Walsh chosen as AL All-Star
ANAHEIM >> The Angels are sending a pair of twoway players to the All-Star Game.
Jared Walsh, who spent time as a pitcher during his first stint in the majors in 2019, was named to the All-Star roster on Sunday, joining his more celebrated teammate — a legitimate two-way player — Shohei Ohtani.
Mike Trout was also voted to start the All-Star Game, but he’s injured and won’t be able to play.
Ohtani was voted as the starting DH for the American League, but he was also voted by the players onto the team as a pitcher. It remains to be seen whether Ohtani will actually pitch in the game.
Angels manager Joe Maddon has already given his blessing, with Ohtani scheduled for his final pitching appearance before the break on Tuesday, a full week before the AllStar Game.
Walsh, however, is done as a pitcher, having proven to be so good as a hitter that he’s now a full-time first baseman.
Walsh was hitting .284 with 20 homers and a .909 OPS heading into Sunday’s action. He lost out to MVP candidate Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the nod as the American League’s starting first baseman.
“I think you dream about the World Series, and AllStar Games and all that kind of stuff but I never made (an All-Star Game) in the minor leagues, so this is pretty special to do it at the major league level,” Walsh said.
Walsh earned everyday playing time with a hot month last September, but
this season he was bouncing between right field and first base until the Angels let Albert Pujols go. Since then, he’s played first nearly every day.
“Showing up to the park now and you’re probably gonna be playing that day is makes it a little bit better going to the field for me personally,” Walsh said. “So the fact that I’ve gotten consistent opportunities has been really huge.”
The Angels will have three representatives on the All-Star team for the first time since 2015, when Trout was joined by Albert Pujols and Hector Santiago.
Upton update
The Angels are going to have to wait a little longer on Justin Upton.
Upton, who is out with a sore back, was eligible to come off the injured list this weekend, but he still isn’t ready. The Angels instead called up Jose Rojas on Sunday.
They had played with just 25 on Saturday, seemingly in anticipation that Upton would be the 26th, but Manager Joe Maddon said Sunday they were never sure.
“He’s doing better,” Maddon said. “It’s still not quite ready. I thought it may have been ready by now. But it’s not. So we’re just gonna have to make sure that he gets all the proper work in before he gets out there. We need to get him out there, do some defensive work running a little bit, etc.”
Maddon said the Angels are still clinging to hope that Upton could be ready “any day now.” He said he didn’t believe there was a chance he’d be out all week, failing to return by the AllStar break.
In the meantime, his injury has opened the door for Rojas to return to the big leagues.
Rojas made the Opening Day roster as something of a feel-good story. A local product who was a 36th-round draft pick, Rojas was never considered much of a prospect, but he forced his way to the majors with his production.
However, he hit .190 with a .610 OPS in his first 121 atbats and returned to TripleA, and he was hitting .217 with a .707 OPS at Salt Lake when he was recalled.
Maddon said Rojas just needs to “slow down mentally” and be more disciplined in the strike zone.
“This is a guy that in spring training walked more than he struck out, and then all of the sudden the role was reversed,” Maddon said. “I think as he gets more comfortable being here, gets back to an organized strike zone, he’s gonna hit. He’s always hit. He’s going to hit again. I totally believe that.”
Streaking
David Fletcher yanked a ground ball under the glove of Baltimore Orioles’ third baseman Domingo Leyba in the first inning on Sunday, a ball that was ruled a double and extended his hitting streak to 18 games.
It’s the longest hitting streak in the American League this season, and it’s the longest for the Angels since Torii Hunter had an 18game streak in August 2011.
Goose is loose
Upton’s injury has allowed Phil Gosselin to play regularly in left field, including against right-handed pitchers. For much of Gosselin’s time with the Angels, they had the right-handed hitter start only against lefties.
“Historically he’s only had a chance to hit left-handers, but I think this guy can flat hit,” Maddon said. “You always hear about a professional at-bat. This is a pro atbat right here. Is he always going to get the job done? Of course not. But you feel as though you’re getting a pro at-bat.”
Gosselin came into Sunday’s game with a .226 averaged and .658 OPS against righties, compared with .439 and 1.085 against lefties.