Despite what the headline of this article may say, the fact of the matter is not every MLB team has a reason to feel upset about the All-Star Game rosters, the full versions of which were unveiled Sunday. That being said, every team’s fans probably have (at least) one player in mind they feel aggrieved didn’t make the cut. And that’s fair; there is an infinite amount of ways to divvy up the roster spots to different positions in each league and slice the statistics to make the case for different players. I’ll try to make the case for each team’s most deserving player who, as of now, won’t be making the trip to Los Angeles next week.
Due to injuries and replacements for pitchers slated to start next Sunday (like Gerrit Cole), quite a few of the names below should receive their invitation to next week’s festivities in the coming days. Until then, though, they’ll have to settle for “snub” status.
30. Washington Nationals (LW: 30)
Josh Bell has actually been superior to Juan Soto in terms of bWAR (3.1 to 3.0) and a bunch of other offensive statistics this season, but the league office chose Soto to represent the Nationals instead of giving the National League a fourth first baseman on the roster. It’s tough to fault that decision—Soto is one of the sport’s truly generational talents—but Bell has a higher wRC+ than he did during his lone All-Star season in 2019 and would have been a worthy choice.
29. Oakland A’s (LW: 29)
The premise of this article compels me to highlight someone in this space, so I’ll point out that Frankie Montas has a slightly better statistical case than Paul Blackburn in addition to his higher profile around the league. Realistically, though, Montas was removed from his last start with shoulder inflammation, and it’d make sense for Oakland to be represented by someone who could actually pitch in the game. Also, Montas has had awful run support this season, and it’d be a little weird to have the AL’s co-leader in losses on the squad.
28. Kansas City Royals (LW: 27)
The only Royal other than All-Star selection Andrew Benintendi who’s been worth more than 1.0 fWAR this season is rookie Bobby Witt Jr., who is on pace for a 20–20 season but has barely been a league-average hitter (102 wRC+) and has gotten on base less than 30% of the time. So, yeah, Benintendi was the right choice.
Drury has had a breakout season in Cincinnati.
Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer/USA TODAY NETWORK
27. Cincinnati Reds (LW: 28)
Brandon Drury, a journeyman with 137 plate appearances over the past two seasons, has been Cincinnati’s most valuable player by fWAR (2.3) and ranks third among all third basemen this year with 17 home runs. He would’ve been a feel-good inclusion, and it’s a little odd the league office passed him over in favor of Luis Castillo for the Reds’ representative given Castillo missed a month due to injury.
26. Chicago Cubs (LW: 25)
Would you have guessed that the Cubs’ bWAR leader isn’t either of the team’s All-Stars, Willson Contreras or Ian Happ, but Nico Hoerner? Strange, but true, as Hoerner’s .306 batting average also leads NL shortstops. Much of his value has come on defense, which isn’t what usually gets you to the All-Star Game. But the 25-year-old could have an ASG appearance in his future.
25. Pittsburgh Pirates (LW: 26)
It took a while for Bryan Reynolds to get going—just long enough for me to have prematurely dropped him from my fantasy team, of course—but his 1.002 OPS over the last 30 days ranks second among all outfielders, behind only Juan Soto.
24. Detroit Tigers (LW: 24)
It’s extremely thin pickings here, as Miguel Cabrera’s special selection to the AL roster honestly gave the Tigers two more All-Stars than this disappointing outfit deserves. The league’s lowest-scoring offense offers no worthy candidates, while Tarik Skubal’s once-promising case faded as his competition got tougher. I’ll pinch my nose, highlight Skubal’s 2.2 fWAR (seventh among AL pitchers) and be done with it.
23. Arizona Diamondbacks (LW: 22)
The fact that Arizona’s representative is Joe Mantiply, a 31-year-old reliever whose 34-to-1 strikeouts-to-walks ratio is the only thing notable about his statistical résumé, tells you all you need to know about the Snakes’ dearth of quality candidates. Christian Walker and his .211 batting average had no shot at cracking a loaded NL first basemen crop, but he’s been Arizona’s most valuable player by more than a full win according to bWAR, and his 21 home runs trail only Pete Alonso and Anthony Rizzo at the position.
22. Colorado Rockies (LW: 23)
It’s too bad setup man Tyler Kinley was lost for the season last month due to an elbow injury, because you don’t see a lot of Rockies relievers recording sub-1.00 ERAs through 25 games as he did. His 0.75 ERA is actually the lowest of any NL reliever who’s logged at least 20 innings. Perhaps even more impressive, the former 16th-round draft pick didn’t give up a single home run before his campaign was curtailed.
