Minnesota Twins closer Brandon Kintzler has been hanging with the best closers in the American League in 2017. Is it enough to make the AL All-Star team?
The Minnesota Twins are not unfamiliar with having their closer in the All-Star Game. Eddie Guardado, Joe Nathan and Glen Perkins all seemed to be regulars representing the Twins in the midsummer classic. Brandon Kintzler is on pace to carry that torch in 2017.
Kintzler has filled in for an injured Perkins well through the first half of the season. He has appeared in 33 games, pitching 33.1 innings and posting a 2.70 ERA. He has converted 20 saves in 24 opportunities. Kintzler is not a strikeout pitcher, but he pitches effectively when he comes in to finish off Twins wins.
One closer spot is a sure fire pick: Boston’s Craig Kimbrel, who is having an incredible season. Kintzler must compete with others for a remaining spot. Other candidates to make the squad included Toronto’s Roberto Osuna, Kansas City’s Kelvin Herrera, Tampa Bay’s Alex Colome and Cleveland’s Cody Allen. Kintzler is hanging with all of those guys.
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He has more saves than all of those “other” options except Colome, who has the same amount. His ERA is only behind Osuna’s. His team is also leading their division, which can only be said about Allen, who plays in the same division. Allen, however, has had a ton of help from set up man Andrew Miller who is arguably the best at his job in baseball.
He stands alone in the Minnesota bullpen.
Kintzler is the lone bright spot in the Twins’ bullpen. He shines brighter than the rest by a long shot. The Twins have the second worst bullpen ERA in baseball with a 4.93 mark. Because of this, Kintzler seems to be one of the most valuable relievers to his respective team. That should help him shine brighter than the others.
Cleveland, Allen’s squad, has the best bullpen ERA in the league. Toronto ranks ninth. Kansas City and Tampa Bay rank 18th and 22nd, which is not anything impressive but much better than Minnesota’s. While all of these closers are candidates for a spot on the All-Star team, Kintzler is the glue that holds his bullpen together.
Kintzler is right in the thick of All-Star qualifications with all of the closers behind Craig Kimbrel. What helps set him apart is the turnaround of his team into a division leader and the fact he is the lone bright spot in the bullpen he pitches in. The Twins bullpen is so bad it is hard for Kintzler to get save opportunities, unless the starter pitches deep into a game with a lead. He is not blessed with great guys in front of him, or even reliable guys for that matter.
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If Kintzler is selected to the American League team, he probably won’t be the only Twins representative. Miguel Sano and Ervin Santana have made cases for themselves. That could also hurt Kintzler chances, as every MLB team has a representative. Hopefully, he won’t get bumped for a closer on a worse off team with no true All-Stars. If he does, he could definitely be viewed as a snub. He has been a pleasant surprise and, hopefully, he keeps it up.