2013 All-Star Selection: Catcher Jason Castro Is Astros Representative

Catcher Jason Castro was named to his first all-star as a reserve player on the American League all-star roster. Castro's 2.1 wins above replacement (WAR) currently leads the team, by a lot. On the season Castro .269 batting average, a .331 on-base percentage and a .473 slugging percentage with 11 home runs and 28 runs batted in. His 11 home runs is tied for second on the team with third basemen Matt Dominguez.

Castro becomes the Astros first American League All-Star representative in franchise history and the first catcher to represent the Astros since Craig Biggio in 1991.

Last years Astros all-star representative, Jose Altuve, is currently fourth on the team in WAR among position players. He's behind Castro, Carlos Corporan and Brandon Barnes. It could be argued that Altuve's struggles the past month dampened his chances of making the all-star team, since June 8, Altuve has hit .263/.295/.293.

No Astros pitchers were selected to the AL All-Star roster. That doesn't preclude an Astros pitcher being added later due to injury or schedule. Some starters will make a start right before the All-Star game, which means they will be unavailable for the All-Star game and will need to be replaced on the roster. Bud Norris has a strong case to be a replacement pitcher on the AL All-Star roster.

Norris currently has a 2.1 WAR in 109 innings pitch, both stats lead all Astros pitchers. His 3.22 earned run average (ERA) also leads the staff but it comes with a 3.50 FIP, a 4.37xFIP and a 4.45 SIERA indicating that some negative regression is in Norris' future. Still he's pitched well to this point in the season and his 2.1 WAR is 13th in the league among American League pitchers.