San Diego Padres: Two Players Deserving Of All-Star Honors

Voting is underway for the 2018 MLB All-Star game. Which members of the San Diego Padres deserve a spot on the National League roster?

Over the next month, Major League Baseball fans can vote for who they believe deserve to represent their team in the 2018 All-Star game. Of course, fans do not vote for pitchers, only position players. Looking at the roster of the San Diego Padres, who deserves an All-Star nod this year? There are two players, in particular, that should be no-brainers.

As of Saturday, June 2nd, Brad Hand is second in the National League in saves with 17. Only Wade Davis of the Colorado Rockies has more (18). The recently named NL Reliever of the Month has a 1.91 earned run average (19th best) and 1.06 WHIP through his first 28 innings.

Opposing batters are hitting a, wait for it, .098 against Brad Hand‘s slider. Over 13% of his sliders have been a “called strike” pitch, behind only Andrew Miller and Adam Ottavino.

Hand is known to cause the occasional spike in blood pressure at the end of a game, however, there’s no denying his dominance this season.

The San Diego Padres should have a second representative.

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With Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant, and the local guy Anthony Rendon also playing third base in the

national league, the odds of Christian Villanueva getting the starting nod on the National League team are slim-to-none. However, he is still deserving of a reserve spot.

Villanueva leads the National League in home runs with 15, breaking the MLB record for home runs by a native-Mexican player in the process. His .553 slugging percentage ranks third, 135 wRC+ ranks fourth, and his 1.1 WAR is tied for third.

ESPN released their “Still-too-early MLB All-Star rosters,” featuring only Brad Hand on the NL team.

The Padres haven’t had more than two players named to the All-Star roster since 2007 when Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy, and Chris Young all made the team. Over the last five seasons, only Brad Hand (2017), Wil Myers (2016), Drew Pomeranz (2016), Justin Upton (2015), Tyson Ross (2014), Huston Street (2014), and Everth Cabrera (2013) have represented San Diego in the mid-summer classic.

Next: Brad Hand Wins MLB Award

The 2018 MLB All-Star game will be played on July 17th at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. Check out the link at the top of the article to go and vote for the San Diego Padres you feel are deserving of making this team. Fans can vote up to 35 times per email address.