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We Have to Vote Early and Vote Often to Send Brandon Marsh to the All-Star Game
Published:
ESPN’s David Schoenfield did an MLB All-Star roster prediction story, and Brandon Marsh isn’t even mentioned in it.
He’s got James Wood, Corbin Carroll, and Andy Pages starting in the outfield, with Jordan Walker, Juan Soto, and Pete Crow-Armstrong as the reserves:
Jordan Walker draws the short straw in the outfield behind Wood and Carroll — all three are having similar seasons in terms of value, but Wood and Carroll were already stars — while Pages gets the third spot. He’s having the slightly better all-around season, leading NL position players in bWAR and topping the circuit in RBIs while playing outstanding defense in center.
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Soto and Crow-Armstrong also end up being the only representatives from their teams, which helps explain why those two clubs have disappointed — not enough big seasons from their star players. When was the last time the Mets and Cubs had just one rep each? Answer: Actually, not that long ago, with Pete Alonso and Shota Imanaga in 2024. Crow-Armstrong’s offensive surge over the past week, in combination with his excellent defense, makes him a potential starter, and you could argue Soto deserves to start as well based on his track record.
It’s a crowded outfield, which makes it tough for Marsh, who is third in Major League Baseball with a .332 batting average. He has an .878 OPS (19th) and is getting on base at a .364 clip while posting a 1.5 WAR. His BABIP is .409 (!) and he’s slugging .514 in this breakout year.
What’s going to happen is the fans will vote for their favorites, which brings guys like Ronald Acuna Jr. (day to day, apparently) into the mix. And after accounting for Wood/Carroll/Pages/Walker/PCA you’re playing the numbers game. With the ASG taking place in Philadelphia this season, you’d hope the fans go hammer the ballot with Cristopher Sanchez and/or Zack Wheeler, Jhoan Duran, and then Schwarbs and Harper are gonna be the popular Phillies batters, the big names who have been there before. Marsh is fighting that uphill battle as a newcomer.
But we can do our part by voting five times a day, every day between now and June 25th. As of publication, I have already voted twice for Marsh while leaving the rest of the outfield blank. If we’re gonna get him into the ASG we have to fight fire with fire, and overwhelm the fans of lesser teams with superior numbers.
Vote early and vote often! Otherwise, it’s in the hands of the players and the commissioner’s office.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com