{"id":762404,"date":"2026-06-26T12:21:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/762404\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T12:21:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T12:21:15","slug":"the-10-biggest-snubs-from-phase-1-of-mlb-all-star-voting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/762404\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Biggest Snubs From Phase 1 of MLB All-Star Voting"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first phase of MLB\u2019s All-Star voting process<\/a> has wrapped up. Fans dictated 100% of the vote in the opening phase, which resulted in two players at each position (and six outfielders) advancing to phase two. <\/p>\n

The players that received the most votes in each league, Shohei Ohtani in the National League and Ernie Clement<\/a> in the American League, have now been guaranteed spots in the starting lineup for the Midsummer Classic. The rest of the starters will be determined by the second phase of voting, which will run until July 2. <\/p>\n

Of course, giving the voting power to fans often results in some teams getting more representation than others. The Blue Jays are a glowing example of this, with at least one Toronto player being voted in as a finalist for every single position in the AL. Dodgers and Phillies fans also submitted plenty of votes, lifting several of their players into top-two positions in the NL. <\/p>\n

As a result, there were some glaring omissions across both leagues for players that missed out on a chance to start this year\u2019s All-Star Game. While they can still make the roster in the end, they will be reserve players at best. <\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s take a look at the five biggest snubs from both the American League and National League<\/a> after the conclusion of phase one. <\/p>\n

American LeagueKevin McGonigle \u2013 SS, Tigers\"MLB\"<\/p>\n

Kevin McGonigle finished third among AL shortstops in All-Star voting. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

McGonigle finished third in AL All-Star voting at shortstop, but he wasn\u2019t even close to cracking the top two, losing out to Blue Jays\u2019 Andr\u00e9s Gim\u00e9nez by nearly 750,000 votes. The standout rookie<\/a> ranks sixth in the American League with 3.3 fWAR, while Gim\u00e9nez ranks 83rd at 1.2. McGonigle has been one of the most patient hitters in MLB, with a 14.1% walk rate and just a 12.9% strikeout rate. His .816 OPS and 132 wRC+ are far superior to Gim\u00e9nez, too, who has a .647 OPS and a 78 wRC+, both of which are well below league average. <\/p>\n

Nick Kurtz \u2013 1B, Athletics<\/p>\n

Blue Jays fans showed Vladimir Guerrero Jr. plenty of love in All-Star voting, which pushed Kurtz and Munetaka Murakami out of the running for a top-two spot. Kurtz has hit 19 home runs and leads MLB with 62 RBIs and 73 walks. His .959 OPS is good for sixth in MLB, too. In terms of fWAR, Kurtz ranks fifth in the AL at 3.3, while Guerrero is all the way back at No. 132 with a 0.9. It\u2019s hard to make a single argument for why Guerrero would be selected ahead of Kurtz other than star power, but Blue Jays fans worked tirelessly to get him in. Guerrero received more than 2.45 million votes despite hitting just four home runs nearly halfway through the season, while Kurtz only tallied 948,000. Kurtz will still be an All-Star, but he deserved the chance to win a starting spot for the AL. <\/p>\n

Dillon Dingler \u2013 C, Tigers<\/p>\n

Dingler has arguably been the best catcher in MLB this year, and he\u2019s certainly been better than Alejandro Kirk, who secured the No. 2 spot in All-Star voting by a fairly wide margin. Statcast ranks Dingler as the best framer of all MLB backstops and the third-best blocker. He\u2019s an asset for any pitcher to have behind the plate, and he\u2019s been productive offensively, too. Dingler has the highest OPS (.871) among all qualified catchers and trails only Shea Langeliers at the position with 18 home runs. Kirk, on the other hand, has played in just 27 games and has just one home run and an abysmal .548 OPS. <\/p>\n

Munetaka Murakami \u2013 1B, White Sox\"MLB\"<\/p>\n

Munetaka Murakami finished third among AL first basemen in All-Star voting. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Murakami\u2019s record-breaking start to his MLB career wasn\u2019t enough to land him in the final two for AL All-Star voting at first base. Although he\u2019s currently on the 10-day IL, Murakami was turning heads on a near nightly basis through the first two months of the season. In 57 games, he racked up 20 home runs, 41 RBIs and had a .938 OPS. He was effortlessly crushing home runs and making teams look foolish for passing on him during the offseason. He hasn\u2019t played in June, yet he still has more home runs, RBIs and extra-base hits than Guerrero. <\/p>\n

