Kodai Senga named National League All-Star

The Mets have their second National League All-Star. Rookie hurler Kodai Senga was officially named to the team earlier today, replacing former Met Marcus Stroman, who cited rest as his reason for skipping the Midsummer Classic. Senga will join Pete Alonso as the Mets representatives at T-Mobile Park.

Senga is having a strong rookie year for New York following a successful career with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks in Nippon Professional Baseball. The right-hander owns a 3.31 ERA, a 3.86 FIP, and a 1.23 WHIP in 16 big league starts. He has been especially dominant over his last nine outings, pitching to a 2.73 ERA, a 3.10 FIP, and a 1.12 WHIP, with 70 strikeouts in 52 ²⁄₃ innings.

Perhaps his most impressive stat at the major league level is the ~59% whiff rate he has on his signature pitch, the ghost fork, which is the best whiff rate any pitcher has on a single pitch this year. His 11.34 K/9 is third-best among all qualified NL starters, and fifth-best among qualified starters overall. His biggest weakness so far has been his command, as his 4.72 BB/9 is the highest among qualified starters in 2023.

There was some thought that Francisco Lindor was the likeliest choice for the next Met All-Star, especially when Dansby Swnason dropped out of the game, but he was passed over in favor of Geraldo Perdomo. Lindor replied by hyping up his teammate Brandon Nimmo as the Met who deserves an All Star nod the most. In any event, it’s Senga who will be taking his talents to Seattle on Tuesday.