MLB's Five Biggest All-star Snubs

     Now that Major League Baseball’s All-Star rosters have settled in, per usual players make the team that most don’t believe should have and then players get left off that most believe should have made the team. Everybody wants that one player from their home team to make it or that one player that they kept tabs on. In the end, we always get disappointed. I have created the best list of five players that got snubbed by this year’s all-star selections.

5.OF Corey Dickerson (Colorado Rockies)

Stat Line: 11 Home Runs, 34 Runs batted in, 6 stolen bases, 14 doubles, 3 triples, and a .328 AVG with 0 Fielding Errors

     Dickerson doesn’t get any consideration coming from the second worst team in baseball and only having 223 Plate Appearances. But in those Plate Appearances, Dickerson has been very productive. Not only has Dickerson been good at the plate, he has been pretty good playing the field as well. I don’t think Dickerson gathers enough evidence to take a spot from someone else, but Dickerson has been very productive for a bad team and it would have been great to see him get some acknowledgement for that.

4. CL Koji Uehara (Boston Red Sox)

Stat Line: 18 Saves, 1.30 ERA, 52 Strikeouts, 25 Hits, 6 Walks, 0.74 WHIP in 41 Innings pitched

     Uehara gets the short end of the stick being on a last place team in a group of very good closers amongst the American League. Still, Uehara has been the most consistent pitcher on the Red Sox staff. For a 39 year old pitcher, this was probably his only chance to get onto the team as well. If the Red Sox were in first place, I bet he makes it on, but for now Uehara sits as the fourth biggest snub.

3. 1B Anthony Rizzo (Chicago Cubs)

Stat Line: 18 Home Runs, 47 Runs Batted In, 13 doubles, 57 Runs, 50 walks, .274 AVG

     Rizzo falls short at a very stacked position in the National League. However, Rizzo still has a chance to make the roster via MLB’s final vote. Rizzo has my vote. The fact that Rizzo plays for the Chicago Cubs might have impacted the decision, because I argued that Rizzo has a bigger impact than Freddie Freeman, the reserve. Rizzo doesn’t match up in batting average and doubles compared to Freeman (.299 average and 26 doubles) but he has a bigger role on the Cubs than Freeman and the Braves. Definitely a big snub here. 

2. SP Alfredo Simon (Cincinnati Reds)

Stat Line: 11-3 record, 2.78 ERA, 67 Strikeouts, 90 Hits, 1.05 WHIP in 110 Innings pitched

Before the selections came out, I was pushing for Simon. I was really surprised when he was not selected due to his success. Currently Simon is tied for second in wins in baseball (tied for first in the National League). Who is he tied with? Adam Wainwright and Zach Grienke, both all-stars. Simon also has the lowest WHIP and the least amount of hits out of the three. What makes it even worse is that teammate Aroldis Chapman was selected. Chapman missed the first month of the season with an injury. Big snub right here.

1. CL Houston Street (San Diego Padres)

Stat Line: 23 Saves, 1.13 ERA, 33 strikeouts, 18 Hits in 33 Innings pitched

     Leaving Houston Street off of the NL roster is perplexing because of the other players who made it.  Tony Walker of the Pirates and Pat Neshek of the Cardinals? One could even question Chapman again here. They have all pitched well, but better than Street? What makes it even more perplexing is his teammate, pitcher Tyson Ross, was selected instead. Ross has pitched well (2.93 ERA in 116 innings) but I don’t think anyone thought he would get it over Street, the anchor to a poor Padres staff. The surrounding circumstances makes Street the number one biggest all-star snub.