Phillies Shortstop Trea Turner Listed as ‘Biggest Snub’ From MLB All-Star Game

The preliminary rosters are set for this year’s MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta. Players can be added or subtracted between now and the game, but that doesn’t mean some players weren’t snubbed from the original rosters.

Chad Jennings of The Athletic believes Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was the game’s biggest snub this season.

“This is probably the biggest snub of the bunch (a distinction that would have gone to Bobby Witt Jr. had the league not used one of its at-large spots to get Witt on the AL team),” wrote Jennings. “It’s a shame the league couldn’t do the same for Turner, who ranks eighth in the majors in fWAR, which is higher than Lindor, the NL’s starting shortstop, or Elly De La Cruz, its backup.”

Turner entered Monday third in baseball with 109 hits, four ahead of Witt and also led the National League. The only two players he was behind were Aaron Judge and Athletics’ phenom Jacob Wilson. He also entered Monday tied for fourth in the National League with 22 stolen bases.

To the fans and the players, this somehow wasn’t good enough.

“Those two have also been excellent, but Turner’s defense (9 outs above average) has made him arguably a better all-around player,” wrote Jennings. “The NL just has too many good first basemen, shortstops and designated hitters to include them all. Maybe there’s a path for Turner to get there eventually. If not, being left out worked out pretty well for Lindor last season.”

Turner’s defense has also been among the best in the league. The purpose of an All-Star game is to showcase the best players, not the most popular ones. It’s one of many reasons why lots of baseball fans are ready to move on from fan voting.

Phillies fans know they have a star in Turner. While the robbery stings, it’ll be worth it in their eyes if he uses it as motivation to lead the team to the World Series.

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