Question of the week: who gets your nod for the All-Star Game?

[Brock Beauchamp]

This is something I want to start doing once a week or so. Highlight a poll question and get peoples' opinions on it, hopefully spurring a good conversation. 

I'm notoriously bad about picking who *should* be an All-Star. If I egregiously left off a candidate, please say so.

[formerlybis]

It's interesting that Chourio/Yelich/Contreras (and maybe Peralta) are probably rightly left off this list for various reasons given the competition at their positions. Nonetheless, those guys are likely at the top of our opponents' scouting reports. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

3 minutes ago, formerlybis said:

It's interesting that Chourio/Yelich/Contreras (and maybe Peralta) are probably rightly left off this list for various reasons given the competition at their positions. Nonetheless, those guys are likely at the top of our opponents' scouting reports. 

Yeah, I struggled with each of them for different reasons. I try to ignore what the fans will vote for (ie. recognizable names) and go with the guys who are the highest-performing.

[Outlander]

Would not surprise me in the least if Yelich was voted in so potentially could knock out a Brewers player that should be an All Star. Would go with Peralta, so none of your options.

[Brock Beauchamp]

14 minutes ago, Outlander said:

Would not surprise me in the least if Yelich was voted in so potentially could knock out a Brewers player that should be an All Star. Would go with Peralta, so none of your options.

That's certainly a possibility and happens too often with the ASG, which is part of the reason why I used "worthy" in the question. The fan vote is kinda crap. I think it's fine to let fans vote, as it's an exhibition game, but the fan vote is rarely representative of the best 30-ish players.

[formerlybis]

25 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Yeah, I struggled with each of them for different reasons. I try to ignore what the fans will vote for (ie. recognizable names) and go with the guys who are the highest-performing.

Given that criteria, and the fact that you must pick one, I picked Uribe (and perhaps was subliminally swayed by the photo (-: ). The only counter argument for him is that you can go all starters and closers on an All-Star team and be just fine - the NL manager may look more at Megill because of that if there are no other Brewers on the team.

[Brock Beauchamp]

5 minutes ago, formerlybis said:

Given that criteria, and the fact that you must pick one, I picked Uribe (and perhaps was subliminally swayed by the photo (-: ). The only counter argument for him is that you can go all starters and closers on an All-Star team and be just fine - the NL manager may look more at Megill because of that if there are no other Brewers on the team.

Honestly, Uribe might be my choice as well. He has finally become the guy I hoped he would be.

[jay87shot]

I voted Rhys but regret that on 2nd thought. The NL has Harper, Alonso, Freeman, and Olsen. My 2nd thought was Sal but the NL OF is loaded as well. Turang probably has the best path, ai like Uribe as well but think the lack of save will hold him back. I seeiously think Yeli is going to hit .300+ with like 10 more HR in by mid July. That likely puts him around .275-.280 with 23 HR and 15+ sb.

[Brock Beauchamp]

4 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

I voted Rhys but regret that on 2nd thought. The NL has Harper, Alonso, Freeman, and Olsen. 

Same. I added Rhys, thinking he was easily a top 3-ish first baseman given the recent weakness at the position, but then I looked at the rest of the league...

[liveforoctober]

If I had to pick someone both based on earning the spot but also representing this specific Brewers team... I am sending Sal Frelick to represent us. If I had to place a bet on it, I think Peralta will be the one who goes.

[LouisEly]

No love for Trevor Megill?

Among closers, the only ones I see clearly getting a nod ahead of him are Suarez, Finnegan, and Edwin Diaz.

[nate82]

4 hours ago, liveforoctober said:

If I had to pick someone both based on earning the spot but also representing this specific Brewers team... I am sending Sal Frelick to represent us. If I had to place a bet on it, I think Peralta will be the one who goes.

You can make a case for Turang and Frelick but I don’t think either make it.  I think Peralta will be the lone Brewer who makes it maybe Contreras as the 3rd catcher.

Frelick is deserving but the NL OF is just stacked.  Turang has a better chance at 2B than Frelick does in the OF.

[liveforoctober]

51 minutes ago, nate82 said:

You can make a case for Turang and Frelick but I don’t think either make it.  I think Peralta will be the lone Brewer who makes it maybe Contreras as the 3rd catcher.

Frelick is deserving but the NL OF is just stacked.  Turang has a better chance at 2B than Frelick does in the OF.

I definitely don't think Sal is making it... I was more or less saying he exemplifies this year's team better than the others so I'd like him to represent us if I had the choice.

[Playing Catch]

11 hours ago, liveforoctober said:

I definitely don't think Sal is making it... I was more or less saying he exemplifies this year's team better than the others so I'd like him to represent us if I had the choice.

He's probably the team MVP to date, even though he's not an all-star. The Brewers don't have any position player all-stars so far. A couple of hot weeks from anyone at this point in the season can change their outlook significantly, of course. If Wild Bill has a strong June (I'm not holding my breath, as I suspect that broken finger has sapped him), he could get a spot due to his star power.

21 hours ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

That's certainly a possibility and happens too often with the ASG, which is part of the reason why I used "worthy" in the question. The fan vote is kinda crap. I think it's fine to let fans vote, as it's an exhibition game, but the fan vote is rarely representative of the best 30-ish players.

I like the All-Star Game. I think any nod to fans is a good move for any sports, so I'm glad some 10-year-old Brewer fan can vote a straight Brewer ticket, like I did as a kid. I also dispute the idea that fans "get it wrong". If a player has performed at such a level to be respected by fans to that degree, they've clearly done some good things in their career to gain such recognition. Obviously, Yelich is a great example.

