With the Phillies finally on track and playing better baseball, it seems clear the fanbase won’t have to endure an All Star Game as dreary as the last one played in Philadelphia.
In 1996, Veterans Stadium was on the verge of falling down. Stray cats ruled the concourses. The scent or urine hung high in the air. All the bunting in the world couldn’t make the dark, cavernous Vet look like it deserved to host the sport’s premier mid-summer event.
Even worse, the ‘96 Phils were flat-out awful. By June
18, they had fallen into last place in the NL East and never emerged from the basement. They were 37-49 at the break, 16 ½ games out of first place, and would eventually fall 29 games out with 95 losses.
They had one All Star named to the team, closer Ricky Bottalico.
This time around, the country will be celebrating its 250th birthday, with the stars of MLB centered in the cradle of Liberty. It’s only fitting that the Phillies be well represented at Citizens Bank Park next month.
As of now, there are six Phillies who can make strong cases for a spot on the team – Christopher Sanchez, Kyle Schwarber, Jhoan Duran, Bryce Harper, Zack Wheeler and Brandon Marsh.
The problem with saying “Brandon Marsh should be an All-Star” is that, yes, in a vacuum, Marsh is having an All-Star season. There’s no two ways around it.
By virtually every metric, Marsh’s career year should land him on the NL roster for the Midsummer Classic. But as history has taught us, deserving players get left off of All Star rosters every year.
It’s a numbers game. Each roster will consist of 32 players, 20 position players and 12 pitchers.
The mandate remains that every one of the 16 teams have at least one representative. There also needs to be a certain number of players at each position to give managers some flexibility. You can’t have 10 outfielders and one first baseman.
The fans will also have their say. Fans get to vote on who the position player starters will be. This is a wonderfully American and democratic thing, but it sometimes allows players who are having lesser seasons earn an All Star nod they might not otherwise deserve.
So when considering whether a player has a realistic chance at making the team, one must take these factors into consideration.
Let’s take a look at the six Phillies mentioned above and rank them from most likely to least likely to make the All Star squad.
Cristopher Sanchez – LOCK
In his outing Monday night in Toronto, Sanchez gave up two runs. I mean, this kind of decline is really unacceptable. After a 50 ⅔ inning scoreless streak that ran 5th-longest in MLB history was the most for any left-handed pitcher ever, it’s really galling to see him spiral downward like this, isn’t it?
The only real question is whether Sanchez will be named the starter for the NL All Star team. One would think manager Dave Roberts would give Sanchez the nod, given the game is in Philadelphia. Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski is the leading challenger, they are 1-2 in fWAR (3.8 to 3.2), and while Miz edges Sanchez just a bit in ERA (1.50 to 1.54), Sanchez has thrown 93 ⅓ innings to Misiorowski’s 78.
There’s still time for this to change, of course, but whether Sanchez starts or not, he’s a lock for selection.
Kyle Schwarber – LOCK
Only Shohei Ohtani has been a more valuable DH in the National League than Schwarber, and Schwarbs is the NL’s home run king at the moment. He leads with 23 bombs. The next closest players are Matt Olson, James Wood and Hunter Goodman, with 17. His .573 slugging percentage also leads the league, and his .932 OPS is second.
Plus, you’d think Roberts would want him around in case something like this were to come up again.
Jhoan Duran – LOCK
After converting each of his first 16 saves this season, Jhoan Duran finally blew one.
Yep, he couldn’t hold a 2-1 lead and allowed the first three hitters to reach via singles, leading to a 3-2 Phils loss.
Yet, Duran’s 16 saves are third-most in the National League and, until last night in Toronto, had not allowed a run in any of those 16 opportunities. His overall 2.08 ERA is 3rd among closers and among qualified relievers, his 40.7% strikeout rate is 2nd.
There’s not much to overthink here. The thought of the Durantula entrance from the bullpen in the 9th inning of the Midsummer Classic at Citizens Bank Park is already giving folks goosebumps. He’ll be there.
Bryce Harper – LIKELY
Harper’s case is less open and shut, but I think there’s a strong chance he’ll be included.
If you look at fWAR, you’d think Harper was having a very “non-elite” season. He’s currently ranked 9th in fWAR (1.1). Here are the players ahead of him entering Tuesday’s action.
