Angels’ Dan Haren thinks Jered Weaver will be starter for All-Star game

Dan Haren said he would be “shocked” if Jered Weaver, who is 11-4 with a major league-leading 1.86 earned-run average, doesn’t start Tuesday night’s All-Star game for the American League.

If the Angels ace does get the prestigious assignment, which comes with more notoriety, attention and pressure, it might actually be less stressful than pitching out of the bullpen.

Haren should know. The Angels right-hander started the 2007 All-Star game for the AL in San Francisco, giving up one run and two hits, striking out two and walking one in a 5-4 AL victory.

Haren also pitched for the National League in the 2009 game in St. Louis, giving up one hit in a scoreless fourth inning of a game the AL won, 4-3.

“Starting the game in 2007 was awesome because you pitch and then you can sit back and really enjoy the game,” Haren said. “When you’re in the bullpen, it can be nerve-racking. In 2009, every time the bullpen phone rang, everyone jumped up.”

Haren, who is 9-5 with a 2.65 ERA and is coming off a two-hit, nine-strikeout, no-walk shutout of Detroit on Tuesday night, is one of several Angels who are having what Manager Mike Scioscia considers All-Star seasons but who weren’t named to the AL team.

But Haren, a three-time All-Star, is scheduled to start Sunday against Seattle ace Felix Hernandez in the final game before the break, so he won’t be eligible to pitch in the All-Star game.

“I don’t want to say I’m not disappointed because it’s an honor to go, and it’s fun for the family,” Haren said. “But the guys going for us deserved it, and it will be nice for me to take a break and come back fresh for the second half.”

Confidence game

The risk in calling up 19-year-old Mike Trout so soon is that a prolonged slump could damage his confidence and perhaps hinder his long-term development.

But because Trout is not expected to be in Anaheim for more than two weeks, the Angels don’t think he’ll be affected by failure.

“There’s always a possibility young players are going to struggle,” Scioscia said.”But I haven’t met a young player who has come up and struggled for a short amount of time, that hasn’t gone down and been better for it.”

Scioscia, a former catcher, was 21 when he was called up for the Dodgers for the first time, and his biggest challenge was learning opposing pitchers.

“Everyone has good stuff,” Scioscia said. “You’re learning release points, backgrounds of stadiums, tendencies of pitchers, how the ball spins, are they going to throw a 2-0 slider or fastball? Learning on the fly, and that’s the only way to learn.”

Short hops

Reliever Fernando Rodney, on the disabled list since June 9 because of an upper-back strain, could throw off a bullpen mound Sunday if he experiences no setbacks from throwing off flat ground, Scioscia said. Because he has been sidelined for a month, Rodney is expected to pitch in a minor league rehabilitation assignment before rejoining the Angels.

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Times staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.