5 way-too-early Phillies All-Star predictions
It's never too soon to start looking at who might represent the Phillies at the Midsummer Classic.
We are just six weeks into the season and still over a month away from voting, but it’s hard not to look at the Philadelphia Phillies roster and start thinking about who will represent the team at the 2024 MLB All-Star Game this summer. The Phillies have had early-season success, and with that success come players who have put up big-time individual numbers.
Over the last 10-plus seasons, the Phillies haven’t had great representation at the Midsummer Classic. Last season, Nick Castellanos and Craig Kimbrel were the team's lone representatives. Needless to say, by the end of the season, not many Phillies fans thought highly of either player. Not to mention, in Bryce Harper's time with the Phillies, he has yet to actually play in the All-Star Game (he made it in 2022 but missed the game due to injury).
This year is a different story. Plenty of Phillies have a real shot at being selected to the All-Star Game — and many for the first time in their careers.
5 way-too-early Phillies All-Star predictions
We’ll start with a couple of honorable mentions who might be on the outside looking in.
Trea Turner came out of the gates firing on all cylinders. The 30-year-old shortstop picked up right where he left off last season and started the season slashing .343/.393/.460 with a .852 OPS and 10 stolen bases.
Unfortunately, Turner strained his hamstring speeding home from second base on a passed ball. He’ll miss six weeks, and with that goes any likelihood of him being an All-Star. He was surely trending in that direction, but hopefully, he will continue his torrid start when he rejoins the team.
Middle relief pitchers rarely get a significant look to be an All-Star, but Matt Strahm has forced the hand. The 32-year-old lefty is the do-it-all reliever for Rob Thomson and has delivered so far in 2024. He has a 1.26 ERA, a 0.84 WHIP and a 40.7 strikeout rate over 14 1/3 innings with a 2-0 record. Though he may not be selected to be an All-Star, he needs to be mentioned as an integral part of the Phillies' early-season success.
With the honorable mentions out of the way, let’s get into the first way-too-early predictions of who will be representing the Phillies in Arlington on July 16 for the 2024 All-Star Game.
Zack Wheeler
This is an easy one. Zack Wheeler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball for quite a while. This year he looks to be on top of that mountain as the best of the best. He has been lights out through eight starts so far.
He has a 1.64 ERA, which is third-best in the National League. His 0.89 WHIP ranks fifth. His 63 strikeouts and 1.8 fWAR are tops in the MLB. He has accumulated four wins, good for sixth in the NL. He should have more wins but was the victim of poor run support early on in the season.
Thanks to his new splitter, Wheeler also has a career-best 11.49 K/9, the second-highest mark in the NL, and 30.9 percent CSW% (called plus swinging strike rate).
Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff, the 33-year-old is able to battle through and give the Phillies the absolutely best shot at winning. He leads the NL with six quality starts so far, with a seven-inning, 11-strikeout effort against the San Francisco Giants last time out. He has shown the entire league that he is ready to take the crown as the best pitcher in the league.
Wheeler has made just one All-Star Game back in 2021 and will most definitely be on the shortlist for this year’s festivities. In fact, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him handed the ball as the National League starter.
Alec Bohm
Shooting up all of the power ranking lists is 27-year-old Phillies third baseman, Alec Bohm. Not only has Bohm been the best Phillies hitter so far in 2024, he has been one of, if not the best, hitter in all of baseball.
The right-handed, contact hitter has been scorching hot since Opening Day. He's hitting .346/.413/.549 with an OPS of .962, four home runs, 13 doubles, 32 RBI and 15 walks. He's tied for second with Mookie Betts in the NL in batting average. He's fourth in on-base percentage, second in RBI and third in fWAR.
Bohm has consistently come to the plate with runners on base and has taken advantage of the opportunities. He had an 18-game hitting streak, during which he slashed .464/.500/.754 with an OPS of 1.254. He continues to be mentioned with the best hitters in baseball, and it doesn’t look like he’s slowing down at the plate.
