The MLB All-Star teams have been announced for both leagues. Not surprisingly, New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto didn’t make the cut. Instead, the Mets will send first baseman Pete Alonso, shortstop Francisco Lindor, and closer Edwin Diaz to Atlanta.
Additionally, Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still very, very dead.
Let’s be honest, folks. Juan Soto has had a great run of late but in terms of expectations? He’s fallen pretty short compared to his 15-year, $765 million contract’s fanfare. His batting .324 with 12 home runs and 24 RBI since June 1 ups his numbers on the year, but not exactly into All-Star territory.
Soto is batting .263 with 21 home runs and 51 RBI on the year. That’s a good-but-not-great year, thus far. The National League is also overflowing with outfield talent.
For example, former Mets prospect and Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong is an MVP candidate. So might his teammate Kyle Tucker with a strong second-half.
Meanwhile, the Marlins are borderline fun to watch some days thanks to Kyle Stowers. Corbin Carroll and James Wood are a 1-2 punch of left-handed talent. The only outliers are Ronald Acuña Jr., who just got back from a knee injury in May, and Fernando Tatis Jr., who’s having a fairly average year by his standards. Such is the power of fan voting.
Therein lies why Juan Soto didn’t make the All-Star cut. Besides biased Mets fans, who was actually voting for him after his—let’s not sugarcoat it—atrocious start to the season? The guy was batting under .250 as recently as June 20. His first two months in Flushing were defined more by dumb tabloid shit than actual baseball.
Plus, not for nothing, Soto’s numbers this season are largely empty calories. He’s still batting only .229 in high-leverage situations, per Baseball-Reference, and only .222 with two outs and runners in scoring position. Soto hits .298 in 59 “Late & Close” plate appearances, but only has a pair of homers with five RBI. This is someone who contributes to the lineup, but at the price of one who should lead it.
And while we’re at it, folks, why waste the energy complaining about this? It’s the All-Star Game. It’s a glorified pickup game with zero stakes. Everyone plays two or so innings. Nothing matters one way or another. MLB tried and failed to get fans to pay attention by giving the winning league home-field advantage in the World Series. Besides the Home Run Derby, there’s no “there” there.
Look, at the end of the day, Juan Soto is going to be fine. He’s finally hitting well, and maybe the Mets can trade for some pitching to keep itself in the playoff race. Missing his first All-Star Game since 2021 hardly upends his legacy, nor is it another demerit in a down season. We’ve seen it happen to all the best players in all sports. Sometimes, guys just have bad seasons.
It’s just baseball, Suzyn. Let’s not try to make it any more than that.
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