Selecting players for the All-Star team is more complicated than we sometimes admit. The requirement for every team to have a representative no matter their quality can sometimes make things messy, as does the complicated voting process for selecting starters. Naturally, this process is going to omit some players whose performance on merit deserve to be recognized.
One of those players this year could be Zack Wheeler. The Phillies co-ace was not selected to be on the initial NL roster despite having
an 8-1 record and 2.36 ERA across 13 starts since returning from thoracic outlet surgery. Wheeler’s recovery has been stunning, as he hasn’t missed a beat despite having such a major surgery at age 35.
Part of the reason Wheeler wasn’t named an All-Star was likely his innings total. His late start to the season has limited him to only 80 innings pitched this season, putting him 90th among all starting pitchers entering play on Monday. However, the controversial All-Star selection of Jacob Misiorowski last season despite the blossoming ace only having thrown 25.2 innings for his career to that point has set an uneasy precedent when it comes to innings totals and All-Star selections.
There’s still a chance Wheeler could be nominated as replacements start to roll out, but as it stands right now, Wheeler is tentatively scheduled to pitch the last game before the break on July 12th. It’s unlikely he will be named as a replacement seeing that he may not be available to actually pitch two days after his last start. The Phillies would almost certainly prefer the 36-year-old doesn’t pitch any more innings than he needs to. In addition to that barrier, there’s also the fact that the Phillies already have five players headed to the festivities. It’s likely that MLB will look elsewhere for replacements as it may be deemed that the Phillies have enough representation already.
Nevertheless, is Zack Wheeler an All-Star snub? We already know how his agent feels on the matter, but what about you?