- Sal Stewart (1.3)
- Liam Hicks (1.3)
- Spencer Horwitz (1.3)
- Alec Burleson (1.4)
- Michael Busch (1.5)
- Jake Bauers (1.5)
- Freddie Freeman (1.8)
- Matt Olson (2.3)
There’s no world in which Harper is not making the team because Stewart, Hicks, Horwitz, Burleson, or Busch have higher fWARs. Not happening.
Among NL first basemen, Harper’s 14 homers are 2nd-most (Olson, 17), his 41 runs scored are also 2nd, and his .866 OPS is 3rd. But there is a numbers crunch here.
If the National League only takes three first basemen, there’s a chance Olson, Freeman and Milwaukee’s Jake Bauers could be the three to make the team. Bauers’ .911 OPS and 154 wRC+ are tops among all NL first basemen, his 12 home runs are 3rd-most, and he has six more RBIs than Harper.
Of course, there are still a few weeks until rosters are decided, but while I feel it’s likely Harper would get selected ahead of Bauers, Roberts could decide to select Bauers if he feels Milwaukee needs another representative and the Phils are otherwise well accounted for. But then again, can they really tell Bryce Harper he’s not going to play in an All Star Game being hosted by his hometown Philadelphia?
Brandon Marsh – TOSSUP
There is no doubt Marsh is having an All-Star worthy season. His .333 batting average is tops in baseball, and he’s become one of the game’s most lovable young stars. His power is coming around too, with three home runs in his last four games, pushing his total up to 8 for the season.
But like with Harper, Marsh could be facing a numbers game and, in this case, fan vote could make it very difficult for him to get in.
Marsh’s fWAR ranks tied for 9th in the NL, but that’s not the big worry. Juan Soto, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Kyle Tucker all have lower WARs. Tucker has barely been better than a league average hitter this year (104 wRC+) and Acuna (126) hasn’t been as productive as Marsh (142). Soto, however, has been a touch better (147). All three of these players are exceedingly popular and could all be voted in despite none of them being in the top-10 in NL WAR among outfielders.
There are also other outfielders having as good, if not better, seasons than Marsh. The Cardinals’ Jordan Walker is having a breakout season, too, leading all outfielders in wRC+ (158). That’s tied with Washington’s young superstar James Wood. He’s definitely making the team. Corbin Carroll is third (154).
Michael Harris II, Andy Pages, Ian Happ, San Francisco’s Casey Schmitt, and Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong are also extremely strong candidates.
Much of this will come down to who gets voted onto the team. Marsh has a good chance if one of Acuna, Soto or Tucker is not voted to start, and an even better chance if two of them are not. Generally, seven outfielders make the roster, although there have been as few as six and as many as eight in years past.
We discussed Marsh’s candidacy in depth on the latest Hittin’ Season podcast. Check it out!
Zack Wheeler – TOSSUP
Wheeler got a late jump on the 2026 season, but he’s more than made up for it since re-joining the Phils’ rotation.
Wheeler pitched another gem last night in Toronto, giving up just one run on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks in six innings, lowering his ERA to 2.22. Among NL pitchers with at least 50 innings, that ranks 5th, and he’s allowed opponents to hit just .181 off him. That’s tied for 3rd in the NL among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched. He’s been extremely good.
Like Marsh, the issue could come down to numbers. You see, it’s an insane year for starting pitching in the National League.
There are four starters with a better ERA right now: Chase Burns, Sanchez, Misiorowski, and Ohtani. Now, Ohtani is getting in as a DH, so we don’t have to count him among the pitchers Wheeler will contend with. Paul Skenes will make the team. Chris Sale is having another phenomenal year. Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Justin Wrobleski have been incredible for the Dodgers. Arizona’s Eduardo Rodriguez is having his best season, Milwaukee’s Kyle Harrison is 2nd in the NL in K/9, and even the Mets’ Clay Holmes, with only nine starts this year, has a 2.39 ERA.
If he continues to pitch like he did in Toronto on Tuesday night, he may very well get selected, despite missing the first month of the season.
In short, I think the Phillies will be well represented at this summer’s All Star Game.