I also loathe the movement to "get it right" in sports. I think the obsession with getting things right, and making sure every champion or all-star is worthy is suffocating. As fans, don't we like the debate? Don't we want there to be questions and controversy?

[Brock Beauchamp]

21 minutes ago, Playing Catch said:

I like the All-Star Game. I think any nod to fans is a good move for any sports, so I'm glad some 10-year-old Brewer fan can vote a straight Brewer ticket, like I did as a kid. I also dispute the idea that fans "get it wrong". If a player has performed at such a level to be respected by fans to that degree, they've clearly done some good things in their career to gain such recognition. Obviously, Yelich is a great example.

I also loathe the movement to "get it right" in sports. I think the obsession with getting things right, and making sure every champion or all-star is worthy is suffocating. As fans, don't we like the debate? Don't we want there to be questions and controversy?

I think you're misunderstanding me a bit: I don't have a real problem with the fan vote because fans vote for who they want to see play. That's fine, it's an exhibition. It's okay to vote using factors other than "this is the best player at the position".

But from a pure performance standpoint, they don't pick the best 30 players.

I also haven't really cared about the ASG since I was maybe 15 years old. I'm not the target demo here and that's 100% okay.

[MVP2110]

Turang has by far been the most valuable Brewer this season and it isn't particularly close. It should be him, not sure it will be though

[liveforoctober]

11 minutes ago, MVP2110 said:

Turang has by far been the most valuable Brewer this season and it isn't particularly close. It should be him, not sure it will be though

Chad Patrick has the highest WAR of any Brewers player. Turang and Frelick are tied, if that is a metric you follow at all.

[sveumrules]

23 minutes ago, liveforoctober said:

Chad Patrick has the highest WAR of any Brewers player. Turang and Frelick are tied, if that is a metric you follow at all.

Sal & Brice are even on the FanGraphs leaderboards, but Turang has a healthy lead in BRef WAR.

Patrick and Peralta are a fun comparison right now.

Patrick (69 IP)
101 K+ | 84 BB+ | 62 HR+
70 ERA- | 81 FIP-
2.3 rWAR | 1.8 fWAR

Peralta (71 IP)
115 K+ | 112 BB+ | 110 HR+
72 ERA- | 99 FIP-
2.1 rWAR | 1.1 fWAR

Among 56 NL pitchers with at least 50 IP, Patrick is 6th in rWAR and tied for 6th in fWAR.

[MVP2110]

12 hours ago, liveforoctober said:

Chad Patrick has the highest WAR of any Brewers player. Turang and Frelick are tied, if that is a metric you follow at all.

According to Baseball Reference, Turang has been worth 2.5 WAR, Chad Patrick has been worth 1.4 WAR. The 2nd highest on the team is Freddy at 1.7 WAR

[karl]

On 6/6/2025 at 10:46 AM, Brock Beauchamp said:

Yeah, I struggled with each of them for different reasons. I try to ignore what the fans will vote for (ie. recognizable names) and go with the guys who are the highest-performing.

barring a major drop off, Miz has very well pitched his way into consideration

[tmwiese55]

Surprising to say but Yeli probably makes it again.  Up to a very solid 260/340/800ish ops with 15 HR and 56 RBI and 12 sbs.   

Side note, I remember recent talk about how our management is the dumbest thing ever for paying Yeli rather than a few hundred mil more for Harper.  Harper has only played 57 games so far again this year, 9 HRs 34 RBI with similar splits stats. He has 6 years 142 mil left. Yeli about 3/80

[OldHeidelberg]

12 minutes ago, tmwiese55 said:

Surprising to say but Yeli probably makes it again.  Up to a very solid 260/340/800ish ops with 15 HR and 56 RBI and 12 sbs.   

Side note, I remember recent talk about how our management is the dumbest thing ever for paying Yeli rather than a few hundred mil more for Harper.  Harper has only played 57 games so far again this year, 9 HRs 34 RBI with similar splits stats. He has 6 years 142 mil left. Yeli about 3/80

If he stays white hot he will certainly play his way in. In the end I think his contract will be a lot like Braun's last deal, injuries will drag down the overall value we get but he will be a productive player when out there. At least he doesn't need days off all the time like Braun did and he seems to be settling into a DH role that wasn't available for Ryan. 

[CheezWizHed]

My sons and I were talking about this Sunday at the game.  No one player has really stood out or played at an All-Star level...yet they continue to win.  

Pitcher:

• Most Deserving:
  • Patrick - Fading a bit more recently, but really has been good this year. 
  • Megill - The numbers are less than Uribe's but the pressure has been MUCH higher.
  • Uribe - Looking filthy out there!  But no one will "notice" until he is a closer. 
• Most Likely:
  • Peralta - Name recognition, but also a very steady SP anchor. Performance is about the same as Patrick's with his recent fade. 

Position Player:

• Most Deserving: 
  • Turang - His lack of slugging keeps his OPS down while most of his value comes in his platinum defense.
  • Frelick - Starting to blossom as a hitter, but lacking SLG again. Good lead-off guy with GG defense - Oddly, this is exactly what his draft profile said he would become (how often does that happen?). 
• Most Likely:
  • Yelich - Name recognition driving this mostly, but his HR count doesn't hurt either. 

I'll vote for Patrick, but I think Yelich actually goes. 

[dlk9s]

Freddy