Yandy D\u00edaz \u2013 DH, Rays<\/p>\n

D\u00edaz leads the American League with 94 hits and a .331 batting average, yet he found himself finishing third in All-Star voting at DH. Rays fans didn\u2019t do him any favors in the voting process, as George Springer received more than twice as many votes as D\u00edaz, despite being far less productive. Springer is having one of the worst seasons of his career offensively, with a .693 OPS and eight home runs in 58 games. D\u00edaz has a .926 OPS and 12 home runs in 74 games. Statistically, they aren\u2019t close, yet Springer will be the one competing with Yordan \u00c1lvarez for the starting DH job at the All-Star Game. <\/p>\n

National LeaguePete Crow-Armstrong \u2013 OF, Cubs\"MLB\"<\/p>\n

Pete Crow-Armstrong finished 10th among NL outfielders in All-Star voting. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Crow-Armstrong\u2019s lack of All-Star votes can likely be attributed to his slow start. But there\u2019s been no better hitter in MLB during the month of June than the Cubs\u2019 center fielder, who has a 1.341 OPS with 10 home runs and 18 RBIs in his last 20 games. His season OPS has ballooned to .886, and he\u2019s also been the best defensive outfielder in MLB, with 15 outs above average per Statcast. Crow-Armstrong finished 10th in All-Star voting among NL outfielders<\/a>, missing out on the cut behind lesser players such as Brandon Marsh and Teoscar Hern\u00e1ndez, both of whom made the top six. <\/p>\n

Otto Lopez \u2013 SS, Marlins<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not too surprising that the Marlins star isn\u2019t in contention to start the All-Star Game, but he\u2019s certainly deserving of it<\/a>. Despite leading MLB in hits with 107 and boasting a league-best .340 batting average, Lopez received just over 650,000 votes, which was only good enough for fifth among NL shortstops. He\u2019s certainly played better than Mookie Betts, who has struggled all season for the Dodgers, but this is yet another example of larger fan bases dominating the voting process. Lopez ranks sixth in the NL with 3.4 fWAR, while Betts ranks 104th with 1.0. <\/p>\n

JJ Wetherholt \u2013 2B, Cardinals<\/p>\n

Wetherholt has been sensational in his first MLB season, ranking seventh in the National League with 3.4 fWAR. It\u2019s his defense that stands out the most. The Cardinals\u2019 second baseman ranks third in MLB with 14 outs above average, which trails only Bobby Witt Jr. and Crow-Armstrong. He\u2019s been a superior player in every facet of the game compared to Bryson Stott, yet the Phillies second baseman received over 800,000 more votes than Wetherholt, who finished eighth in All-Star voting at the position. It\u2019s somewhat surprising Cardinals fans didn\u2019t get behind their Rookie of the Year contender more amid a better than expected season in St. Louis.<\/p>\n

James Wood \u2013 OF, Nationals\"MLB\"<\/p>\n

James Wood narrowly missed out on a top-six spot in NL All-Star voting for outfielders. | Pablo Robles-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

There\u2019s not much more Wood could have done to secure a top-two spot in phase one of voting. He\u2019s clubbed 20 home runs, stolen 13 bases and boasts a .909 OPS. His numbers immediately jump off the page, and although he strikes out at a high rate, he more than makes up for it with his incredible bat skills. He leads MLB with 70 runs scored, and he\u2019s locked in a multi-player tie for the most extra-base hits (39) in the National League. There\u2019s simply no reason he wasn\u2019t included in the top six over the likes of Marsh, Hern\u00e1ndez and even Ronald Acu\u00f1a Jr. <\/p>\n

Brandon Lowe \u2013 2B, Pirates<\/p>\n

Yet another National League infielder who didn\u2019t get the respect they deserve in All-Star voting. Low finished seventh at the position in the first phase of voting, behind some far less productive players such as Stott, Hyeseong Kim and Ketel Marte. Lowe has a .829 OPS with 18 home runs and 49 RBIs while playing lockdown defense. He has seven outs above average, which ranks 15th among all fielders, and his 2.5 fWAR is good for 20th in the National League. Lowe has been outstanding in his first season with the Pirates, but he didn\u2019t get much support in the voting process. <\/p>\n

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