Ward has been a pleasant surprise in the Angels lineup.
AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill
21. Los Angeles Angels (LW: 19)
Taylor Ward has cooled off a bit after a scorching start, as he has only two home runs since the beginning of June. But the breakout star in the Angels’ loaded outfield still compares favorably to his competition. His 162 wRC+ ranks third among full-time outfielders, behind only Aaron Judge and Mike Trout. Not bad.
20. Chicago White Sox (LW: 20)
Dylan Cease has a case as the most egregious snub of all as the MLB leader in strikeouts per nine innings. Unfortunately, he also leads the majors in walks. Still, the players may have done him dirty by electing Nestor Cortes over him.
19. Cleveland Guardians (LW: 17)
With José Ramírez, Andrés Giménez and Emmanuel Clase all headed to Los Angeles, the Guardians are well represented. Shane Bieber is not striking out as many hitters as he has the past few years, but he still ranks third among AL pitchers with a 2.80 FIP and fourth in fWAR (2.5).
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18. Texas Rangers (LW: 18)
Jonah Heim has quite clearly been the AL’s second-best offensive catcher behind Alejandro Kirk, so it was certainly interesting to see New York’s Jose Trevino get the nod for the backup catcher slot. Trevino probably got credit from his peers for handling the Yankees’ improved pitching staff, but Heim is no slouch behind the plate himself and would likely be headed to Los Angeles if the 27-year-old had a bit more name recognition.
17. Baltimore Orioles (LW: 21)
Despite the Orioles’ recent hot streak (their first eight-game win streak since 2005!), they still fit the mold of a rebuilding team whose closer (in this case, Jorge López) is their most deserving choice to go to the Midsummer Classic. In fact, since Baltimore’s bullpen leads the league in wins above average, I’ll go ahead and highlight another reliever here in Cionel Pérez, who is one of just nine relievers (min. 20 IP) with a sub-1.00 ERA after he posted a 6.38 ERA in ’21.
16. Miami Marlins (LW: 16)
Pablo López was the NL’s ERA leader through the end of May. He’s not as sturdy of a workhorse as teammate Sandy Alcantara, but he’s more than capable of shutting down an elite lineup and will be highly sought after at the trade deadline if the Marlins decide to sell.
15. Toronto Blue Jays (LW: 12)
As you’ll see in this section and the next, MLB players clearly don’t value FanGraphs’ version of WAR as highly as some analysts do. If they did, MLB fWAR leader Kevin Gausman, who also leads all qualified starters with a 1.67 FIP, certainly would’ve been elected an All-Star by his peers.
14. San Francisco Giants (LW: 14)
Carlos Rodón similarly leads qualified NL pitchers in fWAR (3.7) and FIP (2.13) and was nonetheless left off his league’s roster. His 31% strikeout rate trails only Corbin Burnes among the same group, and he figures to be one of the first replacement pitchers chosen, if necessary.
13. Tampa Bay Rays (LW: 11)
It’s basically custom at this point for a Rays reliever to come out of nowhere to earn an All-Star berth, but Shane McClanahan topped that this year by putting himself on track to start for the AL. So let’s keep the tradition going and include J.P. Feyereisen, who has not been charged with an earned run through 24 ⅓ innings, the only pitcher with at least 15 IP who can say so.
12. Seattle Mariners (LW: 15)
When the All-Star rosters were revealed Sunday, the exclusion of Ty France drew the harshest reaction from baseball fans on Twitter. France himself expressed his disappointment. His 150 wRC+ means he’s been 50% better than a league-average hitter, and he ranks third among all first basemen in that regard. He’s also just one of 11 qualified hitters who have at least 10 home runs and are batting over .300. Eight were named All-Stars (the other unlucky snubs were Josh Bell and Freddie Freeman).
At 34, Martinez continues to produce in the middle of Boston’s lineup.
Ken Blaze/USA TODAY Sports
11. Boston Red Sox (LW: 10)
Even with J.D. Martinez’s power taking a major dip at age 34, he’s still managed to stay productive and post his highest wRC+ since 2018, his first year in Boston, by slapping doubles at a career-high rate (and benefiting from some luck, with an MLB-high .397 BABIP). He was always going to have trouble making the cut at DH ahead of Shohei Ohtani and Yordan Alvarez, though.
