Cronenworth, Melancon, Yu earn ASG nods

PHILADELPHIA -- Here's a sure sign that things have changed in San Diego:

On Sunday night, Major League Baseball unveiled its rosters for the 2021 All-Star Game, and it's the Padres -- yes, the Padres -- who will send the most players of any National League team to the Midsummer Classic later this month.

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Right-handers Yu Darvish and Mark Melancon and second baseman Jake Cronenworth will join Fernando Tatis Jr. at Coors Field for the 2021 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on July 13. Tatis was elected as a starter earlier this week, while Cronenworth, Melancon and Darvish were announced in a selection show on Sunday night.

"It's just a testament to the group we have," Cronenworth said. "There's plenty of deserving guys, you can just go down the list."

Indeed, the Padres had nearly twice as many candidates as the four they sent -- with Manny Machado, Joe Musgrove and Tommy Pham among those who just missed out. Still, the four players selected were the most for the franchise since 1998. They hadn’t sent more than two since 2007.

Tatis and Cronenworth will be first-timers at the All-Star Game, an exciting prospect for two of the sport's rising stars. Meanwhile, Darvish and Melancon -- veterans that they are -- will be making their fifth and fourth trips, respectively.

"To be able to go to the All-Star Game again … I’m just very happy and honored," said Darvish through a team interpreter.

The Padres traded for Darvish in December, fresh off his second place finish in voting for the National League Cy Young Award. He’s been every bit the ace they acquired him to be. Darvish posted a 2.65 ERA across 17 first-half starts, with the Padres winning 13 of those outings. It'll be Darvish's first trip to the All-Star Game since 2017.

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As for Melancon, who leads the Majors with 25 saves, his last trip to the Midsummer Classic came five years ago in San Diego. This one is particularly special, he said, because his children are old enough to appreciate it. He said his 9-year-old daughter -- who watches every pitch -- cried tears of joy.

Melancon, a Colorado native, was at the 1998 All-Star Game as a fan, the last time it was held at Coors Field. He was 13 and says his most vivid memory was the Beanie Baby giveaway that he and his friends tried hawking on the concourse.

"This is really special," Melancon said. "Now I get to attend it, actually being in the game. Pretty cool honor to be in Colorado and be elected to that game."

As for Cronenworth, his story is perhaps the most remarkable of the four Padres selected. He was a seventh-round selection in the 2015 Draft, then was viewed mostly as a throw-in in the November '19 deal that also brought Pham to San Diego.

As it turned out, Cronenworth was so much more than just a throw-in. Since his 2020 debut, he has become one of the most complete players in the National League -- an excellent defender and a force at the plate, who has added power to his game this season. He's hitting .278/.353/.462 with 12 homers.

"If you'd asked me coming out of college or high school, or even last year before the season started, I would've never thought I would've been an All-Star or even starting in the big leagues,” Cronenworth said. “Maybe just a role player, just helping the team out. I guess I'm here now, so I don't really know how to explain it."

Here's one way: Cronenworth is an immensely valuable baseball player, and the numbers back it up. His 3.1 bWAR entering play Sunday was tops among all primary second basemen in the National League.

Now Cronenworth will join Tatis, his double-play partner, on one of the sport’s biggest stages -- marking the first time in franchise history two Padres middle infielders have reached the same All-Star Game.

"It's so cool to see those guys get their first opportunity,” Melancon said. “My advice is just: Take it all in and enjoy it."

With four All-Stars, the Padres fell one short of Boston for the most in the Majors -- a testament to the franchise’s turnaround over the past two seasons. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, no All-Star Game was held last summer. But in the nine seasons prior, only one Midsummer Classic featured multiple Padres, the 2016 edition in San Diego.

“That tells how deep we are as an organization, as a team,” Darvish said of the four selections. “I think there are a lot of players out there that are well-deserving to become All-Stars. For us to have four, it shows the depth of our team.”