3 Phillies pitchers who will be named All-Stars, 2 who will be snubs

The Philadelphia Phillies just capped off one of their most dominant starting pitching months in their long franchise history. Their rotation is unquestionably the team's strong suit and why many fans expect a deep postseason run this October. In June, their starters led baseball with a 2.35 ERA, thanks to the contributions of three All-Stars from last season.

Those same three stars will likely once again represent the Phillies at this month's All-Star Game. However, the reality is that with 15 teams in the National League, not every stud Phillies pitcher will be packing their bags for Atlanta. Here are three Phillies who we should see the National League coaches choose for their pitching staff, and two who might be snubbed.

3 Phillies pitchers who should be named to NL All-Star team

Zack Wheeler

Zack Wheeler's selection to this year's All-Star Game is one of the likeliest you'll ever see from a Phillies pitcher. The ace of the team just had the best month of his career, with an otherworldly 0.58 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, earning him National League Pitcher of the Month honors.

The NL's strikeout leader is on pace to have the best season of his storied Phillies career, which has included two second-place Cy Young finishes. This year just feels like the one for the 35-year-old Wheeler to finally get over the hump and win his first Cy Young, with his stuff being as filthy as ever. This would be Wheeler's third All-Star selection, all with the Phillies.

He is undoubtedly a top-five pitcher in the league, and the biggest threat to his Cy Young chances is the significantly younger Paul Skenes. As long as he doesn't pitch the Sunday before the break, Wheeler seems like the slam-dunk pick to become the first Phillies pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Roy Halladay in 2010, since Skenes already got the nod last year.

Ranger Suárez

The Ranger Suárez that Phillies fans know and love is back. The veteran is backing up his first career All-Star appearance last year with another amazing first half, with a perfectly rounded ERA of 2.00 and WHIP of 1.00 through 11 starts. In 2024, Suárez started 9-0 with a 1.36 ERA in his first 10 starts, but the second half was not as kind to the Phillies' fan favorite.

One of the biggest reasons the Phillies faltered in the second half of 2024 was the absence of Suárez. The left-hander suffered injuries to his throwing hand and back, which saw him land on the IL twice. In his place, a collection of starters from Kolby Allard to Tyler Phillips got smacked around until he returned in August, and he clearly wasn't the same.

The Phillies' pitching staff has a swiss army knife in Suárez, who has also experienced success pitching out of the bullpen. He famously saved the Phillies' pennant-clinching win in Game 5 of the 2022 NLCS and has four career saves. When top-10 prospect Andrew Painter comes up sometime later this summer, somebody will have to pitch out of the 'pen down the stretch and into the playoffs, and it's possible that's Suárez.

Two straight All-Star appearances are coming at the perfect time for Suárez, as he enters free agency this offseason. He's arguably the second most important pitcher currently on the Phillies' roster behind Wheeler, which is why it's all the more painful that they will likely be unable to retain his services this offseason.

Cristopher Sánchez

Cristopher Sánchez brought the dominance of the Phillies' rotation into July, with his seven-inning gem against the San Diego Padres to capture a series victory on Wednesday. After that performance, NBC Sports Philadelphia's John Clark put the crazy run that the Phillies' star trio is on over the past month into perspective.

It's ridiculous how great Sánchez is and how quickly he has risen to stardom. Nobody batted an eye when the Phillies acquired Sánchez in a minor trade with the Tampa Bay Rays in November 2019. He was pretty much an afterthought to fans going back to the start of 2024, when he won a job in the rotation.

Sánchez took advantage of that opportunity and never looked back, earning a deserved All-Star appearance with his 3.32 ERA and two complete games. He quickly earned a four-year, $22.5 million extension that looks like an excellent bargain. Unlike Wheeler and Suárez, Sánchez participated in last year's All-Star festivities and retired the two batters he faced in the game.

These 2 Phillies pitchers will likely be snubbed from All-Star selections

Jesús Luzardo

More times than not this year, Jesús Luzardo has looked like the stud that the Phillies thought they were getting from the Miami Marlins. Over his first 11 starts, Luzardo was undefeated with a 2.15 ERA and looked like an early lock to be an All-Star. Things then started to completely unravel after Luzardo's 12th start.

Against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 31, Luzardo got destroyed to the tune of 12 earned runs in 3 1/3 innings pitched. It was an unfathomable performance that was followed up with eight earned in 2 1/3 innings in Luzardo's next start in Toronto. It was revealed that Luzardo was tipping his pitches, which caused him to change his glove positioning.

Luzardo has allowed seven earned runs in 22 2/3 innings in four starts after fixing his tipping problem. That's certainly better than giving up 20 earned over 5 2/3 innings. It's totally understandable why Luzardo likely won't be an All-Star due to his stats being tanked over a handful of starts. However, if Luzardo pitches exceptionally well in his last two starts before the break, he could be considered as an All-Star replacement pitcher.

Orion Kerkering

The Phillies' bullpen deserves some love, as they too have done their job over the past month. No reliever has been more effective as of late than Orion Kerkering, who is easily the most trusted arm in the bullpen. After a rough April in which nearly every Phillies reliever struggled, Kerkering has allowed just two earned runs.

Kerkering's 6.52 ERA in April was lowered to 0.87 in the month of May and 0.82 in June. His stats currently include a 2.41 ERA, 1.40 WHIP and 34 strikeouts over 33 2/3 innings pitched. One thing that's a little alarming with Kerkering, however, is the fact that his 18 walks are already more than he allowed all of last season, with 17, although three of them have been intentional.

Either way, it would be nice to see Kerkering cut down on the walks, especially if he wants to become the franchise's closer of the future. It's a little hard for non-closers to secure All-Star selections, but if Kerkering keeps up the effectiveness that we've seen from him throughout most of his young career, he should receive one in the near future.

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