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Jason Kipnis will head to the All-Star Game as the AL's Player of the Month in June and one of baseball's hottest hitters.

(Gail Burton, Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis and right-hander Justin Masterson can check off a big box on their career to-do lists.

Kipnis and Masterson are All-Stars for the first time, the announcement coming Saturday night. The American League's starting second baseman, as voted by the fans, will be Robinson Cano of the Yankees.

The All-Star Game unfolds July 16 at Citi Field in New York.

Kipnis entered Saturday afternoon's game against Detroit batting .300 with 13 homers and 54 RBI in 76 games. He was riding a 16-game hitting streak and 36-game on-base streak -- both career bests.

Masterson is 10-7 with a 3.78 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 19 starts. He was rocked Friday night against the Tigers in front of American League manager Jim Leyland, but it ended up not costing him.

"Kip and Masty absolutely deserve to be All-Stars,'' Tribe reliever Joe Smith said. "Kip's been carrying us offensively, and Masty's been our leader in the rotation.''

Catcher Carlos Santana, who entered Saturday at .270 with 10 homers, 38 RBI and 49 walks, was the Tribe's only other legitimate All-Star candidate.

Justin Masterson has rebounded nicely from a disappointing 2012 season, earning an All-Star nod on Saturday.

The Indians have two representatives for a third straight year. Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and closer Chris Perez went in 2011 and 2012.

Kipnis dealt with injuries to both elbows and batted .200 with one homer and four RBI in 17 games in April. He turned it up in May (.261, seven homers, 22 RBI) before inhabiting Planet Miguel Cabrera in June.

Kipnis hit .419 (39-for-93) with 12 doubles, one triple, four homers and 25 RBI in 27 games last month. He scored 17 runs, stole nine bases and drew 20 walks. The American League named him its player of the month. He became the first Indian to earn the monthly award since Shin-Soo Choo in September 2008.

Among AL candidates with a minimum of 81 June plate appearances, Kipnis ranked first in batting average and on-base percentage (.517), tied for first in hits and was second in doubles, RBI, slugging percentage (.699) and extra base hits (17).

"You guys keep asking me this question about what happened,” Kipnis said earlier this week. “There was no drastic change in approach or my swing. In the past, I’ve been prone to getting greedy with some swings or going away from the approach that’s working in certain situations.

“This time I’ve stayed with the same plan, against lefties or righties.”

When Kipnis struggled in April, Indians manager Terry Francona preached patience.

"Guys have a way of getting to their level,'' Francona said. "That's just how this game is. And sometimes guy do things and get better. Kip is turning into one of the best players in the game. It's exciting.''

The Indians drafted Kipnis in the second round in 2009 out of Arizona State. He made his major-league debut in 2011 and finished with a .272 average in 36 games.

Masterson ranks among AL leaders in starts, victories, losses, strikeouts, innings (128.2), complete games (three) and shutouts (three). The Indians acquired Masterson from Boston in the Victor Martinez trade July 31, 2009. He primarily was a reliever, but the Indians wanted him to start.

Masterson was 1-7 with the Tribe to finish 2009. He went 6-13 with a 4.70 ERA in 34 appearances (29 starts) in 2010. He appeared to have turned the corner in 2011, going 12-10 with a 3.21 ERA in 34 games (33 starts) but struggled last year, going 11-15 with a 4.93 ERA in 34 starts.

Masterson, 28, relied heavily on a two-seam/four-seam mix in 2012. He needed another pitch to get hitters, especially lefties, off the fastballs, and added a slider that has been effective.