We are probably a week or two away from MLB All-Star Game voting to start, and the Dodgers’ season will be one-third complete on Monday, so let’s check in to see who might represent Los Angeles in the midsummer classic on July . at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Shohei Ohtani is the free spot on the bingo card, as he’s going to be an All-Star no matter how much he has slumped offensively relative to his standards but not necessarily relative to the league. The only question is whether he wins the fan vote as starting designated hitter or if he’s on as a reserve with Kyle Schwarber starting. This should be the second year Ohtani is an All-Star as both a hitter and pitcher, along with 2021.
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Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts are perennial All-Stars but this year aren’t playing like it. Betts missing 32 games with a strained oblique likely takes him out of consideration either way. Freeman this year is hitting .254/.338/.399 with a 109 wRC+, but this brings to mind the question of what makes an All-Star. Is it really just considering only the first half of that season? That line of thought completely ignores the second half of every year. Dating back to last All-Star break, here are the top National League first basemen:
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Matt Olson, Braves: .283/.365/.539, 26 HR, 149 wRC+, 4.4 fWAR
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Spencer Horowitz, Pirates: .293/.391/.479, 12 HR, 143 wRC+, 2.8 fWAR
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Freddie Freeman, Dodgers: .277/.356/.478, 18 HR, 133 wRC+, 2.6 fWAR
It’s unlikely Freeman makes it this year, which would snap a streak of seven straight All-Star Games for him. But there’s still another month and a half for him to bolster his case.
Max Muncy (.260/.360/.526, 12 HR, 147 wRC+) and Andy Pages (.299/.351/.514, MLB-high 41 RBI, ,141 wRC+) have combined strong offense and stellar defense to both be among the top seven in National League fWAR among all players, and are obvious All-Star candidates.
Will Smith has made the last three All-Star Games, but faces an uphill battle among National League catchers. Then again, the Atlanta Braves today put Drake Baldwin on the injured list with an oblique strain, so who knows?
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Kyle Tucker has made four straight All-Star Games but the NL outfield is crowded.
On the pitching side, besides Ohtani, you have Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski making strong cases, especially so for Yamamoto when considering his entire body of work beyond just this year. Tanner Scott (1.47 ERA, 3.27 xERA, 27.7-percent K rate) and Alex Vesia (2.75 ERA, 2.53 xERA, 35.4-percent K rate) have been solid out of the bullpen, but relievers without high save totals rarely get tabbed for the midsummer classic.
Today’s question is which Dodgers do you think should make the All-Star Game this season?
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