10. St. Louis Cardinals (LW: 8)
Tommy Edman’s 3.3 fWAR (12th among MLB hitters) is the most of any player excluded from the All-Star Game. That’s a great place to start an argument for someone, but Edman derives a lot of his value from his baserunning and defense, two aspects of the game that aren’t easily measurable or appreciated. He’s also slashing just .235/.286/.329 since June 1.
9. Philadelphia Phillies (LW: 13)
The NL’s loaded collection of pitchers means there were always going to be some talented hurlers left off the roster. But the Phillies were especially burnt in that Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler—their two most valuable players by bWAR, and top-seven NL pitchers by the same metric—were excluded. Nola leads the majors with an 8.0 K/BB ratio, has racked up the second-most innings of any pitcher (behind only Sandy Alcantara) and ranks third in the NL in strikeouts. Wheeler, meanwhile, has followed up his Cy Young runner-up campaign by ranking among the top five in the NL in ERA, FIP and home run rate.
8. Minnesota Twins (LW: 9)
I doubt many tears will be shed for Carlos Correa, but after a slow start in Minnesota, his 132 OPS+ is right in line with where it was last year when he finished in the top five of AL MVP voting. He also ranks third on the Twins in bWAR, behind All-Stars Luis Arraez and Byron Buxton. Injuries have cost him about 20 games, though, so it’s fair he was never really in the AL shortstop conversation.
7. Milwaukee Brewers (LW: 7)
Devin Williams has been Josh Hader’s equal in just about every statistic except saves (and walk rate), but Williams will not be joining his teammate in the NL bullpen. His elite “airbender” changeup has helped him record a 41.4% strikeout rate, third-best in the majors (min. 20 IP), and he’s yet to give up a home run through 32 ⅔ innings.
6. San Diego Padres (LW: 6)
Yu Darvish’s 3.38 ERA isn’t All-Star caliber in this age of depressed scoring, but the manner in which he’s acting as San Diego’s 1b to Joe Musgrove’s 1a is noteworthy and indicative of a smooth decline stage for the soon-to-be 36-year-old. The five-time All-Star has only posted a lower walk rate and WHIP once, during the shortened 2020 campaign, despite logging a career-low 22.4% strikeout rate that sharply declined from last year.
5. New York Mets (LW: 4)
Perhaps it would have been unfair to have Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte named to the NL outfield, but it’s hard to see much separation between the two when looking at the statistics. Nimmo is one of the game’s most underrated players after he’s endured a long list of injuries over the past few years, but he’s finally healthy, and it would’ve been nice to see him rewarded with an All-Star bid.
4. Atlanta Braves (LW: 5)
Atlanta sending two catchers and zero Austin Rileys to the All-Star Game just feels wrong. While Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado have graded out better on defense, Riley’s 23 home runs are five more than any other third baseman, and he and Arenado hold identical 148 wRC+ marks. The burly slugger would’ve been a much better choice than William Contreras, who’s played in only 43 of Atlanta’s 87 games, for Bryce Harper’s replacement as the designated hitter in the NL’s starting lineup. At least they could put him in the Home Run Derby?
Peña has exceeded even the highest of expectations in Houston.
Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports
3. Houston Astros (LW: 2)
Jeremy Peña hasn’t just replaced Carlos Correa; he’s outplayed him. Both have 64 games under their belts this season, and Peña has been worth a win more, according to FanGraphs, which also grades the Astros rookie as the AL’s best defensive shortstop. If the AL took a third shortstop, it probably would’ve come down to Peña or Corey Seager. If he somehow winds up on the roster, he’ll be just the fourth rookie All-Star shortstop since the turn of the century and first since Aledmys Díaz and Corey Seager in 2016.
2. Los Angeles Dodgers (LW: 3)
Will Smith must be having a hard time coming to grips with being passed over at catcher for two Braves backstops. He has a strong case as a more valuable contributor than either of them, and as an everyday starter he takes on more bumps and bruises yet still manages to outpace Travis d’Arnaud in terms of wRC+ while he has nearly doubled up William Contreras in plate appearances.
1. New York Yankees (LW: 1)
The Yankees lead all teams with six players selected as All-Stars, so there’s little room to complain, especially when Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes were rather lucky to get their spots. But it speaks to New York’s dominance this season that there are still at least two other players in reliever Michael King and first baseman Anthony Rizzo who could have been named to the roster with no major uproar from fans.
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