The starters and reserves for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game were announced last week. As always, there wasn't enough room on the American League and National League rosters for every deserving candidate.
Ideally, the 32 best players in the AL and NL will be chosen every year. However, due to the mandate that one player from each team be represented on the roster, that isn't always the case.
Read more: American League MVP Candidate Joins Home Run Derby
So, who were this year's biggest snubs?
National League
Christian Walker, Arizona Diamondbacks: Usually hitting 20 or more home runs by the All-Star break is enough to punch a ticket to the All-Star Game. Walker, in his sixth full season as the D-backs' first baseman, has 22 and counting — yet was left off in favor of two more famous first basem*n, the Mets' Pete Alonso and the Dodgers' Freddie Freeman.
Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers: Turang is hitting .288 with 29 stolen bases and is third among all National League players in Baseball Reference's version of Wins Above Replacement (4.0). Defense wins games but doesn't always wow the All-Star committee, as evidenced by the selection of Luis Arraez as the backup to starting second baseman Ketel Marte.
Francisco Lindor, New York Mets: Lindor's quiet consistency on both sides of the ball has made him the rare under-appreciated Met. This year, he's hitting .250 with 16 stolen bases, 12 home runs, and enough defense to rank among the league leaders in every version of WAR. Yet, he'll watch the All-Star Game after Trea Turner, C.J. Abrams, and Elly De La Cruz were chosen ahead of him to represent the NL at shortstop.
Willy Adames, Milwaukee Brewers: Adames was also squeezed out by the stacked NL shortstop field. His 13 home runs and 58 RBIs both rank ahead of Lindor, and his steady contributions at the top of the Brewers' lineup has them leading the National League Central.
Brandon Nimmo, New York Mets: In a weak year for NL outfielders, Nimmo's clutch hitting (53 RBIs in 83 games) stands out. He's reaching base at a typically high (.368) clip and his 138 wRC+ ranks second at the position. Perhaps the league wanted to showcase future stars Jackson Merrill of the Padres and Heliot Ramos of the Giants instead; both got their first career All-Star nods.
American League
Andrés Muñoz, Seattle Mariners: Muñoz is 14-for-16 in save opportunities with a 1.50 ERA, while striking out 43 batters in 36 innings and holding opponents to a .175 batting average. Not every elite closer will make the All-Star team, but Muñoz has been instrumental in keeping the Mariners in first place in the AL West.
Willi Castro, Minnesota Twins: The tough part about finding a place for Castro on the All-Star team is defining his position. He's started 26 games at second base, 23 in left field, 22 at shortstop, 21 at third base, and 20 in center field. All the more reason to reward his strong season at the plate (129 wRC+).
Carlos Estevez, Los Angeles Angels: The veteran right-hander had some early hiccups this year, blowing three of his first nine save opportunities. Since then, he's 10-for-10 in save chances with a 0.55 ERA and .130 opponents' batting average. If he can't make a name for himself in Arlington, wait until the trade deadline, when the Angels' closer is among the trendiest trade targets in the game.
Luis Gil, New York Yankees: If recency bias didn't help Estevez, it shouldn't have hurt Gil, who had a 2.03 ERA through his first 14 starts and looked like a lock for American League Rookie of the Year. A three-start hiccup has pushed his record to 9-5 and his ERA to 3.27, but overall Gil's numbers stack up with the best pitchers in the AL so far.
Brent Rooker, Oakland A's: The temptation to push a hot young rookie into the spotlight over a late-blooming veteran might have hurt Rooker just as it hurt Walker. First-year closer Mason Miller is the A's representative on the AL roster, but Rooker (.278 average, .353 OBP, 18 homers, 54 RBIs) is continuing his late-career breakout at age 29.
As is the case every season, MLB will have a chance to make amends by selecting injury replacements from the list of players above. Injuries are unfortunate but inevitable; Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers earned a nod at shortstop and has already been replaced by Elly De La Cruz of the Cincinnati Reds, for example.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
");jQuery(this).remove()})jQuery('.start-slider').owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on('changed.owl.carousel',function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery('.owl-prev').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-prev').removeClass('disabled')}if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery('.owl-next').addClass('disabled')}else{jQuery('.owl-next').removeClass('disabled')}})}})})
