Phillies

Zack Wheeler’s All-Star Snub is a Damn Crime

By Matt Schultz

Published: Jul 6th, 2026 · 12:04 PM EDT

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There are always gonna be snubs when All-Star selection announcements roll around, but truth be told, I can’t remember being as pissed about one as I am about Zack Wheeler getting hosed this year. The hell is going on?

The NL All-Star pitchers and reserves! pic.twitter.com/YvTD8riTur

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 5, 2026

Reading through the selections, staring blankly at my phone for a long while, I wrestled with a series of thoughts that went something like this:

“All-Star selections are out. Hell yeah.”

“I don’t see Wheeler.”

“Where is Wheeler?

“They forgot Wheeler on the graphic.“

“This graphic’s wrong.”

“Not judging. Making a graphic like this is probably hard. It’s a nice graphic. Lemme check the official announcement.”

“He’s not on that either...”

“I’ve read through this announcement three times and he’s really not on there…”

“Did Wheeler really get dogged this year?”

“That can’t be right…” 

“Isn’t Zack Wheeler currently on pace to have the best year of his career?”

“Isn’t he top-5 in Cy Young odds right now?”

“But wait… they took Paul Skenes?”

“They really took Skenes over Wheeler?”

“How?”

“Doesn’t Paul Skenes have like a 4.00 ERA?”

“This is… a crime…”

“An injustice has occurred…”

“I gotta do something…”

“I can’t sit idly by…

“But what is my recourse…”

“To get the word out… Of course… The blog is mightier than the sword…”

And after checking the numbers, my shocked reaction has been proven valid; there’s no way Skenes should be on this team over Wheeler, and the stats bear that out:

Yes, I understand that the Pirates need to have at least 1 player in the ASG…

But this is annoying. https://t.co/3p69d7m8BM pic.twitter.com/pswRWNxEqF

— Luke Arcaini (@ArcainiLuke) July 5, 2026

Wheeler vs. Skenes

Player	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	ER	BB	K	WHIP	Opp BA
Zack Wheeler	13	8	1	2.36	80.0	55	21	20	84	0.94	.193
Paul Skenes	18	6	8	3.62	97.0	76	39	22	119	1.01	.211

Wheeler has been dominant! Skenes has not! Wheeler has posted a 2.36 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .193 opponent batting average, and an 8-1 record compared to Skenes’s 3.62 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, .211 opponent batting average, and 6-8 record. It’s not close! What are we doing here?

And even if we take Skenes out of it, snubbing Wheeler is still absurd — he’s been one of the best pitchers in baseball for over half a decade, and this season has statistically been his best yet:

Wheeler Season Stats

Season	GS	W	L	ERA	IP	H	ER	BB	K	WHIP	Opp BA
2026	13	8	1	2.36	80.0	55	21	20	84	0.94	.193
2025	24	10	5	2.71	149.2	107	45	33	195	0.94	.197
2024	32	16	7	2.57	200.0	139	57	52	224	0.96	.192
2023	32	13	6	3.61	192.0	168	77	39	212	1.08	.229
2022	26	12	7	2.82	153.0	125	48	34	163	1.04	.221
2021	33	14	10	2.78	213.1	169	66	46	247	1.01	.215
2020	11	4	2	2.92	71.0	67	23	16	53	1.17	.254
2019	31	11	8	3.96	195.1	196	86	50	195	1.26	.258
2018	29	12	7	3.31	182.1	150	67	55	179	1.12	.225
2017	18	3	7	5.21	86.1	97	50	40	81	1.59	.284
2014	34	11	11	3.54	185.1	167	73	79	187	1.33	.240
2013	18	7	5	3.42	100.0	90	38	46	84	1.36	.243

People online are pointing out that every team in baseball has to get an All-Star selection, and Skenes is the representative from the Pirates. I get this. I understand this. But it doesn’t make me feel any better about it. I’m tired of Wheeler being underrated. We appreciate him here in Philly, but it’s always felt to me like he’s overlooked across baseball. He should have at least one Cy Young by now (2021 or 2024, pick one, it should be his). He currently has the fourth-highest bWAR (3.8) in baseball. He has a 2.36 ERA. He’s coming back from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. They took out one of his ribs. He keeps his rib in his closet. What more does this guy have to do…

Make things right, MLB. Make Wheeler a replacement All-Star — the sooner the better.