Last night, the AL and NL All-Star were revealed on ESPN. There were plenty of very worthy candidates to make each squad, but some other very worthy players were left off the rosters. This blog post will focus on the players that were snubbed off each respective league’s roster.

American League snubs:

Closer Fernando Rodney- Rodney deserved to be in the American League bullpen. This was the snub that baffled me the most. Rodney leads the American League in both saves (25) and games finished (35). He anchors the Mariners bullpen, which has the lowest ERA in baseball at 2.47. Rodney has a lower ERA than 3 out of the 4 closers picked for the AL squad. 

Starting pitcher Chris Sale- Sale wasn’t picked to be an All-Star based on the fact that he missed some time due to injury earlier in the season. The White Sox starter has still compiled a 7-1 record and a miniscule  ERA of 2.16. Sale is 8th in the AL in strikeouts and 4th in pitching WAR. If he had even innings pitched, he would be 2nd in ERA and 1st in WHIP in the AL. He still has a chance to make the roster as 1 of 5 players to vote on for the AL’s final roster spot.

Second baseman Ian Kinsler- Kinsler is having a fantastic 1st half of the season for the Tigers. He leads all AL second basemen in slugging percentage (.480). Kinsler is 2nd among all AL second basemen in: at-bats (354), runs (60), hits (107), home runs (11), RBI (45) and on-base percentage (.819). 

Second baseman Brian Dozier- Dozier leads the American League in runs with 63. He also leads AL second basemen in home runs with 12. Dozier’s batting average is kind of low to be an All-Star (.234), but he would be another great representative for the hometown Twins.

Shortstop Erick Aybar- The shortstop of the Angels is putting up a 1st half of the season. He leads all AL shortstops in: RBI (45), slugging percentage (.414) and triples (3). Aybar is also top 5 among shortstops in: at-bats (3rd), runs (4th), hits (2nd), doubles (4th), home runs (4th), batting average (4th) and on-base plus slugging percentage (2nd). 

Starting pitcher Rick Porcello- Porcello has been the ace of the Tigers’ staff in the 1st half. He Porcello is 2nd in the American League in wins with 11. Porcello is another candidate to be voted on for the final spot on the AL roster.

Starting pitcher Garrett Richards- The Angels’ starter is 3rd in the AL in wins (10), 8th in strikeouts (119), 8th in pitching WAR (3.0), 5th in WHIP (1.07) and 6th in ERA (2.71). Richards is also tied for 3rd (14) in quality starts among AL starting pitchers. Richards is another pitcher to vote on for the AL’s final roster spot.

National League snubs:

First baseman Justin Morneau- Morneau has revitalized his career at Coors Field. He is also completely healthy for the first time in years. He leads all NL first basemen in RBI with 59. Morneau is top 5 among NL first basemen in: at-bats (5th), hits (2nd), doubles (3rd), home runs (5th), batting average (2nd), slugging percentage (3rd) and on-base percentage (5th). He is one of the five players to vote on for the NL’s last roster spot. 

Third baseman Casey McGehee- McGehee has bee one of the best stories of the first half. Last season, He played for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan’s Pacific Coast League. McGehee signed a lowly publicized deal with the Marlins during the off-season. Casey leads all NL third basemen in: hits (108), RBI (53), batting average (.320) and on-base percentage (.389). McGehee is another player to vote on for the final NL roster spot.

Outfielder Corey Dickerson- Dickerson has one less home run than All-Star starter Yasiel Puig in 128 less at-bats. If Dickerson had enough at-bats, he would be 2nd in the league in batting average, 4th in on-base percentage, 1st in slugging percentage and 2nd in on-base plus slugging percentage. The Rockies should have brought up this talented outfielder earlier in the season, so he’d have a better chance of making the team.

First baseman Matt Adams- Adams leads all NL first baseman in batting average (.328). That is the 3rd best batting average in the National League. The Cardinals’ first baseman is 5th in the NL in slugging percentage (.522).

Third baseman/second baseman Anthony Rendon- The Nationals’ infielder is tied for 5th in the league in runs with 60. Rendon is 2nd among third base qualifiers in RBI (50), slugging percentage (.483) and on-base percentage (.823). He is one of the five players to vote on for the last NL roster spot.

Outfielder Justin Upton- Upton leads all NL left fielders in: home runs (17), RBI (50), batting average (.273) and slugging percentage (.503). Upton has more home runs than all of the Nation League’s starting outfield. The Braves’ outfielder is one of five players to be voted on for the final NL roster spot.