Trio of Bruins to Participate in 2021 MLB All-Star Week
Three alumni of the UCLA baseball program are set to participate in 2021 MLB All-Star Week, as right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees) and shortstop Brandon Crawford (San Francisco Giants) have been selected for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game while Colorado Rockies farmhand Michael Toglia will play in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
MLB All-Star Week runs Jul. 10-13 from Coors Field in Denver, culminating in the All-Star Game on Tuesday evening.
Cole (2009-11) is an All-Star for the fourth time in his career, extending his own record for ASG appearances by a UCLA pitcher. Exempting the 2020 campaign, in which no All-Star Game was held, Cole has made the American League All-Star Team in three consecutive seasons. Sporting an 8-4 record and 2.91 ERA, he's been one of the top pitchers in the Junior Circuit this season, leading the AL with 135 strikeouts and ranking among the league's top-five in a litany of statistics including strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.8, first), pitching WAR (3.5, second), innings (105, third), WHIP (0.96, third) ERA (fifth),and wins (T-fifth).
Crawford (2006-08) made the cut on the National League All-Star roster for the third time in his career, with previous ASG trips occurring in 2015 and 2018. The 10-year big league veteran is currently putting together the best offensive season of his career, as he's on pace for career-bests in all three slash categories (.275/.355/.537) and already has 17 home runs, just four off his career-high of 21. Only two position players in the National League, San Diego's Fernando Tatis Jr. and Los Angeles's Max Muncy, have generated more WAR than Crawford's 3.6.
Toglia (2017-19) will suit up for the Futures Game on Sunday, Jul. 11, with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m. PT. A first round choice by the Rockies in the 2019 MLB Draft, Toglia is in his second pro season in the Colorado organization. He's launched 10 home runs this season with the Spokane Indians, tied for the second-most among all players in the High-A West League. He opened the 2021 campaign by homering in four of his first five games, earning a spot on MLB Pipeline's Prospect Team of the Week. He is Colorado's No. 3 overall prospect per MLB Pipeline.
In addition, the MLB Draft will be held at MLB All-Star Week for the first time ever. The 2021 iteration of the draft begins Sunday with the first round and Competitive Balance Round A, followed by rounds 2-10 on Monday and rounds 11-20 on Tuesday. Television coverage (MLB Network, ESPN) for Sunday begins at 4:00 p.m. PT, with all Monday and Tuesday picks to be announced on MLB.com.
Stay tuned to @UCLABaseball on Twitter for Bruin-related All-Star game updates throughout the weekend.