Before the season, I could’ve written down the names of the Washington Nationals‘ five starting pitchers and it would have only been a slight exaggeration to submit that as a list of the team’s top five All-Star Game candidates.
But with the game just two weeks away, the Nationals’ rotation is only likely to send one representative to Cincinnati.
A list of Washington’s potential All-Stars reads much like the script of the Nats’ season as a whole. The starting pitchers are, for the most part, nowhere to be found, and several other players have maxed out their potential to pick up the slack.
If Bryce Harper failed to put up All-Star numbers for the first half of the season, there would’ve been No. 34 jerseys burning in the streets of D.C. in frustration. But he did, so there aren’t.
The more unlikely candidates come in the form of an aging center fielder who began the season on the DL and a newcomer who’s played out of his natural position for the entirety of his short Nationals career.
With fan voting determining the starting position of players, Washington is essentially guaranteed to have one starter come July 14 after the latest update revealed Harper is more than five million votes clear of the next closest outfielder.
But the players and the managers get their voices heard next, when they name the All-Star pitchers and fill out the bench. And that’s where the Nationals can earn the most All-Star nods.
Five Nats have a shot to join the NL roster at the Midsummer Classic. Here they are, ranked for your convenience, based on likelihood of selection.