Nick Castellanos is lone Phillies representative in the 2023 MLB All-Star Game

As if there was ever any doubt, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos has made the 2023 MLB All-Star Game. The surprising piece to this is the fact that he is the club's only representative. All 30 major league clubs are required to have at least one player in the event.

While players like Brandon Marsh, Ranger Suárez or even Andrew Vasquez were snubbed from the Midsummer Classic, the selection of Castellanos was an excellent call by the league. He did not earn enough fan votes to start the game, but he's still an All-Star for the second time in his career, regardless of what capacity it is in.

So far this year, the lumbering right fielder has been an offensive juggernaut for the Phillies. In 81 games, he has 26 doubles, 12 home runs, 50 runs scored and 54 driven in. He also has a .316 batting average (the highest he's ever had in a full season if the year ended today) and a cool .874 OPS along the way. He remains one of the more prolific sluggers on an offensive-heavy club and is a great candidate to represent the team in the ASG.

While the defensive metrics are never going to tell you that Castellanos is anywhere close to a Gold Glove defender, it's his bat that earns him all the star power. His Baseball Savant page has all sorts of red (as in, red-hot) on it in most major offensive categories, which is on par for his career norms.

While he's not going to compete for the league lead in any categories this season, Castellanos has been a smooth, steady presence in the middle of this Phillies lineup. There may not be a better player on the roster that has earned this honor more than the 11-year big league veteran.