Orioles' Rookie Pitcher John Means Selected To 2019 MLB All-Star Game
BALTIMORE (AP) — A surprising season for Orioles rookie left-hander John Means reached another level Sunday when he was named Baltimore's lone representative on the AL All-Star team.
Means is 7-4 with a 2.50 ERA in 17 games, including 13 starts. Opponents are batting just .219 against him, and he's got 64 strikeouts compared to just 22 walks over 75 2/3 innings.
Selected in the 11th round of the 2014 Major League Draft out of West Virginia University, Means pitched in one game for Baltimore last year, giving up five runs in 3 1/3 innings against Boston.
He started this season in the bullpen, but soon became one of the most effective members of the starting rotation.
The Orioles own the worst record in the majors, so they knew they'd have one, perhaps two, players going to Cleveland for the All-Star Game on July 9.
The team had a campaign touting outfielder Trey Mancini, but the 26-year-old Means ended up getting the call.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said: "For a guy that never made a minor-league All-Star team, didn't make all-conference in college and barely made our club out of spring training, it's really, really cool."
Means has accounted for more than a quarter of Baltimore's 24 victories and ranks first among AL rookies in wins.