MLB All-Star Game 2012: 5 Biggest All-Star Snubs

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Every year you could make a case for about 15 to 20 players that didn't make the All-Star team.  Realistically, there are about three guys from each league that should have made their respective league's team.

This season is no different. There are always going to be disgruntled fans that are upset that their favorite players didn't make the team and displeased experts that think they can pick a better All-Star team.

I have compiled a list of five guys that I believe deserved to get the nod on the All-Star team.

Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays

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Encarnacion is having a career year for the Blue Jays. He is batting a solid .292 with 22 big flies and 55 RBI. He is a career .263 batter, so this season has exceeded his normal numbers by a large margin.

He has already matched his RBI total from last season and has surpassed his home run total from 2011.  He has only hit more than 22 home runs once in his career and he is on pace to hit 40 this year.

He was left off the American League roster most likely because of the rule that every team has to have at least one representative in the All-Star Game. If Jose Bautista wasn't his teammate, Encarnacion would be punching his ticket to Kansas City.

Johan Santana, New York Mets

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Johan Santana has been phenomenal this season. The 33-year-old Santana has shown no signs of slowing down and has pitched like he had been back in his Minnesota days.

The lefty has a 6-4 record with an impressive 2.76 ERA. He also hurled a no-hitter this season, the first in Mets history. He has helped the New York Mets gain ground in the NL East with a 43-37 record, trailing the scorching hot Washington Nationals by three-and-a-half games.

This is yet another case of a player being left out because of the one-player-per-team rule. His teammate and fellow pitcher RA Dickey and third basemen David Wright have been having career seasons, and that leaves Santana watching the game from home.

Austin Jackson, Detroit Tigers

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Austin Jackson is one of the best young players in all of baseball, if not the best. He has proven that this season with a .322 average and playing a phenomenal Gold Glove-worthy center field.

Jackson has improved on his power numbers as well this season, knocking out eight home runs and 35 RBI. Did I mention he missed about three weeks?

He is two home runs and 10 RBI short of his career highs for a single season, and he has only played a third of the games. Jackson has been a good replacement for Curtis Granderson in center field, and the sky is the limit for the young star.

It's too bad he has three teammates that were basically a lock for the All-Star Game, and that left him with nothing more than a slim chance to be the fourth Tiger in the Mid-Summer Classic.

Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds

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All I can say about this snub is: Are you kidding? Johnny Cueto has remarkable numbers for a starting pitcher, and he's on a team who is contending for a division title.

Cueto has an amazing 2.26 ERA and a more than respectable 9-4 record. The fact that he missed out on the All-Star Game is beyond me, and Tony La Russa should be embarrassed for missing a gem of a player like Cueto.

Many people have said that it is because of Cueto's questionable attitude; others believe that it is because La Russa is holding a grudge from the infamous Cardinals-Reds brawl in 2010.

Either way, Cueto deserved a spot on the team as much as anybody on the National League roster. If this doesn't motivate the young pitcher, I don't know what will.

Jake Peavy, Chicago White Sox

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Jake Peavy has seen a career resurgence this season for the Chicago White Sox.

Although he has just a 6-5 record, he has a 2.96 ERA and 101 strikeouts, good for sixth in the American League. He hasn't had such impressive numbers since he was traded to the White Sox in 2009. His last season with an ERA under three and an impressive number of strikeouts was 2008 with the Padres.

Although he has seemingly gotten his career back on track, the right-hander didn't seem to get much respect from Ron Washington when Washington got to pick the at-large spots on the roster. Instead, Washington chose four of his own players with at-large spots, making it seven Texas Rangers on the roster.

As unfair as this might seem, all Peavy can do is watch as three of his teammates make the trip without him. Nothing would be more satisfying for Peavy is his division-leading White Sox could make it to the playoffs and beat Ron Washington's Rangers.