On the defensive side of the ball, Bohm continues to impress. It was just a couple of short years ago, after multiple errors, that Bohm exclaimed, “I f****** hate this place." He has since turned it around at the hot corner. His glove has progressively become better with the work he has put in, and it is now more surprising when he doesn’t make a play.
The national media has started to recognize Alec Bohm for the ballplayer he is and his first All-Star appearance will surely become a reality come July.
Jeff Hoffman
Jeff Hoffman has been a revelation since joining the Phillies early in the 2023 season. Continuously getting batters out and earning the trust of Rob Thomson (subscription required), the 31-year-old entered the 2024 season with high expectations of being one of the Phillies' go-to players at the back end of the bullpen.
Well, he has definitely delivered. Maybe Thomson’s most trusted reliever, Hoffman has a 1.13 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts over 16 innings of work. He is the arm out of the bullpen that is called upon to put out the fires, match up against the opposing teams' best hitters, and clamp the game down.
Hoffman has accumulated 0.9 fWAR so far in 2024. That's the best mark among qualified NL relievers and is tied for second in all of baseball. As relievers go, there hasn’t been anyone more important to a winning team than the right-hander for the Phillies.
Every year, a handful of All-Star spots are reserved for relief pitchers, and there’s no reason why Hoffman shouldn’t be one of them. The problem he might run into is that the Phillies haven't named him the closer. With only two saves to his credit, Hoffman hasn't earned as many saves as the best closers in the league. He doesn't even have as many as teammate José Alvarado, who has seven.
But with the sixth-best strikeout rate (39.3 percent) and K-BB% (31.1 percent) among qualified relievers in the NL, plus the third-lowest FIP at 1.10, the underlying numbers show he should get serious consideration for a spot in Arlington.
Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper has been the face of the Philadelphia Phillies since he put on the red pinstripes in 2019. But astonishingly enough, he has never played in an All-Star Game while with the Phillies. Well, that will change this season. He did get selected in 2022 as the NL designated hitter but missed the event with a broken thumb.
After a weirdly cold start, Harper has been swinging a strong bat and raised his slash line to .254/.378/.516 and an .895 OPS. Through his first 15 games, he hit just .190 with a .673 OPS. In his last 19 contests, he's hitting .313 with a 1.083 OPS. He has nine home runs, 28 RBI and 20 runs scored. His 1.3 fWAR is tied for the second-highest in the NL among qualified first basemen and is the third-best mark in the majors.
Not only has Harper's hitting been the story this year, but his move to first base has been seamlessly impressive. He has made the switch look easy. He is a natural at fielding first base and has made every play you would hope an average first baseman would make. So far this year, he has +3 OAA, which is the second-highest among first basemen.
It’s criminal that Bryce Harper hasn’t played in an All-Star game since 2018, even winning an MVP award in that time. The Phillies will finally have their 31-year-old superstar representing them at the 2024 Midsummer Classic.
Ranger Suárez
For anyone who hasn’t watched Ranger Suárez closely, this breakout season is surprising. But this has been a long time coming for the 28-year-old lefty. Those who have followed Suárez closely knew this was in him (subscription required). He has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and the league is starting to take notice.
The April NL Pitcher of the Month has been downright filthy on the mound so far in 2024. Through seven starts, he is 6-0 with a 1.72 ERA, 0.72 WHIP and a 1.4 fWAR. His ERA is the sixth-best in the majors and fifth in the NL. He has the lowest WHIP across both leagues, and his fWAR is fourth in the NL and tied for the fifth-highest overall.
As Suárez has done so well in his career, he is inducing ground balls at a 57.8 percent rate which is close to his career high. Combine that with a career-best 27.4 percent hard-hit rate, and that’s a formula for high-quality starts where he is able to go deep into games and limit baserunners.
Suárez is as calm, cool and collected as they come when fielding his position. He has a Cliff Lee-like aura about him that you can’t help but notice. When he fields his position, he is as relaxed as can be and calmly puts out batters like he's taking fielding practice in spring training. Not only is a Cy Young Award within reach, a Gold Glove Award is also his to lose as well.
Suárez is trending toward joining his teammate Wheeler as an NL All-Star starting pitcher. It would be the first of his career.
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