The Detroit Tigers have the best record in the majors. Now they are tied for having the most All-Stars, too.
Zach McKinstry was picked Wednesday to replace Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña, who has been dealing with a rib injury. The infielder-outfielder will join Detroit second baseman Gleyber Torres and outfielders Javier Báez and Riley Greene — all AL starters — and staff ace Tarik Skubal, who also is among the candidates to start the All-Star Game on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
The five All-Stars for Detroit is tied for the most with the World Series champion Dodgers, who have DH Shohei Ohtani, catcher Will Smith and first baseman Freddie Freeman starting for the NL along with pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Yamamoto is scheduled to start Sunday for Los Angeles, so Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott has been picked to replace him.
McKinstry was among several replacements announced Wednesday for the Midsummer Classic.
Houston third baseman Isaac Paredes was chosen for the AL team in place of starting third baseman José Ramírez, the seven-time All-Star, who wants to spend the week rehabbing an Achilles injury; Twins right-hander Joe Ryan was selected as the replacement for Astros pitcher Hunter Brown; and Brewers closer Trevor Megill was added to the NL team in place of teammate Freddy Peralta, their scheduled starter for Sunday’s game against Washington.
The shuffling of replacements gives the Astros four All-Stars in Paredes, Peña, Brown and pitcher Josh Hader. The Brewers have two in Megill and Peralta. And the Twins have two with Ryan joining two-time All-Star outfielder Byron Buxton.
“This was the goal in the offseason,” said Megill, who struck out Freeman, Andy Pages and Tommy Edman in order in the 10th inning to secure the Brewers’ 3-2 win over the Dodgers on Wednesday. “Just worked my butt off for it, and here we are.”
The four replacements make six total and 71 players players between the two All-Star teams. The other sub announced was Rays third baseman Junior Caminero for Boston’s Alex Bregman, who has been dealing with a strained right quadriceps.
The Tigers have been one of the surprise stories of the first half of the season. After going 86-76 and tying for second in the AL Central last season, they are off to a 59-35 start even after a 7-3 loss to the Rays in their series finale Wednesday night.
The versatile McKinstry has been a big reason why.
Along with playing every infield position besides catcher, and both corner outfield spots, McKinstry entered Wednesday hitting .283 with seven homers and 27 RBIs. The 30-year-old needs just three more homers and nine RBIs to set career highs.
Peña, who is hitting a career-best .322 with 11 homers and 40 RBIs in 82 games for Houston, has been out since June 28 with a fractured rib. He had hoped to return by the All-Star break but has not been cleared to resume baseball activity.
Paredes, his teammate, is headed to his second straight All-Star Game in his first season in Houston. He is hitting a career-best .255 with 19 homers and 49 RBIs for the Astros, who have a comfortable lead over Seattle in the NL West.
“My main focus is to work hard for the team and be able to give the most I can for the team,” Paredes said, “but as you can see now with the results that I’m getting … those results allow me to get to the All-Star game, so it feels good.”
