Boston Red Sox Featured Latest News 

Rafael Devers All Star Snub Shows MLB Still Has Work To Do With The Selection Process

Kings of Boston Sports



The fan vote in major league baseball had been an issue for a long time so they set out to fix it with an election process and overall the fans did a much better job of selecting worthy starters than is years past. The new feature made it tougher for fanbases to get their guy in by stuffing the ballot boxes. I really can not argue the starting lineups this season because everyone that was elected earned it this season. Still there were plenty of mistakes in both leagues made during the reserve selections which are chosen by a vote of MLB players and the Commissioners’s office. Perhaps none bigger than missing out on a young perennial MVP candidate, Red Sox 3B Rafael Devers, who clearly got the shaft. There were a few logical moves that could have been made to get him a well deserved roster spot.

At the moment Rafael Devers is having a breakout season batting .329 with 14 HR 56 RBI, 64 runs and 8 stolen bases to go along with it. That puts him tied in 2nd in the AL with Mike Trout and Xander Bogaerts who also was worthy of taking another roster spot with only one backup SS position given to Francisco Lindor of the Cleveland Indians. Devers is off to such an incredible start to his career that his stats in his first 1,000 bats line up favorably with some of the all-time greats at the same age.



It is hard to argue the fan vote selection of Alex Bregman, after a few seasons he has already put himself on the national scene as one of the best young stars in the game but the reserve selection of only one 3B leaves a lot to be desired. Every team needs to be represented in the All Star game and I get that, but there were more than a few logical changes that could have been made to make this happen.

American League reserves

C – James McCann, White Sox
1B – Jose Abreu, White Sox
2B – Tommy La Stella, Angels
SS – Francisco Lindor, Indians
3B – Matt Chapman, Athletics
OF – Mookie Betts, Red Sox
OF – Austin Meadows, Rays
OF – Joey Gallo, Rangers
OF/2B – Whit Merrifield, Royals
DH – J.D. Martinez, Red Sox
DH – Daniel Vogelbach, Mariners

SP – Justin Verlander, Astros
SP – Gerrit Cole, Astros
SP – Lucas Giolito, White Sox
SP – Mike Minor, Rangers
SP – Jake Odorizzi, Twins
SP – Marcus Stroman, Blue Jays
SP – John Means, Orioles
SP – Charlie Morton, Rays
RP – Ryan Pressly, Astros
RP – Shane Greene, Tigers
RP – Brad Hand, Indians
RP – Aroldis Chapman, Yankees

With a quick glance at the list you can see that the AL is carrying 2 DH’s which is really unnecessary because they already have so many quality bench bats to begin with. The problem here is JD Martinez has significantly outplayed Vogelbach who really has no business being selected over Mariners teammate Domingo Santana but for whatever reason MLB seems to have classified Vogelbach as a DH for the game. JD could have easily been swapped out for Devers or Bogaerts.

There are plenty of other issues, MLB is trying to inject some young stars into the lineup but arguably was a little premature with the Rays OF Austin Meadows, but one of the most glaring is the backup 3B selection. Oakland A’s 3B Matt Chapman has had a decent season batting .266 with 21 Hrs but not nearly as good as Devers breakout. If the object is to get the best young stars in the game and there are available moves to be made they should adjust accordingly.

Unlike some other teams there is a logical switch that could have been made for Oakland. With the Astros already well represented with 6 All Star selections it is fair to look at their reserves. RP Ryan Pressly who is having an amazing year of his own in my opinion should be the odd man out, he isn’t closing for the team and instead of the Oakland A’s being represented by Chapman, they could easily switch that selection with their current closer Liam Hendricks who has been absolutely lights out this year with a 1.35 ERA and 58 Ks over 46 IP and 3 saves to boot while filling in for injured closer Blake Treinen.

MLB should be doing their best to promote their deserving young stars and if that means someone has to get the shaft for a decent above average year, they need to make the logical move. There were far too many available solutions to make it impossible to explain why Devers should not be on the All Star team.