Were these Phillies Snubbed by the MLB All-Star Game?

Phillies fans wanted to see Rhys Hoskins in the All-Star Game

Hoskins is probably the biggest Phillies snub.

Over 81 games this season, Hoskins is hitting .228/.309/.465 with a .744 OPS, 18 home runs, 18 doubles, and 46 RBI.

Among NL first basemen, you can definitely make a case for Hoskins being in the game. He and Max Muncy lead their position with 18 homers apiece, and Hoskins stands alone with 18 doubles. He’s fifth in hits, fourth in runs scored, and tied for third in both RBI and walks.

Hoskins has the most hits on the team (69), but that isn’t saying much in the National League leaderboards; Cincinnati Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos leads the NL with 105 hits. Hoskins is way down the list tied for 29th in the NL with Mookie Betts, Yonathan Daza, Josh Rojas, and Juan Soto. Though technically, if you judged All-Stars solely on the metric of hits, Hoskins should be an All-Star reserve along with Betts and Soto.

So how does he rank on his own team? He leads in home runs, doubles, RBI, and the aforementioned hits. He’s ranked third in walks, behind Andrew McCutchen and Bryce Harper. He also leads his team (and all NL first basemen) with 88 strikeouts, though – one of just three Phillies with 68 or more.

It’s understandable that Phillies fans would want to see Hoskins in the All-Star Game; he’s one of their favorite team’s best players this year, and actually one of the better first basemen in the league. In a season of skyrocketing strikeout numbers and deadened balls, his home run count is impressive.

It’s also easy to blame the Phillies bullpen for the team’s win-loss record. After all, they lead MLB with 22 blown saves. But by comparing a position player to their counterparts on other teams, it’s easy to see who deserves to be an All-Star and who doesn’t.

Ultimately, there’s a big difference between being one of the best players on your under-.500 team, and being an All-Star.