Dodgers: Kenley Jansen Selected To His Third All-Star Game
After another spectacular start to the season, Kenley Jansen received news on Sunday of his selection to the 2018 All-Star Game. This is the third time in as many years that Jansen has been selected to the midsummer classic. Jansen is currently posting a 2.34 ERA with 24 saves on the season.
California Love!
Congrats to @kenleyjansen74, who will make his third consecutive All-Star appearance! #LADetermined pic.twitter.com/H6DEYZ7FOw
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 8, 2018
Jansen struggled in his first seven appearances of the year with an 8.10 ERA and two blown saves. His velocity was at an all-time low and he failed to locate his pitches. Since then, he has returned to his reliable ways, posting a 1.26 ERA and converting 22 out of 23 saves.
In the previous two All-Star Games, Jansen has pitched a total of 1.1 innings and has struck out four batters while allowing just one hit.
2018 All-Star Game
Jansen will join Matt Kemp as the only Dodgers player represented in the event. Max Muncy also has a shot to participate in the game if he gets voted in through the Final Vote. Dave Roberts will manage the National League squad as the game will take place at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. The game will air on Fox on Tuesday, July 17 at 5:00 PM PT.
Your National League All-Star Pitchers:
Max Scherzer
Jacob deGrom
Jon Lester
Aaron Nola
Josh Hader
Kenley Jansen
Patrick Corbin
Sean Doolittle
Mike Foltynewicz
Brad Hand
Miles Mikolas
Felipe Vazquez— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 8, 2018
Comparison to Mariano Rivera
Player (Through Age 30 Season) | ERA | Saves | IP | Strikeouts | Walks | All-Star Selections |
Mariano Rivera | 2.63 | 165 | 452.1 | 395 | 144 | 3 |
Kenley Jansen | 2.10 | 254 | 519.1 | 786 | 136 | 3 |
*Jansen’s age 30 season is still in progress
Given his overmatching cutter and ninth inning dominance, Jansen’s name is commonly linked to Hall-of-Famer Mariano Rivera. At 30-years-old, Jansen is off to a better start to his career than the Yankees great. Only time will tell how Jansen performs with age but he, along with Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel, are on pace to surpass Rivera’s all-time record of 652 career saves.
Dodgers’ Matt Kemp Named as Starter on N.L. All-Star Team