Phillies fans are livid about yet another All-Star snub in rival’s favor

The Philadelphia Phillies are in sole command of first place in the NL East. Say what you will about this team's World Series chances, but the Phillies are a competitive group on track for a top-3 seed in the National League. There is plenty of pedigree on this roster and a lot of pure talent. And yet, the MLB All-Star Game will not reflect that.

Philadelphia has two players on the National League roster: Zack Wheeler and Kyle Schwarber. Both are more than deserving. It is the Phillies who didn't make the cut, however, who are riling up the fanbase. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more ardent group of supporters than Philly fans, so when they feel wronged, the rest of the world will hear about it.

Cristopher Sánchez currently has the third-best odds to win NL Cy Young, trailing only Paul Skenes and his teammate, Zack Wheeler. Ranger Suárez has only made 12 starts due to injury, but pound-for-pound, there hasn't been a better pitcher in the NL this season. Suárez has a 1.99 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with a 7-2 record.

And yet, neither of them made the All-Star roster — even after two replacements were named for the NL pitching staff. Instead, Cincinnati's Andrew Abbott and New York's David Peterson made the cut. It's safe to say the Phillies faithful are... displeased.

For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.

Phillies fans take issue with David Peterson's All-Star nod over Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez

There is zero statistical argument here. David Peterson has performed well for a (mostly) solid Mets rotation, but he's basically getting a participation trophy. He has more starts under his belt than Suárez. Not better starts, just more of 'em. As for Sánchez, well, he's probably not going to pitch in the All-Star Game because he's slated to pitch for the Phillies on Sunday. So perhaps this is the league taking availability into consideration, rather than merit.

This sucks, though. There's no way around it. All-Star nods probably shouldn't play a part in the age-old "legacy" debate, but they do. When we comb through Hall of Fame résumés and debate the greatest of all time, we tend to cite how many All-Star games a player participated in. Sánchez has exceeded the impact of all but a few aces on the NL roster, and yet when we look back on this season, he will not have an All-Star to his name.

In the grand scope of human existance, this means nothing. Phillies fans know how good Sánchez and Suárez are. But both are better than Peterson and Abbott, with all due respect, so the league's decision to pass over Phillies' secondary aces twice — four total snubs, if we do some multiplication — is a real shame.

The goal of the All-Star Game is to entertain the fans, but it is also to reflect the accomplishments of individuals in a given season. It's not who is available to pitch on a random Tuesday. It's not who has less rotation depth behind him. It's which pitchers out-pitched their peers. And in the case of the 2025 Phillies, Sánchez and Suárez (but especially Sánchez) are getting the short end of the stick.