3 San Diego Padres players who belong in MLB All-Star Game

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Fan voting for the MLB All-Star Game has officially closed, and results for the startling lineups will be announced Friday night on ESPN. San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado was in the running to start, but other Padres may still have a chance to play.

The Padres have a good team with 88.1 percent playoff odds, according to FanGraphs. Their lineup has been inconsistent, but they’ve performed well defensively. Some San Diego players would be good additions to the All-Star Game roster.

These three players, in particular, deserve to make an appearance in the 2022 All-Star Game.

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado

San Diego’s third baseman Manny Machado strongly deserves to play in the All-Star Game. He’s been the most reliable and powerful player in the lineup this season and has stepped up in the absence of slugger Fernando Tatís Jr.

Machado is, significantly, the best hitter on the team. He’s hitting .315/.387/.533 this season for an OPS of .920, the highest on the Padres. He’s also hit the most home runs (13). He has the best isolated power (.217) with above-average strikeout and walk percentages (18.7 and 10.3, respectively).

Machado faced an ankle injury in June and managed to avoid the injured list. He came back for the Dodgers series as a designated hitter before being fully healed. Though the Padres lost 3-1, he still helped the team by scoring the only run of the game in the first inning.

His dedication to his team is hard to come by, and he’d make a great addition to the All-Star team.

Oct 2, 2021; San Francisco, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) throws a pitch during the second inning against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports /

San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove

San Diego’s pitcher Joe Musgrove is the best pitcher on the Padres and one of the best in MLB this year. Despite being on a roster of several talented pitchers, he still manages to stand out.

He’s pitching with great accuracy this season. He has a batting average against of .194, WHIP of 0.93, earned run average of 2.09 and has struck out 98 over 99 innings pitched. In all of MLB, he has the fifth-best ERA, sixth-best BAA and is tied for sixth-best WHIP.

Though Musgrove has never played in an All-Star Game, he’s overdue for one with what he’s accomplished. He made Padres history in 2021 by giving the franchise its first no-hitter and has been one of the strongest contributors to San Diego’s success this season.

San Diego Padres pitcher MacKenzie Gore

One of San Diego’s many talented pitchers, MacKenzie Gore, is in his first MLB season and surprising many with how well he’s doing.

Gore was included in the starting rotation several times at the beginning of the season and has proved he deserves to stay. He has a batting average against of .232, WHIP of 1.35 and earned run average of 3.18. He’s struck out 68 over 65 innings.

Gore is no stranger to All-Star games. Though this is his first season in MLB, he played in the All-Star Futures Game in 2019 and pitched extremely well.

After his appearance in 2019, Gore told MLB Network, “There were a lot of nerves. I tried to get settled in. It was a lot of fun. It’s been awesome. The hard work has paid off. I am in a good spot right now and I need to keep working.”

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Gore has proven that he can excel against MLB players with a lot more experience than him, and he’d provide incredible accuracy for the NL team.

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San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado

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