We already knew that Bryce Harper was given All-Star honors, but what we didn’t know was that Kyle Schwarber would be joining him, becoming the second Phillies player to be given the honor this year. Unfortunately, there were several players who were absolutely snubbed of joining their teammates.
Schwarber is going to Vegas
Is anyone really shocked? Schwarber not only decimated the month of June, but stayed piping hot through July, putting the team on his back while Bryce Harper missed time with an injury.
The below stat is absolutely staggering given that Schwarber has amassed 17 home runs in the 36 games dating back to May 30th.
It’s unfair to grade a player purely off of his home-run stats, but Schwarber has been an absolute machine this Summer. Per MLB.Com, he entered Saturday leading the National League in homers and was batting .270 and had a 1.065 OPS. He then decided to pump those numbers even higher on Sunday with a pair of hits and runs
However, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows as there were two glaring omissions from the event.
Wheeler and Nola left in the cold
For Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler to both somehow avoid being named to the All-Star game is genuinely baffling.
The one-two punch at the mound has been a huge driving force in the dramatic turnaround in the team’s fortunes. Both rank inside the top 10 in the National League in strikeout rate and walk rate. Wheeler’s ERA ranks 9th in the entire MLB and Nola’s ranks 23rd.
Leaving one Phillies ace off the list would be mildly understandable, but both?!
The MLB All-Star game takes place on June 19th at 8pm EST at Dodger Stadium.
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
