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2 biggest Angels All-Star snubs and 1 who fell just short

The Angels have two of the biggest all-star snubs in the American League

By Zachary Rotman |
Jul 2, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez (53)
Jul 2, 2023; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels relief pitcher Carlos Estevez (53) / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
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Every season fans of Major League Baseball have the same discussion around this time. They list off the biggest All-Star Game snubs and try to find who they should have replaced on the roster.

Fans of the Los Angeles Angels are used to having the same all-stars every season with Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. Those two are among the best and most popular players in the game and will be starting once again in Seattle very soon.

Unfortunately, Trout and Ohtani were the only Angels to make the team. The roster is much improved, and there're a couple of players who you can tell were definitely snubbed. There's even one more who came very close but probably didn't deserve a spot.

LA Angels closer Carlos Estevez was an all-star snub

How Carlos Estevez didn't make the all-star team I have absolutely no idea. The new Angels closer has been dominant from the moment Spring Training ended, and he's done everything possible to earn a spot.

The right-hander has a 1.85 ERA in 35 appearances and 34 innings pitched. He's struck out 42 batters compared to 16 walks while giving up just three home runs.

Estevez has been used often with a team-leading 35 appearances, ten more than Chris Devenski who is second. He's been used in the highest leverage situations all season long and has gotten the job done virtually every time. Estevez has converted 21 saves in 21 opportunities. Yes, he has not blown a single save. The 21 straight to begin a season is an Angels franchise record that he just keeps extending.

Kenley Jansen has a 3.45 ERA in 30 appearances with 17 saves in 20 opportunities. Higher ERA, fewer saves, more blown saves, Jansen also has four losses to Estevez's one. What exactly has he done better?

Emmanuel Clase has a 3.41 ERA in 40 appearances with 24 saves in 30 opportunities. Sure, he has more saves than Estevez, but has blown six! Clase just blew a four-run lead (not even a save opportunity) by allowing four runs in the ninth against the Cubs. He's a great reliever, but what has he done better than Estevez?

Jansen you can say should be here because he's Boston's lone representative, but Clase is not Cleveland's only representative as Jose Ramirez made the cut as well. It's absolutely absurd that Estevez who has been one of the best relievers in all of baseball this season did not make the cut.

LA Angels infielder Brandon Drury was an all-star snub

I get that he's hurt right now and wouldn't play in the game, but that doesn't mean you don't deserve a spot. Plenty of injured players make the team including Mike Trout in previous years and Aaron Judge this season. Brandon Drury deserved his spot.

The Angels infielder is slashing .277/.322/.500 with 14 home runs and 45 RBI. He has a 122 WRC+ and has been worth 1.7 fWAR. Definitely not bad.

Whit Merrifield of the Blue Jays made it with a .700 OPS and a 98 WRC+. He's hit just two home runs and has been worth 1.2 fWAR. Merrifield is a solid player, but what has he done better than Drury? He has a higher average and more stolen bases, I guess that's enough?

Toronto not only has Merrifield on the roster, but they've got three other reserves. If you want to bring team record into the equation, the Blue Jays are a total of 0.5 games ahead of the Angels in the standings right now.

Drury ranks second behind Marcus Semien in virtually every statistical category for AL second baseman. Semien is starting, deservingly so. Why is Drury not on the bench?

I and every other baseball fan believed Wander Franco deserved a spot. If you had to give it to an actual second baseman, give it to Drury over Merrifield. With Drury being unable to go you can give it to Merrifield or whoever else you want.

LA Angels pitcher has an outside argument for an all-star spot but fell short

Reid Detmers has completely turned his season around. On June 1 the southpaw allowed four runs in five innings in a loss to Houston. Three of those four runs came in the fifth inning as Detmers continued to struggle in the middle frames and they had a team record of just 3-7 in his starts. Since that outing, Detmers has been a different pitcher.

Detmers has a 1.42 ERA in his last five starts with 43 strikeouts in 31.2 innings of work. He's held hitters to a .138 average with a .467 OPS in that span.

Detmers has been doing things that only Nolan Ryan has done in Angels history, and he's made himself a legit case for being an all-star replacement. Among pitchers with at least 80 innings pitched Detmers ranks third in the AL in K/9 and fourth in K% making him one of the premier strikeout artists in the American League.

Detmers' ERA and lack of innings pitched compared to some of the starters who made it make him rightfully on the outside looking in but if there's an injured pitcher I wouldn't be shocked to see Detmers named as a replacement.

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