Dan Duquette on the Orioles' All-Stars

It's become a point of pride in the Orioles' organization, the way they stack up among other teams in All-Star selections since the 2012 season. Add five more to the ledger this year.

Manny Machado is starting at third base for the American League, and the reserves include outfielder Mark Trumbo and catcher Matt Wieters. The bullpen includes closer Zach Britton and do-everything reliever Brad Brach.

The Orioles have fielded 20 All-Stars over the past five seasons, ranking first in the American League and second in the majors behind the Cardinals (23). In that span, 12 different players have been named All-Stars, tied for second-most in the majors behind the Cardinals (15).

"We could have had more, but since 2012 we're really proud of the fact that the Orioles have had more All-Stars than any other team in the American League," said executive vice president Dan Duquette.

"We've had players have good years and they've' done a good job representing the Orioles at the All-Star Game. It's nice to see the league recognize the performance of the team. Britton, Wieters and Manny have been on a couple All-Star teams each. Brach, it's obviously his first. We're proud of all our guys, but we're proud that the league is recognizing our players on a team that has been better than any other team in the American League since 2012."

You can look it up, too. The Orioles have 405 wins in that span to lead the AL and rank fourth in the majors.

Duquette had to smile at Brach's inclusion after acquiring the right-hander from the Padres on Nov. 25, 2013 for minor league pitcher Devin Jones. Did anyone make a big deal out of this deal?

Brach is 6-1 with a 0.91 ERA in 40 appearances this season, with five earned runs and 26 hits in 49 1/3 inning. He's walked 15 (one intentional) and stuck out 58. He's also stranded 18 of 19 inherited runners.

Brach got into trouble yesterday when Trumbo committed a two-base error on Kole Calhoun's leadoff single. Brach struck out Mike Trout on three pitches, induced a sacrifice fly from Albert Pujols, walked Daniel Nava and retired Ji-man Choi on a long fly ball.

The inning really could have gotten away from him, a game might have been lost, but the Orioles emerged victorious again while Brach again lowered his ERA.

"He earned the honor," Duquette said. "He's worked so hard to develop into one of the top pitchers in the league. He's improved each year he's been with us. He had a decent year in '14, he had a good year in 2015 and he's really put it all together in 2016. He trained hard in the offseason, he works diligently on his conditioning in-season and it doesn't surprise me that he's having success because he's really prepared to be successful.

"Brach's (18-5) since he came to us. He's really got some good numbers, but you can see the improvement every year. He's having a really strong year."

Trumbo is strong like bull, as he'll demonstrate tonight in the Home Run Derby. He's the No. 1 seed, an honor bestowed upon the man who leads the majors with 28 homers.

Duquette also traded for Trumbo, giving up backup catcher Steve Clevenger while also getting left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser from the Mariners on Dec. 2. Riefenhauser is pitching for Triple-A Iowa in the Cubs system.

Trumbo singled and walked twice yesterday. He's batting .288/.341/.582 with 16 doubles, 28 home runs and 68 RBIs in 87 games.

"Obviously, he enjoys being around our club," Duquette said. "He's having a good year. He's hitting better, he's getting on base more with us than he did with the other clubs. He had a great year in '12 and it looks like he might do even better this year than he did in '12. He's been a real solid contributor to the club in the middle of the lineup. He's got some marquee value leading the league in home runs."

Trumbo batted .250/.299/.469 in 460 games with the Angels and .243/.295/.446 in 134 games with the Diamondbacks. He's been a better hitter than advertised, going to all fields and finding the gaps as much as the seats.

"I think the depth of the lineup helps," Duquette said. "He's shown pretty good patience at the plate. Certainly, clubs have to plan to get out a number of hitters in our lineup. They can't just focus on one, so sometimes when there's a stronger surrounding cast, it helps individual players perform better.

"He worked hard and he's having a good year. I think he's hitting the ball a little bit more consistently with us than he did with some other clubs that he's been with."