San Diego Padres: Craig Stammen Named All-MLB

This year’s Yahoo Sports All-MLB team featured one member of the San Diego Padres.

It may not be officially recognized by Major League Baseball, however, Jeff Passan’s second-annual All-MLB Team is a great way to recognize many outstanding performances from some of the best baseball players around the league. This year’s selections featured just one member of the San Diego Padres, relief pitcher Craig Stammen.

Per Jeff Passan himself, the All-MLB team was selected by a team of 60 voters, consisting of coaches, players, scouts, writers, General Managers, analysts, and more. They compiled First-Team, Second-Team, and Third-Team selections, with Craig Stammen being named as a Third-Team All-MLB reliever.

Stammen joins many phenomenal names on the third-team, including Aaron Judge, Andrelton Simmons, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Luis Severino, Patrick Corbin, and more.

The 34-year-old reliever finished the best season of his career last week, posting a 2.3 fWAR (lead the entire Padres roster) and a career-high eight wins out of the pen. He recorded a 2.73 ERA (2.19 FIP) and 88 strikeouts across 79 innings as he led the way for one of the best bullpens in team history.

More from Friars on Base

• Padres barely missed out on high-end veteran starting pitcher
• This veteran DH target seems ideal for contending Padres roster
• Padres got steal with Xander Bogaerts after Carlos Correa’s mega-deal
• Failed Padres top prospect makes stunning return with minor league deal
• Padres fail to land ideal Xander Bogaerts teammate at catcher

Clearly, Stammen felt better than ever, another year removed from flexor tendon surgery that caused him to miss the entire 2015 season. Compared to his 2017 average velocity numbers, his fastball was the highest it had been since 2013 (91.7 mph), the slider was just over one mph faster (86.9), and his curveball and changeup both saw upticks of approximately two miles per hour (81 mph curve, 88.7 mph changeup).

It may not be an official MLB award, however, it is positive to know that Stammen’s peers, national writers, and more recognize his achievements this season. San Diego Padres fans now must wait and see if the organization brings him back next season or trades him while his value is still high.

Stammen has openly stated that he wants to remain with the Padres and help lead the young relief corps to a championship season.

You can view all of the 2018 All-MLB selections here. As Passan mentions in the article, the Baltimore Orioles, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago White Sox featured zero selections this season.