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Baltimore Orioles: Adam Jones, Manny Machado Amongst Four Orioles On AL All-Star Team (Video)

By Mike Smith

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The pitchers and reserves for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game were announced on Monday night, and four members of the Baltimore Orioles received nods for the American League team, after receiving no selections to the starting lineup. The four Orioles are Adam Jones, Manny Machado, Zach Britton and Darren O’Day.

Jones is one of three backup outfielders on the roster, joining Jose Bautista and J.D. Martinez, behind starters Mike Trout, Lorenzo Cain and Alex Gordon. The Final Vote for the AL also features two outfielders, Yoenis Cespedes and Brett Gardner.

It’s a crowded outfield that Jones is going to try and break into, but I believe that he is the second best outfielder on the team, only behind Trout, and that he is more than deserving of significant playing time in the game.

The only thing that might hurt him is the nagging injuries that have plagued him throughout the year.

For what it’s worth, in the fan voting, Jones finished seventh amongst outfielders, behind the three starters, Bautista, Cespedes, and Alex Rios.

Machado is the only third baseman on the reserve roster, though he could be joined by Mike Moustakas, via the Final Vote.

Machado currently sits at eighth in the majors, fourth in the AL, in WAR. Machado also finds himself in the top ten in the AL for hits, home runs, runs, slugging percentage, and stolen bases.

Machado is one of the best young players in baseball, but so is starter Josh Donaldson, who is more than deserving of his starting spot. Machado should see a little time in this one, but expect to see plenty of Donaldson, who only received the most All-Star votes any player has ever received.

As for Britton and O’Day, they join a stacked pitching staff that Ned Yost is going to have a lot of fun managing for the night.

Considering the Orioles have no starters, four All-Stars is an impressive number, and all four guys have put together legitimate All-Star seasons.

Baltimore has been heating up over the past month or so, and they’re starting to show why they have been in playoff contention for the past few years. If the Orioles were to make it to the World Series this year, their four players are going to play a serious role in getting them home-field advantage.

Next: Should Machado Start at Shortstop?

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