Hunter Goodman named an All-Star for second straight season

Former Tiger catcher Hunter Goodman has been named an All-Star for the second straight season. Goodman is the only player from the Rockies to be named the All-Star Game, and he’s one of three catchers on the roster.

The catcher is hitting .248 with 27 home runs, 50 RBI and 57 runs in 314 at-bats. He has an on-base percentage of .310 and an OPS of .861, and he leads all catchers in home runs this year.

Last year, he was named to his first All-Star Game after batting .277 with 17 home runs and 52 RBI in 85 games. He became the third Tiger in program history to be selected to an All-Star Game, and he’s only the second player to be named to two All-Star Games, joining Dan Uggla, who made the Midsummer Classic in 2006, 2008 and 2012.

Goodman and Milwaukee’s William Contreras will be reserves for the National League team, and Atlanta’s Drake Baldwin will be the NL’s starting backstop.

A week ago, Goodman hit three home runs in the Rockies’ 8-5 win over the Twins. It was the most home runs the catcher has hit in a game, and it took him to 25 home runs on the season. Goodman hit another home run two days later and started July with a homer against the Marlins.

With 27 home runs, he became just the fourth catcher to have 25 or more homers before the All-Star break, joining Johnny Bench, Ivan Rodriguez and Cal Raleigh. 

Goodman is in his fourth major league season, and he’s turned into a vital part of Colorado’s lineup.

After graduating from Arlington High School, Goodman spent three seasons at Memphis, but his sophomore season was cut short due to COVID-19. In 17 games as a sophomore, the catcher hit .357 with eight home runs, 31 RBI and a .416 on-base percentage.

As a junior, he hit .307 with 21 home runs, 51 RBI, 40 runs and a .401 on-base percentage. He had a .678 slugging percentage as a junior, and he finished his collegiate career with a .638 slugging percentage.

He received multiple awards and recognition throughout his career, including being named a Baseball America Freshman All-American, a 2020 Collegiate Baseball All-American and a 2021 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award Watch List.

Goodman was drafted with the 109th pick in the fourth round of the 2021 MLB Draft.

The All-Star Game will be played in Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park on July 14. The game will start at 7 p.m. CT and be broadcast on FOX.