Sandy's trophy case grows with All-MLB nod

MIAMI -- Add another accolade to Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara's growing resume.

Alcantara was named to the 2022 All-MLB First Team along with American League pitchers Justin Verlander, Shohei Ohtani, Framber Valdez and Alek Manoah on Monday. Fans and a panel of experts voted on the All-MLB Teams, considering only regular-season performance when casting ballots.

• All-MLB Team presented by Arm & Hammer and OxiClean

Last month, Alcantara became the first pitcher in franchise history to win the National League Cy Young Award, doing so in unanimous fashion. He also earned the Juan Marichal Award, an honor given to the most outstanding Dominican player in Major League Baseball.

Across 32 starts, Alcantara recorded his second consecutive 200-strikeout season and compiled the second-lowest ERA in the NL (2.28). His MLB highs for innings (228 2/3) and complete games (six) were the most in the Majors in six years. Alcantara's 2022 campaign marked the first time in AL/NL history a pitcher threw more complete games than every club that season. During one stretch from May 11-July 15, he went at least seven innings in 13 consecutive outings -- the longest span in the Majors since 2014.

The 27-year-old Alcantara, who also made the All-Star team for the second time, led all Major League pitchers in Baseball-Reference's WAR (8.0) and finished fourth in FanGraphs' version (5.7).