Brewers pitcher replaces teammate on All-Star Game roster

The Milwaukee Brewers have been one of the hottest teams in baseball as of late. A large part of their success has been because of their pitching staff.

Brewers ace, Freddy Peralta, was named to the All-Star Game. He has a 2.74 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 19 starts. It was his second All-Star Game selection. However, Peralta is scheduled to pitch on Sunday, which means he would likely be unavailable to pitch in the All-Star Game. He was replaced on the active roster by teammate Trevor Megill.

"Five years in the league now, you see it every year, guys can't throw (in the All-Star Game for various reasons)," Megill said to the reporters after the Brewers' sweep of the Dodgers. "There's always that chance later in the week to sneak in, so I just had to take it slow and play patience a little bit."

Megill is second in the National League in saves, and is the third straight Brewers' closer to make an All-Star game. Josh Hader and Devin Williams were both All-Stars during their time as the Brewers' closer.

Following up two Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award winners is not easy. Megill got a state of the closer's role last year when he picked up 21 saves while Williams was injured.

Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp

Megill has a 2.48 ERA and 40 strikeouts this season. He is having a career year, and noted that his goal at the beginning of the year was to make the All-Star game.

"This was No. 1 for me this year," he said. "This is what I was striving for. A lot of hard work, a lot of pitchers in front of me, putting it down and giving me the opportunities to go out there and get saves. Without the guys around me, this wouldn't be possible."

The Brewers have a 3.68 ERA on the season. That's the 10th best in baseball and sixth best in the National League. They are creeping up on the Chicago Cubs for the NL Central lead, and Megill is a huge reason why.

More MLB: Yankees make Anthony Volpe decision following DJ LeMahieu release