Ah, yes, the MLB All-Star Game. There are very few things more fun and exciting during the Major League Baseball season that casting your votes for your favorite team’s players and seeing them take the field on a national stage.
For many (myself included), major media outlets sharing their predictions for who gets voted in is a huge part of the fun and anticipation leading up to the event. This year’s All-Star Game is on July 11th and will be hosted at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, home of the Mariners.
For those who may not know, each of the 30 MLB teams must have at least one representative on their respective league’s roster. This is a smart rule to have in place, as all teams deserve to be represented one way or another. This year’s Milwaukee Brewers roster doesn’t have many clear cut candidates to be voted in, but there are certainly a handful of players that are deserving of such an honor.
Recently, Jim Bowden of The Athletic posted his latest round of All-Star Game predictions (subscription required) and did the Brewers dirty. Despite there being a few players worthy of making it this season, Bowden tabs just one member of the Brewers as an All-Star, with no additional entrants being added as backups, honorable mentions, or on the just-missed list.
Devin Williams only Brewers representative in 2023 All-Star Game per The Athletic’s predictions
In the end, it’s Devin Williams earning the honors in Bowden’s eyes. Williams, 28, has been racking up the accolades since breaking into the league back in 2019, including a Rookie of the Year Award, Reliever of the Year and a past All-Star Game selection. There is no doubt about it that he is worthy of such an honor, what is surprising is that he’s the only player on a contending team that even gets a mention.
Through 20 games this year, Williams has been absolutely lights out, which most fans of the Brewers should be used to by now. The right-hander has surrendered just one earned run in 20.2 innings, good for an ERA of 0.44, a FIP of 2.51 and an ERA+ of 993. For ERA+ specifically, 100 is considered league-average, so Brewers fans can rest easy knowing that Williams is 893 percent above league-average this year on the mound (in a small sample size, but have a little fun, will ya?).
The right-hander has earned 10 saves as well while striking out 28 batters and waling only nine. He continues to limit baserunners with the best of them and is to be legitimately viewed as one of the best relief pitchers in the league, mostly thanks to his lethal changeup that seems like it’s from another dimension.
Again, Williams is definitely worthy of this honor. However, where’s the love for the rest of the squad? Rowdy Tellez has been swinging a hot bat through the first few months of the season, but his biggest issue is the amount of competition around the league. His 12 home runs and 115 OPS+ are great numbers on their own, but pale in comparison to the offensive output Freddie Freeman, Pete Alonso and Matt Olson have been putting up.
Then there’s Corbin Burnes, who hasn’t quite been at the same level he was in the past three seasons, but he’s still been a highly-efficient starter. He doesn’t top the list of All-Star-caliber starting pitchers this year, but he’s been well above-average and has still looked sharp. In 12 outings, he is 4-4 with a 3.75 ERA and 114 ERA+, striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings while seeing some minor spikes in H/9, HR/9 and BB/9, which isn’t overly concerning because of the extremely high bar he has set in recent years.
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