HOUSTON, TX - Major League Baseball announced today that Astros right-handed pitcher Charlie Morton has been added to the American League All-Star roster.
This marks the first-career All-Star selection for Morton, who is in his 11th Major League season and second with the Astros. Morton is in the midst of a career year, as he has gone 11-2 with a 2.96 ERA (37ER/112.1IP) and 146 strikeouts in 19 starts. Among all AL pitchers this season, the right-hander ranks second in winning percentage (.846), third in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (11.70), tied for fourth in wins, sixth in strikeouts and ninth in ERA.
Morton’s addition gives the Astros six players on the AL All-Star roster, as he will join 2B Jose Altuve, 3B Alex Bregman, RHP Gerrit Cole, OF George Springer and RHP Justin Verlander. The Astros are the only team in the Majors with six All-Stars this season, and it marks the second time in franchise history that the Astros have had six All-Stars on one squad, as they also had six All-Stars last season.
Joining the six players will be the entire Astros coaching staff, led by Astros Manager AJ Hinch, who will become the second skipper in franchise history to manage an All-Star Game, joining Phil Garner (2006 NL). Hinch and his staff will also be joined by Rich Dauer, who served as the Astros first base coach from 2015-17 before retiring.
Morton joins Bregman as the sole first-time All-Stars for the Astros this year. Altuve became the first Astros player ever to be Major League Baseball’s leading All-Star vote-getter. This will mark his fourth consecutive fan-elected start and sixth overall All-Star selection. Both Cole (2015) and Springer (2017) will be making their second appearances in the Midsummer Classic. This will be the seventh time that Verlander has been named an All-Star, and his first time as an Astro. Prior to this season, he was an All-Star in 2007, and each year between 2009-13. Altuve will be just the second Astros player to start four All-Star games, joining Hall of Famer Craig Biggio, who started four straight for the NL squad from 1995-98 (all at second base).
The Astros will also be represented in the 2018 T-Mobile Home Run Derby by Bregman, who will become the fifth player in franchise history to compete in a Home Run Derby, joining Lance Berkman (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008), Moises Alou (1998), Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell (1994, 1996-97, 1999) and Glenn Davis (1989). The 2018 T-Mobile Home Run Derby will be held on Monday at Nationals Park in Washington, DC, and broadcast live by ESPN and MLB.com beginning at 7 p.m. CT.
The 89th MLB All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 17 at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.