They shouldn’t book their trips to Cancun for the All-Star break just yet.
At the same time, the many overqualified ballplayers who failed to earn selections to the American or National League All-Star teams when rosters were announced Saturday, July 4 shouldn’t have to play the waiting game.
Advertisement
But that’s life in the big leagues, where limited roster spaces and occasional mess-ups by fan or player voting can leave deserving players frozen out of the Midsummer Classic, played this year on July 14 in Philadelphia. Many players, of course, will be named as injury or starting-pitcher replacements.
For now, though, they are the legion of the snubbed, deserving but for now losers in the numbers game. Let’s explore eight players who should be Philly-bound one week from now:
Let’s get the homer pick out of the way. Wheeler has not only been great but is a great story, returning from thoracic outlet syndrome and surgery to remove a rib better than ever. Wheeler has racked up 3.8 WAR in 13 starts, posted a 0.94 WHIP and given up two or fewer runs in 10 of 13 starts.
Advertisement
It’s almost like his peers slept on Wheeler, who didn’t return until April 25, yet has been nearly untouchable since. We’re guessing Wheels isn’t too broken up over the omission; he could have started the 2025 game but opted to get himself ready for the second half. This time, he’s due to pitch next Tuesday and Sunday, which if the schedule holds will take him out of consideration to be added to the roster.
Wheeler has said he’ll retire after 2027; a fourth All-Star nod would have appropriately enhanced his stellar resume, and a ovation from his home crowd in Philly would have been poignant.
Michael Harris II, CF, Braves
The All-Star selection show led right into a Braves-Mets game, during which Harris homered, banged out three hits, and turned in for the night sitting on a .301 average and .841 OPS.
Advertisement
Yet he was narrowly outpointed in fan voting by Dodgers center fielder Andy Pages, with whom he’s tied with six outs above average in center field, trailing only two NL center fielders. It’s a tough break for the 2022 NL Rookie of the Year, and a bit of a surprise he fell through the cracks in player voting. Sure, the Braves will be well-represented, with five picks. Perhaps they’ll get a sixth.
We’ve nominated Turang to head up the association of aggrieved second basemen, which counts Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt and Pirates slugger Brandon Lowe among those with equally compelling cases. Wetherholt leads this group with 3.8 WAR and is tied for the major league lead with a startling 17 outs above average.
Lowe has slugged 20 homers with an .812 OPS; Turang has a .361 OBP and .813 OPS. The trio all have slightly stronger cases than fan electee Ozzie Albies, who will represent just fine. Simply, it’s a good year for the position.
Advertisement
The Miz, he’s not: Gray does not even strike out a batter an inning, which partially explains the gulf between his 2.69 ERA and his 3.58 fielding independent pitching. So sue him: Gray, at 36, is precision personified, and has been even more terrific since returning from a hamstring strain, completing at least seven innings his past three starts.
You want fireworks in Philly? Invite this guy.
For real, though, Contreras has been a force for Boston, slamming 19 homers, posting a .914 OPS that’s right on the heels of first base picks Nick Kurtz and Ben Rice and driving in 56 runs. Boston’s disappointing season probably doesn’t deserve many more All-Stars, let alone two additional picks, but Willson is worthy of joining his brother William a second time as All-Stars.
Advertisement
You’d think four All-Stars would be enough for the Tampa Bay Rays, but the AL is simply that bad and the Rays that good – at 52-34, four games better than the next-best Yankees.
But it doesn’t seem right that the Rays’ holy trinity in their lineup is missing a piece. Junior Caminero, Yandy Diaz and Aranda are the muscle that motors Tampa Bay, and Aranda ranks sixth in the AL with a .390 OBP and has an outstanding 134 adjusted OPS.
Talk about showing up to the polls only to see the door slammed in your face: Gilbert flirted with a perfect game Saturday, allowing one base runner in seven innings against Toronto to lower his ERA to 3.19. Of course, by then the player votes had long been tabulated and the ink dry on MLB’s press release announcing the rosters.
Advertisement
Alas, Gilbert’s resume looks really good right now, trailing only All-Star Michael Wacha in innings pitched while spinning a 0.95 WHIP that ranks second to another All-Star, Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen. When the company you keep are all All-Stars, well, you probably deserve to be one, too.
Hey, let’s make it six Rays, eh?
Once again, the Rays who did make it were plenty deserving, including Rasmussen and closer Bryan Baker, the outmaker, who suddenly has 23 saves and a 0.82 WHIP.
But Martinez has absolutely been nails, giving up two or fewer runs in his first 11 starts. Tampa Bay is 13-4 in his starts, which makes sense given he’s had just one semi-blowup. With just 72 strikeouts in 100 innings, Martinez won’t break anyone’s radar gun, but his journey from a 2014 debut with Texas that included a four-year detour in Japan made him the pitcher he is – highly effective.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: MLB All-Star snubs: More Phillies, Braves and Rays? Absolutely.
