San Francisco Giants Have Three All-Stars, and Two Big Snubs

The All-Star teams have been announced, and three San Francisco Giants’ players are the roster, but there are two big snubs.

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On Tuesday night, the All-Star teams for the American League and National League were announced. The rosters for the Mid-Summer Classic, which will take place next Tuesday night, will feature three San Francisco Giants, including on in the starting lineup. Catcher Buster Posey was voted in among the starters by the fans, while pitchers Madison Bumgarner and Johnny Cueto will be joining him at Petco Park in San Diego.

Posey got off to a slow start this season, and was hitting .251 when play opened on June 13th. Since then, he’s caught fire, and has raised his average to .291, up 40 points in just 20 games. Posey has 80 hits, 10 home runs, 40 runs batted in, has scored 48 runs, and leads catchers with 19 doubles.

Posey’s tremendous defense also should be recognized. Among qualified catchers, he is tied for the fewest allowed passed balls with one, has allowed the fewest wild pitches with 12, and his 58.6 percent caught-stealing rate is the best in baseball.

The catcher is an All-Star for the fourth time, and for the second straight season. This is also his second consecutive start.

Bumgarner and Cueto have been two of the National League’s best pitchers this season. Bumgarner is second in baseball with a 2.20 ERA, fourth in strikeouts with 126, tied for fourth with a 1.02 WHIP.

Bumgarner is also a four-time All-Star, with this being his fourth straight selection.

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Cueto is an All-Star for the second season, and for the first time as a Giant. After signing a hefty contract in the offseason, Cueto has been worth every penny to the Giants in his first three-plus months with the team. His 2.57 ERA is fifth in the National League, his 1.02 WHIP is tied for fourth, his 4.65 strikeouts per walk is fifth, and his .324 opponent slugging percentage is tied for sixth.

Cueto’s previous All-Star selection came in 2014, when he was with the Cincinnati Reds.

The Giants have a couple of snubs, as well. Brandon Belt and Brandon Crawford, their first baseman and shortstop, were not voted in as starters, and then were not selected as backups either.

Crawford is ranked sixth in NL in WAR, and leads all shortstops with 53 RBI. He’s also played an absolutely beautiful defensive shortstop for the Giants. Crawford leads all big league shortstops in defensive rating (15.8, according to FanGraphs), runs saved (17), and ultimate zone rating (12.3)

Addison Russell was voted as the NL’s starting shortstop by fans (one of the seven Chicago Cubs on the team). Corey Seager, of the Los Angeles Dodgers, will be his backup.

Belt is among the leaders of National League first baseman in a number of offensive categories, including first in average (.295), first in doubles (26), third in on-base percentage (.398), third in walks (49), and fourth in slugging percentage (49).

Anthony Rizzo, also of the Cubs, is the National League’s starting first baseman. Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt and San Diego’s Wil Myers will be the backups.

Belt still has a chance to make it to San Diego, as he is one of the five “Final Vote” players. Head on over to MLB.com and vote for who you think should make it.

Next: Giants Morning Minute: Bullpen Deja Vu

Here’s the complete All-Star Game rosters:

American League:

C – Salvador Perez (KC), Matt Wieters (BAL), Stephen Vogt (OAK)
1B – Eric Hosmer (KC), Miguel Cabrera (DET)
2B – Jose Altuve (HOU), Robinson Cano (SEA)
3B – Manny Machado (BAL), Josh Donaldson (TOR)
SS – Xander Bogaerts (BOS), Francisco Lindor (CLE), Eduardo Nunez (MIN)
OF – Mookie Betts (BOS), Jackie Bradley, Jr. (BOS), Mike Trout (LAA), Carlos Beltran (NYY), Ian Desmond (TEX), Mark Trumbo (BAL)
DH – David Ortiz )BOS), Edwin Encarnacion (TOR)
RHP – Dellin Betances (NYY), Brad Brach (BAL), Alex Colome (TB), Wade Davis (KC), Marco Estrada (TOR), Will Harris (HOU), Kelvin Herrera (KC), Craig Kimbrel (BOS), Danny Salazar (CLE), Steven Wright (BOS)
LHP – Zach Britton (BAL), Cole Hamels (TEX), Andrew Miller (NYY), Chris Sale (CWS)

National League:

C – Posey (SF), Jonathan Lucroy (MIL), Wilson Ramos (WAS)
1B – Rizzo (CHC), Goldschmidt (ARI), Myers (SD)
2B – Ben Zobrist (CHC), Daniel Murphy (WAS)
3B – Kris Bryant (CHC), Nolan Arenado (COL), Matt Carpenter (STL)
SS – Russell (CHC), Seager (LAD)
OF – Yoenis Cespedes (NYM), Dexter Fowler (CHC), Bryce Harper (WAS), Adam Duvall (CIN), Carlos Gonzalez (COL), Odubel Herrera (PHI), Marcell Ozuna (MIA)
RHP – Jake Arrieta (CHC), Cueto (SF), Jeurys Familia (NYM), Jose Fernandez (MIA), Kenley Jansen (LAD), Mark Melancon (PIT), A.J. Ramos (MIA), Fernando Rodney (MIA), Stephen Strasburg (WAS), Noah Syndergaard (NYM), Julio Teheran (ATL)
LHP – Bumgarner (SF), Clayton Kershaw (LAD), Jon Lester (CHC)

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