Which Padres players deserve MLB All-Star nods?
Jun 6, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. (23), center, Luis Arraez (4), left, and Jurickson Profar (10) celebrate after Tatis scored during the fifth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports at Petco Park.
The 2024 All-Star voting has been released. Which Padres deserve to get the call to head to the Midsummer Classic?
It’s that time of year. The weather is warming up. Lawns need cutting more often. The beaches are getting more crowded. And it’s All-Star Game voting time for Major League Baseball. The 2024 MLB All-Star Game will take place on July 16 in Arlington, Texas.
Fans will vote for the starters. MLB is doing this voting process in two phases. We have entered Phase 1, which has ballots open now until June 27.
After Phase 1, the top vote-getter in each league will automatically earn starting roster spots in their designated positions for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.
For Phase 2, the top two players for each of the infield positions in each League, the top six players for outfield positions in each League will remain on the ballot from June 30 through July 3 to determine the rest of the starters.
Even if Padres players are not voted as starters, they will still likely get a few selections to head to Arlington. All of the pitchers and position player reserves are chosen through a combination of Player Ballot selections and choices made by the Commissioner’s Office.
The Padres had just two invites to last year’s All-Star week in Seattle- Juan Soto and Josh Hader. Neither are with the team now. The Padres look to exceed that number of invites in Arlington next month. Which ones deserve it?
Locks
Let’s not beat around the bush. Robert Suarez, barring injury, is headed to Texas for the All-Star Game. It would be one of the most massive oversights in baseball history to not select him. Suarez is fourth in MLB with 17 saves. Only one closer in all of baseball, Emmanuel Clase has a lower ERA at 0.30. Suarez’s 0.69 mark is the third-best ERA among all pitchers with at least 20 innings pitched. His mind-blowing 564 ERA+ is fifth in baseball among those in the same category. He has converted every save opportunity so far this season. Quite frankly, he’s been one of the most dominating relief pitchers in all of baseball this season, all while being willing to get more than three outs for a key save.
Should be in, but not locks
If you did a blind test of his numbers, he would be an easy lock. However, there are some who still just can’t believe what they are seeing from Profar. Among National League outfielders, Profar ranks first in fWAR (2.4), first in OPS (.898), and first in wRC+ (164). He has been San Diego’s most consistent position player this entire season. Basically, he has not had a slump this year. If it weren’t for Luis Arraez, Profar would also currently lead the National League with his .323 batting average.
How has Tatis been an All-Star just once in his career?
The man that is second to Profar in many of those outfielder categories in the National League is his teammate, Tatis. Only Profar has a better fWAR, OPS, and wRC+ among NL outfielders than Tatis. The Padres right fielder leads NL outfielders in runs scored and is second with ten homers. Last year, Tatis should’ve been in. Be it public punishment or exclusion because of suspension or another reason, he was not invited.
This year, there’s no excuse. Even in a down year for Tatis’ standards, he is performing as one of the best outfielders in the NL compared to his competition. Plus, he is heating up at the right time, with a .431 average and 1.081 OPS in his last 13 games.
Luis Arraez
It’s hard to imagine the league shutting out the NL leader in batting from the All-Star Game. Arraez has already been an All-Star each of the last two years. His .335 average should get him another invite. He already has four four-hit games as a Padre in just over a month. In 29 games in a Padres uniform, he is batting .374 with a stellar 146 OPS+. He is far and away the best contact hitter in the National League. His invite to the festivities should be nearly automatic.
Maybe with a strong June
Cease was trending towards an easy All-Star appearance after a strong first eight starts of the year, with a 2.19 ERA in his first 49 innings as a Padre. However, the last month or so has been much more uneven. In his last five starts, he owns a bloated 5.86 ERA.
If he can settle down and pitch in June like he did for most of April, his ERA will begin to creep up the leaderboards in the National League. He has name recognition as a former Cy Young runner-up. He just needs to buckle down over his next three or four starts and pitch like an ace. Indeed, the Padres need him to, as Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish are both set to be on the shelf for the next several weeks.
Native of Escondido, CA. Lived in San Diego area for 20 years. Padres fan since childhood (mid-90s). I have been writing since 2014. I currently live near Seattle, WA and am married to a Seattle sports girl. I wore #19 on my high school baseball team for Tony Gwynn. I am a stats and sports history nerd. I attended BYU on the Idaho campus. I also love Star Wars.