NL All Star Breakdown

While All Star position players are determined by a vote of the fans, All Star pitchers are selected by the manager of the league champs and the players themselves. Pete Womack was at the helm of the NL and World Series Champ Montgomery Burns but bolted for the AL Tampa Buzz in the off season. As a result, Womack’s only exposure to NL pitching this year was during inter-league play. Not surprisingly, some of this year’s top NL pitching performances have been left off the All Star team.

In fairness, the very best pitchers will be at the All Star Game; Ariel Cervantes (3.8 Wins Above Replacement), Furio Kydd (3.7 WAR), Davey Silva (3.7 WAR) and Jamie Hayashi (3.6 WAR) are all represented. However, the next three most valuable pitchers didn’t make the cut. The trio of Gary Ferguson (3.3 WAR), Nolan Payton (3.1 WAR) and Michael Leonard (3.0 WAR) all have had great first halves but will stay home All Star Weekend in favor of established stars with more name recognition.

Among the fan favorites and big names going to the All Star game are Dean Hernandez (2.0 WAR) and Howard Hughes (2.0 WAR). Hernandez does lead the NL with 13 wins, and Hughes has a solid 10 – 3 record so it’s understandable why they were chosen even though neither count among the top 20 most valuable NL pitchers.