Nationals …
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Paul Goldschmidt to start at DH, bat 3rd for NL
Posted
By Mark Carlisle
Independent Newsmedia
Though he was not voted in as a starter, Paul Goldschmidt will be in the National League starting lineup Tuesday for the MLB All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.
NL manager Dave Roberts, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, selected the Diamondbacks’ top slugger as the team’s designated hitter to round out the starting lineup. Goldschmidt will have a key role in the lineup, hitting third.
Former D-back J.D. Martinez, now with Boston, won the DH fan vote and will bat fourth for the American League.
Beginning with the 2011 All-Star Game at Chase Field, the game has featured a DH even in an NL ballpark. In the AL, the position is voted on by fans, but because the NL does not use a DH, the manager selects one from the reserve players.
This will be Goldschmidt’s sixth straight All-Star Game. He was voted in as a starter at first base in 2014 and 2015. He is the only D-back to start in an All-Star Game since 2002.
Goldschmidt wasn’t on track to land anywhere near the All-Star Game, especially in a crowded field at first base, in late May when his average dipped below .200. He hit .144 May, but has hit .381 since, earning the NL Player of the Month award for June and also a Player of the Week award.
Goldschmidt said that earlier in the year, he didn’t see himself making the NL roster.
“It’s been crazy for me individually to go from the worst month of my career and then come and have the best week of my career and then the best month and I think, you know, going to the All-Star Game for me was pretty much not an option, which is fine. There’s a lot of good players… but for it to happen for me it’s pretty incredible, something I didn’t expect at all,” Goldschmidt said Sunday, July 8 about his selection after the All-Star rosters were announced earlier in the day.
At the break, Goldschmidt has raised his average to .281 and is fifth in the NL in both on-base plus slugging percentage (.920) and home runs (21). He's also leads the league in offensive wins above replacement and is fourth in overall WAR.
Goldschmidt is joined on this year's All-Star team by fellow D-backs Patrick Corbin and Zack Greinke in their second and fifth All-Star Games, respectively. The starting pitchers could enter the game Tuesday after Nationals ace Max Scherzer starts the game in front of his hometown crowd. Boston's Chris Sale will start for the AL.
