The first stage of voting for this season’s MLB All-Star Game wrapped up Thursday afternoon and there were certainly some surprises.
Some of the obvious superstars like Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge were the top two vote getters and the All-Star Game regulars like Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Juan Soto were all atop the voting leaderboards.
There were, however, quite a few players that did not advance into the second round of voting due to the flawed fan voting process.
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James Wood of the Washington Nationals may be the most clear and obvious snub, and it is truly unfortunate that he was not one of the top six vote-getters in the outfield.
At just 22 years old, Wood is having a monster year with a .277 average, 22 home runs, 63 RBIs and a .926 OPS. All of those numbers are top two for qualified outfielders but because of the market he plays in, Wood did not get the recognition he deserved.
Instead, it was Teoscar Hernandez of the Los Angeles Dodgers who has eight fewer home runs, 10 less RBI and an OPS more than 120 points lower than Wood.
The good news for Wood and Nationals fans is that he will almost certainly be chosen as a reserve when the final rosters are set and the entire baseball world will get to see his talent put on display in Atlanta.
James Wood did not make the cut as a finalist to start in the OF at the ASG. The slept on superstar didn’t get enough fan support. Not even close. Absolute shame.
He will get in as a reserve when the baseball people look over the numbers.
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) June 27, 2025
Eugenio Suarez is tied with Seiya Suzuki for the National League RBI lead and has 16 more RBI than any other third baseman in the league.
Unfortunately for him, he fell victim to the fan voting and was left out of the second round of voting. Instead of Suarez advancing, it was Max Muncy, who has six fewer doubles, 13 less home runs, 16 less RBIs and a slugging percentage of .829 compared to Suarez’s’ .892.
It is yet another unfortunate case of one of the best players in baseball this season having a chance to start the All-Star Game stolen from him due to a flawed system.
Elly De La Cruz has put together an excellent season for the Cincinnati Reds and he will ultimately have to wait until the reserves are announced to hear his name selected for the game.
He leads all shortstops in runs scored (64), home runs (18), RBI (55) and slugging percentage (.511).
Just like the other players mentioned above, he fell victim to playing in a smaller market, as the Mets’ Francisco Lindor and Dodgers’ Mookie Betts were chosen over him in the fan vote.
As will likely be the case with Wood and Suarez, De La Cruz will be selected as a reserve prior to the game, meaning one of the most electric players in baseball will make the All-Star Game in consecutive seasons.
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