The MLB All-Star Game needs Elly De La Cruz, plus the draft makes history

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Day 1 of the draft is behind us, and the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game lie ahead. It’s time for a baseball vacation (wherein we … watch more baseball and baseball-adjacent activities). I’m Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal — welcome to The Windup!

MLB Draft Day 1

After much curiosity, impatience and pontification, the first 70 picks of this year’s MLB draft have been completed. For a full rundown of the first day’s action, you can read through our live blog, curated by Keith Law, Maria Torres and others, but here’s a quick list of the Top 10 picks:

Skenes and Crews made history, becoming the first teammates to be drafted first and second in the draft. For sixth pick Wilson, it was a homecoming of sorts; he was present at the draft in Seattle where his dad, Jack, played with the Mariners from 2009-11.

There was a lot of buzz in the days before the draft that Langford might leapfrog the LSU duo and go first, but ultimately, the early inclinations were right — Langford fell to the Rangers at No. 4, with Jenkins rounding out the top five, all five of whom many analysts suggested could have been first overall picks most years.

Our writers also have stories on Nolan Schanuel (No. 11, Angels), Arjun Nimmala (No. 20, Blue Jays)

For more on the draft, here’s Keith with analysis of== every first-round pick, and a look at the best prospects remaining on Day 2.

Ken’s Notebook: Put Elly De La Cruz in the All-Star Game

Know who would spice up the All-Star Game, make the event must-watch TV?

You guessed it: Elly De La Cruz.

Oh, I know De La Cruz has played only 30 games. Heck, he arguably is the Reds’ fourth most-deserving rookie, behind Spencer Steer, Matt McLain and Andrew Abbott. But because of injuries to Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Yordan Alvarez and Clayton Kershaw, the game already is lacking some serious star power. A total of 13 All-Stars have withdrawn for one reason or another. So can someone please put De La Cruz on a plane to Seattle, ASAP?

Admittedly, I will be part of the broadcast as a field reporter for Fox Sports, so I come at this argument with a certain bias. But the All-Star Game takes place at a time of year when baseball commands center stage in the sporting landscape, and is supposed to be a showcase for the best the game has to offer.

Who better to showcase it than a player who stole second, third and home in a span of about 30 seconds Saturday, who produced an .887 OPS in his first 135 plate appearances, who breaks Statcast seemingly every other night?

Spare me the argument that De La Cruz, because of his lack of experience, isn’t “deserving.” With all the withdrawals, we’re up to 77 All-Stars, just shy of 10 percent of the major-league population. Because I’m in a polite mood, I will refrain from naming all those who could be categorized as undeserving. But let’s just say that to count them all, I would need more than one hand.

The player ballot dictates many injury replacements, which is how the game ended up with Geraldo Perdomo instead of Francisco Lindor as the substitute for NL shortstop Dansby Swanson. But at some level, the league should take greater control, especially when the game is a promotional vehicle. And if feelings get hurt, so be it.

The 2023 All-Star Game would become a heck of a lot more interesting if someone woke up and made sure Elly De La Cruz joined the party.

Weekend Round-Up

What an adventure-packed weekend it was across the league. If you missed it doing other things, don’t worry — here’s a quick catch-up:

• It’s not the first time this year that the phrases “Detroit Tigers” and “no hitters” have been associated with one another (Detroit ranks 28th in team OPS and runs scored), but this time, it was the good kind: Matt Manning, Jason Foley and Alex Lange teamed up to blank the Blue Jays for the 20th combined no-hitter in MLB history (for context: there have been 24 perfect games). For Tigers manager A.J. Hinch, it wasn’t a first; he has managed six no-hitters — second-most in MLB history (Walter Alston, seven)

• Elly De La Cruz stole three bases in the same at-bat (including a steal of third that evolved into a steal of home when the Brewers weren’t paying attention). De La Cruz became the first since Rod Carew in 1961 to accomplish this feat. The last member of the Reds to steal all three bases in the same inning? How about 1919 when everyone’s favorite college freshman roommate Greasy Neale.

• The Phillies were riding high after winning the first game of their series against the Marlins, but Miami won the next two games, and now lead Philadelphia by 3.5 games for second place in the NL East. Speaking of that division, the Mets didn’t face a “must-win” situation on Sunday, but their loss to the Padres was significant.

• Staying in New York: Giancarlo Stanton hit a ball 118.1 mph. Meanwhile, Toronto’s Alek Manoah made his return to the big leagues in Detroit, giving up one run on five hits in six innings, striking out eight and walking none.

• Adolis García was named to the AL All-Star starting lineup to replace the injured Mike Trout, giving the Rangers five starters for Tuesday’s game. They’re the fifth team in history to have five starters, and the first to do so since the 1976 Reds.

Yankees Fire Hitting Coach

Despite that Stanton blast, the Yankees are hitting the break with a bit of a limp. They’re just one game out of a wild-card position, so all is far from lost, but as Chris Kirschner lays out here, there are a number of glaring issues still in need of a solution if they want to be a dangerous team in October.

One of those issues has been the offense, something GM Brian Cashman took steps to address on Sunday, when the team fired their hitting coach Dillon Lawson. Their search for a replacement is reportedly down to two, and Cashman says he hopes to have a replacement named by the time the team opens the second half.

The rotation is another, beyond Gerrit Cole. The return of Carlos Rodón should help quite a bit — he gave up two runs in 5 1/3 innings on a limited pitch count over the weekend, making his first start as a Yankee after spending the last three-plus months on the IL  — but the firing of a coach midseason (something Cashman has never done in his time at the helm of the Yankees) is a big message: This isn’t good enough.

It also brings up the question: If things don’t improve quickly, is Aaron Boone next in line?

Handshakes and High Fives

The Dodgers have optioned rookie second baseman Miguel Vargas to the minor leagues. So, what’s the plan to replace him? Fabian Ardaya has you covered.

When Adolis García and Randy Arozarena face off in the first round of the Home Run Derby tonight, it won’t be the first time they’ve met. They played against each other in their native Cuba, and became best friends when they were roommates in the Cardinals system.

All-Star profiles: Julio Rodríguez is the hometown hero, and the face of the franchise as Seattle hosts the Midsummer Classic. Clayton Kershaw won’t pitch (he’s on the IL with a shoulder issue), but he continues to teach and mentor young pitchers.

The Futures Game happened on Saturday, we have takeaways from Keith Law and Jim Bowden.

The Phillies have decided to be shady about media access when it comes to pitchers Andrew Painter and Noah Song, and their rehab assignments as they attempt to return from injury. Shortly after that story came out, Painter was shut down and sent for further testing.

The Braves are at 60-29, and have the best record in baseball. Spencer Strider is “exceeding unfair expectations”. All is well in Atlanta. But that doesn’t mean they’re not ready for Max Fried to return to the rotation.

(Top photo of Elly De La Cruz: John Fisher / Getty Images)