ESPN names Greinke, Marte as too-early All-Stars

Despite their recent struggles, the Diamondbacks still have talent working hard and getting rewarded.

ESPN’s David Schoenfield selected D-backs second baseman/center fielder Ketel Marte and starting pitcher Zack Greinke to his still-too-early NL All-Star team. Marte was named the starting second baseman for the squad despite having more innings in center field.

From Schoenfield:

When Marte came up with Seattle, he was a skinny, slap-hitting shortstop who looked like a future leadoff hitter — he hit three home runs in 437 at-bats his first two seasons. Since then, he has completely transformed his game, adding strength and power, and the other night, he crushed a 482-foot home run, tied for the longest of 2019. He has played a few more games in center field, but he’s listed at second base on the All-Star ballot, so we’ll put him there.

Marte is hitting .276/.326/.527 with a 116 OPS+ and 14 home runs this season, which is already tied for the most home runs he has hit in a single season in his career.

Greinke has proved those concerned about his age wrong this season, as the D-backs’ ace has a 3.09 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings.

Here’s what the ESPN writer had to say about Greinke’s selection:

What a joy to watch as he changes speeds, moves the ball around, sinks it and gets batters to chase. He’s 35 now, closing in on 200 career wins (193) and looking more and more like a future Hall of Famer.

Greinke’s ERA+ of 146 is inching close to his best mark as a D-back, as he finished the 2017 season at 147.