It can't be easy for a lot of these guys. I know the All-Star Game is just a friendly play-in, with no real stakes and not a ton of incentive, but it still must hurt when not only the fans but the manager and commissioner don't think you're good enough to be on a roster. I was watching Brandon Hyde inform the whole Orioles locker room that Jorge Lopez had gotten in, and I felt so bad for people like Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins and Tyler Wells, who all had a shot at it themselves. It's gotta be tough, like 'hey, happy for you', hide behind some humility, but MAN...
I figured I'd go through all 30 teams and talk about one guy from each who must feel really bummed out right now regarding the ASG rosters.
Angels: Taylor Ward. Had a great first month and a half, came off to an amazing start as a contact hitting outfielder, then once the team dried up everyone stopped talking about him.
Astros: Jeremy Pena. Probably one of the best assets for the Astros this year, and a Rookie of the Year candidate, trapped behind a tough SS battle with Bogaerts, Bichette and Anderson
A's: Frankie Montas is the most well-known pitcher there, and while he's not having as good a season as Blackburn, could have used an ASG nod to make himself known to competitors like Blackburn will.
Blue Jays: Bo Bichette, honestly. I kinda thought he'd make it on.
Braves: Austin Riley is becoming one of the best assets in the game and he's unlucky enough to be a third baseman in the NL at the same time as Nolan Arenado and Manny Machado.
Brewers: Christian Yelich used to be a big draw for ASG votes, and now couldn't even make that work. He's not having a 2018-caliber year, but he's also not completely terrible either.
Cardinals: Miles Mikolas should have been on there and everyone knows it. None of this Ryan Helsley crap.
Cubs: I dunno if anyone other than Contreras and Happ deserved it. Maybe David Robertson I guess?
D-Backs: Christian Walker had an excellent start and has a bit more name recognition than Joe Mantiply, but, as established, Brian Snitker wasn't looking for name recognition for his relief picks.
Dodgers: Freddie Freeman. The guy had a real chance at starting at 1st, and was one of the few final ballot losers to not make the roster. I think he's having a great season, and this has gotta hurt.
Giants: I could easily give it to Yaz, but for Logan Webb and Carlos Rodon to be pitching the way they have and not get anything for it kinda sucks. [UPDATE, 7/12: One down]
Guardians: I guess maybe Shane Bieber, but I honestly think their picks were pretty valid.
Mariners: Injury be damned, Ty France. Dude was so close to starting and now he's not even in the conversation.
Marlins: Pablo Lopez got off to a huge start and was then eclipsed by Sandy Alcantara. I think they should have had him on as well.
Mets: Brandon Nimmo, who has a higher WAR than Marte, McNeil or Diaz.
Nationals: JOSH BELL. I know, it makes more sense to have Juan Soto play in the All-Star Game, but Bell is having the better season, and might even be a trade piece.
Orioles: As discussed, Cedric Mullins
Padres: Guy at the top of the post, Taylor Rogers. Having an excellent season as closer, kind of figured he'd be a shoo-in considering his saves totals. I suppose Ryan Helsley was more important.
Phillies: Aaron Nola. Everybody said Wheeler when this came out, I think Nola's having the better year.
Pirates: Ke'Bryan Hayes. I'm aware of the clog at 3rd base, but Hayes is playing like a star this year. Jazz Chisholm is getting the treatment Hayes deserves.
Rangers: Corey Seager. I noticed a theme in all of this of ex-Dodgers returning to LA. You have Joc Pederson, Albert Pujols and, I suppose, Manny Machado all in there. I kinda thought Seager would also want to get in on that, seeing as he's playing really well right now.
Rays: You know what? I think they did fine with McClanahan.
Red Sox: Logically I should say J.D. Martinez [UPDATE, 7/12: well..], but John Schreiber ought to be pissed that Clay Holmes and Ryan Helsley are in and he's not.
Reds: Brandon Drury was the guy who I thought was gonna be their rep. I get it from a positional standpoint.
Rockies: Daniel Bard would have been a more realistic bullpen choice.
Royals: Scott Barlow, again with the bullpen managing.
Tigers: Again, Soto [and Cabrera] counts as good enough representation.
Twins: Simply because a great portion of his old teammates will be there, Carlos Correa.
White Sox: Liam Hendriks should have been a shoo-in. Possibly Luis Robert as well.
Yankees: Honestly, they did pretty well. Between Judge, Stanton, Cole, Trevino, Cortes and Holmes, I don't think I could have asked for any more. Maybe Gleyber's a little salty, I dunno, but the six guys that are going are the 6 best guys for it.
So yeah. Some people have a reason to be mad, some teams did just well enough. Hopefully a few of these will be righted in the next week or so once people start dropping out.
Coming Tomorrow- A guy who just hit a home run as I was writing this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment