Three Phillies in running to start the All-Star Game after first phase of voting, but not Bryce Harper
If Harper gets selected to his ninth All-Star Game on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park, it will be as a reserve. But the host team may still be well-represented in the starting lineup.
With less than a week left to vote, it hardly qualifies as a surprise that three Phillies players are in the running to start Philadelphia’s first All-Star Game in 30 years.
The surprise: Bryce Harper isn’t among them.
Harper finished third among first basemen in the first phase of fan voting, MLB announced Thursday. If the Face of the Phillies gets selected to his ninth All-Star Game on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park, it will be through player balloting as a National League reserve.
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But the Phillies may still be well-represented in the NL’s starting lineup. Brandon Marsh moved on to the second stage of fan voting by collecting the second-most votes among outfielders, while Bryson Stott and Alec Bohm did the same by finishing second at second base and third base, respectively.
Kyle Schwarber, who leads the majors with 29 homers, ran second among designated hitters. But Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani locked up a starting spot by getting the most votes of any NL player. Schwarber is a virtual lock to be chosen as a reserve.
Voting resumes at noon Monday on MLB.com and on the MLB app and concludes at noon next Thursday. Votes from the first phase of voting don’t carry over. MLB will announce the All-Star rosters, including starters, on July 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Marsh ranked third in the NL in hitting — and second among all major league outfielders — with a .321 average through Wednesday. He had 14 doubles, 11 homers, and an .860 OPS that was third among Phillies players behind Schwarber and Harper.
Six NL outfielders advanced to the final round of voting, with the Dodgers’ Andy Pages and Teoscar Hernández, the Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. and Michael Harris II, and the Mets’ Juan Soto joining Marsh. Hernández and Acuña are on the injured list with hamstring strains.
Bohm and Stott have recovered from awful starts to the season. Stott, in particular, was 19-for-58 (.328) with a .917 OPS in his last 16 games. He’s vying with Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies, and Bohm is pitted against Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy.
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Harper (.877 OPS, 17 homers entering Thursday night’s game) finished behind the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman (.859, 13 homers) and the Braves’ Matt Olson (.870, 20 homers). The NL carried three third basemen last season (Freeman, Olson, and Pete Alonso).
All-Star reserves and pitchers are selected through the player balloting.
Cristopher Sánchez, second in the NL with a 1.80 ERA entering his start Thursday night in Washington, and closer Jhoan Duran (1.69 ERA, 19-for-20 in save opportunities) are strong candidates. Zack Wheeler (2.11 ERA in 11 starts) is also a possibility, though he missed the first month of the season.
Schwarber and Harper said they’ll decide on competing in the Home Run Derby after they know whether they’re selected as All-Stars.
Also Wednesday, Don Mattingly was named to the NL coaching staff, as expected, by Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. Phillies head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit, strength and conditioning coach Morgan Gregory, and clubhouse manager Phil Sheridan will be part of the NL staff. Kevin Steinhour will be the AL clubhouse manager.
Father's Day will hit a little differently this year for Don and Preston Mattingly. After years of working in baseball for different teams, often on opposite sides of the country, they are together with the Phillies as the first father-and-son manager-and-GM combination ever. Preston Mattingly joins Phillies Extra to discuss working with his dad, as well as the Phillies' decision to demote Andrew Painter to the minors and their preparations for the trade deadline. Watch here.
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