Tonight, four Washington Nationals were selected to play in the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego next Tuesday
For the first time since 2012, the Washington Nationals had four players selected to play for the National League in next week’s All-Star Game at PETCO Park in San Diego. Those four players that were selected are second baseman Daniel Murphy, catcher Wilson Ramos, outfielder Bryce Harper, and starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg. The manager of the NL team will be Terry Collins (Mets).
Out of those four players, Harper is the only one who will be in the starting lineup. The other two National League outfielders voted into the All-Star game are the Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes and the Cubs’ Dexter Fowler. Fowler is currently on the disabled list (hamstring). This will be Harper’s fourth All-Star Game appearance and his third time as a starter.
Not a lot of people would predict at the beginning of the season that Murphy and Ramos would be All-Stars. Murphy will be on the team for the first time since 2014 while Ramos is an All-Star for the first time. Murphy will be a backup at second base to Ben Zobrist (Cubs), but the voting was very close:
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As for Ramos, he will be a reserve along with Jonathan Lucroy (Brewers). Buster Posey (Giants) was the catcher who won the fan voting. Posey is the only non-Cubs player to get the start in the infield for the National League.
Finally, the lone pitcher from the Washington Nationals that is going to San Diego will be Strasburg. Strasburg, who will be playing in his second All-Star game (first since 2012), is 11-0 with a 2.71 ERA in 15 starts this season. If he plays in this game, Strasburg will pitch in his hometown of San Diego.
The other starting pitchers that were named to the National League team were Jake Arrieta (Cubs), Madison Bumgarner (Giants), Johnny Cueto (Giants), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), Jon Lester (Cubs), Noah Syndergaard (Mets), and Julio Teheran (Braves).
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Although you could make a case for Danny Espinosa and his 18 home runs to be on the team, it is safe to say that the four Washington Nationals who got in definitely deserved to be in the Midsummer’s Classic. Plus, Ramos and Murphy had legitimate cases to be starters as well.
You can watch the 2016 All-Star Game next Tuesday on FOX with coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m ET. With home field advantage on the line, a win for the NL could mean that the Washington Nationals could start the World Series with home field, should they make it there.