Tigers Utility Man Named to All-Star Game As He Replaces Injured Shortstop Peña

The Detroit Tigers already had four starters showing up to the All-Star game and one on the reserves, Zach McKinstry. The MLB announced that McKinstry will now replace an injured Houston Astro, Jeremy Peña. 

McKinstry will be joining two outfielders, Riley Greene and Javier Báez, as well as second baseman Gleyber Torres and pitcher Tarik Skubal. McKinstry was originally listed as a reserve, but the Houston Astros had to put their infielder on the injury list with a rib injury.

McKinstry is in his third season as a Tiger, and he’s posting his best OPS of his entire career (debuted in September of 2020). He is slashing .283/.357/.460, which brings his OPS to .817. He’s tallied up seven home runs, 27 RBI, and has been walked 31 times. He’s nearing his season-best numbers already in half the number of games. 

In the past 15 games his slash mark has been remarkable at .341/.388/.636 which makes his OPS over one at 1.024. 

Detroit is having a phenomenal year. They were the first team in the Majors to hit 30 wins, then 40, and then 50. They are more likely to be the first to 60, as they are 59-34 overall. The Tigers lead their division (American League Central) by a solid 14 games over the Kansas City Royals. 

As the All-Star break approaches, they’re 8-2 in their last 10 and on a five-game win streak. Currently they’re in a series with the Tampa Bay Rays before they take on the Seattle Mariners to close out their time before the break.