Around the Curve | Altoona Well Represented in Mid-Summer Classic

CURVE, Pa. – Every year, the midsummer classic marks the unofficial end of the first half of the baseball calendar. This year, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game returned to Arlington for the first time in 29 years, and Altoona was well represented.

Four players nominated to participate in the game have had their careers take them through Altoona over the years. Bryan Reynolds and Paul Skenes represented Pittsburgh in the game, while Tylar Glasnow joined them on the National League Team. Clay Holmes was selected for the American League squad.

It is the sixth time that Altoona has had four All-Stars in the game, matching the most in a single game in franchise history. The Curve have had alumni in every Major League All-Star game since 2008.

REYNOLDS

It was the second All-Star appearance for Reynolds, who was voted into the game in Colorado in 2021 and started in center field in place of injured Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. He has been the best offensive weapon for the Pirates this season, especially since the beginning of June.

At the time of the All-Star break, Reynolds was second among National League outfielders in home runs, and T-9^th overall in the National League. He was also third in OPS (.834,) fourth in batting average (.284,) and T-4^th in doubles (19) among NL outfielders.

He holds the longest hitting streak in the Major Leagues this season, sporting a 25-game stretch in June where he hit .343 with 15 extra-base hits and 16 RBI. Reynolds smacked a single into left field in his first at-bat in the game, playing for four innings and finishing 1-for-2.

After being acquired in the Andrew McCutchen trade in 2017, Reynolds quickly made his way to the Curve roster. He went on to suit up for 88 games with Altoona, where he hit .302 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs in 2018.

SKENES

Reynolds’s Pirates teammate Paul Skenes may be a rookie, but he is quickly becoming one of the games biggest names. Exactly 364 days from the day the Pirates made Skenes the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, he started the All-Star game for the National League.

He was just the fifth rookie pitcher to start the game since it was established in 1933, and the first since 1995, when Dodgers RHP Hideo Nomo started the last All-Star game played in Arlington.

The Pirates ace was as advertised in the start, facing the top four American League batters and working a scoreless inning with two pop outs and a groundout. Juan Soto drew a full-count walk to allow Aaron Judge to face Skenes for the first time in his career, resulting in a groundout.

Skenes is also the first Pirates rookie pitcher to be named an All-Star. The first 11 starts of Skenes’s career have been outstanding, giving him a 6-0 record with a 1.90 ERA at the break. He has 89 strikeouts in 66.1 innings. His final outing before the game was an 11-strikeout performance over seven no-hit innings in Milwaukee.

Skenes suited up just two times for the Curve before being shut down for the remainder of the 2023 season. During his time with the ball club, he finished with an ERA of 13.50 accompanied by five hits, five strikeouts, and two walks. It should be noted that the only time Skenes appeared in front of an Altoona crowd is now the franchise record for the biggest recorded attendance in Peoples Natural Gas Field history, at a whopping 10,164 fans.

GLASNOW

Reflecting on one of the All-Stars not traveling from Pittsburgh, former Curve RHP Tyler Glasnow celebrated his first All-Star nomination this season. Unfortunately, the Dodgers ace did not participate in the game due to injury.

2024 is Glasnow’s first year with Los Angeles after he spent the last six years in Tampa Bay. In 18 starts, he’s recorded a 3.47 ERA with 143 strikeouts, good for the second most in the National League. He is 8-5 on the year in 109 innings pitched.

During his time with the Curve in 2015, Glasnow highlighted his unique arm in a short time frame. While starting for Altoona, he made 12 starts before being called up to Triple-A Indianapolis. In those starts, he tossed a total of 63 innings, struck out 82 batters, and had an ERA of 2.43.

Two of his best starts came in late July of 2015, when he struck out 10 batters in a start against Erie before following it with a 12-strikeout performance against Akron in his next outing. No Curve pitcher struck out 12 in a game from that point until Braxton Ashcraft did so this season.

HOLMES

Clay Holmes was the only American League player that has suited up for the Curve. It was his second All-Star nod after he represented the Yankees in 2022, but the relief arm did not pitch in the game.

Holmes was one of the American League’s best relief arms to begin the season. In his first 30 appearances, he allowed just four earned runs and 28 hits in 29.1 innings pitched. However, he was not at his sharpest as he went into the break, allowing 11 hits and eight runs in his last 6.2 innings since June 13.

Holmes joins Reynolds in becoming the ninth and tenth Curve alumni to be voted into numerous All-Star games in their Major League career, joining an impressive list that includes Jose Bautista (6), Gerrit Cole (6), Andrew McCutchen (5), Sean Casey (3), Jason Schmidt (3), Starling Marte (2), Josh Harrison (2), and Charlie Morton (2).

Holmes pitched for the Curve primarily in 2016 where he was used as a starter, making 26 starts and finishing the season 10-9 with a 4.22 ERA in 136.1 IP. He returned to Altoona on rehab in 2019, throwing in two games in relief.