The St. Louis Cardinals have another All-Star heading to the Midsummer Classic–and his name is Riley O’Brien.
O’Brien, 31, had a breakout season last year down the stretch, and even mounted a few saves for the Cardinals.
This year, he’s followed up his success with a great first half. O’Brien leads the National League in saves, and after a bit of a skid, he’s back on track for St. Louis.
The Cardinals bullpen has had a plethora of issues this year, but O’Brien hasn’t been one of them.
Now, he’s got the recognition to back his glorious season, and although there have been rumors swirling about the potential for a trade, O’Brien has been a tremendous Cardinal.
Fans are going crazy over the late selection.
Social Media Reacts to O’Brien’s Late All-Star Nod
Here’s what people are saying:
Just Baseball: “Riley O’Brien has been added to the NL All-Star team as a replacement! His 22 saves are tied with Mason Miller for the most in the National League.”
Dealin’ The Cards: “Riley O’Brien has been selected to the National League All-Star team as a replacement. Congrats, Riley!”
Jeff Jones: “MLB says Riley O’Brien has been named to the NL All-Star team. Incredible achievement for a guy playing his first full big league season at 31.”
St. Louis Cardinals: “The National League leader in saves is headed to the All-Star Game Congrats to Riley O’Brien on being named to the National League All-Star Team!”
Brenden Schaeffer: “Cardinals closer Riley O’Brien is an All-Star. Tied for the NL lead in saves with 22, O’Brien is heading to Philly. Very cool.”
NAIA Ball: “From #NAIABall to the MLB All-Star Game! Congratulations to @GoYotesBB alum Riley O’Brien on being selected to the National League All-Star Team! O’Brien spent two seasons with the Yotes in 2016 and 2017 racking up 141 strikeouts and a 2.70 ERA in 136.2 career IP @YoteAthletics @CCCSports @RileyyOBrienn.”
MLB: “Braxton Ashcraft, Jesús Luzardo and Riley O’Brien have all been named to the NL All-Star team! They replace Jacob Misiorowski, Max Meyer and Paul Skenes on the roster.”
STLToday Sports News: “NL adds closer Riley O’Brien All-Star roster, making it a trio of Cardinals bound for Philly.”
Quinn: “There are 3 Cardinals I expected to have a chance of being added to the ASG roster, and Riley O’Brien was not one of them. Good for him though, he’s been a highlight of these past few years.”
Jacob Cersosimo: “The #stlcards get another All-Star! Riley O’Brien gets his first All-Star nod after posting a 3.72 ERA & having 22 saves in the first half. Well deserved honor for O’Brien.”
Cardinals Right Now
The Cardinals dropped their third game in a row to the Brewers tonight, by a futile score of 10-2.
The Brewers walloped St. Louis, and swept a doubleheader. The Cardinals haven’t been able to mount much momentum as of late, and have been about a .500 team for over a month.
If the Cardinals want to play October baseball, and not sell at the deadline, they’ll have to turn things around. The clock is ticking.
St. Louis Cardinals’ Riley O’Brien Named to All-Star Game