2016 MLB All-Star Roster: Biggest Snubs and Surprises

The annual announcement of the MLB All-Star Game rosters always sparks debate around the league.

With only 34 roster spots in each league, there are inevitably at least a handful of notable snubs each season. It simply boils down to a numbers game.

It's easy to forget that, before putting together a historically good second half last season, Chicago Cubs ace Jake Arrieta was snubbed from the NL roster.

At the same time, the rosters have also been known to produce a surprise or two.

Who predicted Josh Harrison would earn a spot in 2014?

He didn't have a spot on the ballot or a set position in the Pittsburgh Pirates' lineup, but his versatility in a breakout offensive season landed him among the NL reserves.

Now that this year's rosters have been released, it's time to once again dive into the biggest snubs and surprises.

Complete American League Roster

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Royals catcher Salvador Perez led the American League in All-Star voting.

Starting Pitchers

• RHP Marco Estrada, TOR
• LHP Cole Hamels, TEX
• RHP Danny Salazar, CLE
• LHP Chris Sale, CWS
• RHP Steven Wright, BOS

Relief Pitchers

• RHP Dellin Betances, NYY
• RHP Brad Brach, BAL
• LHP Zach Britton, BAL
• RHP Alex Colome, TB
• RHP Wade Davis, KC*
• RHP Craig Kimbrel, BOS
• RHP Will Harris, HOU
• RHP Kelvin Herrera, KC
• LHP Andrew Miller, NYY

Catchers

• Salvador Perez, KC
• Stephen Vogt, OAK
• Matt Wieters, BAL

Infielders

• 2B Jose Altuve, HOU
• SS Xander Bogaerts, BOS
• 1B Miguel Cabrera, DET
• 2B Robinson Cano, SEA
• 3B Josh Donaldson, TOR
• DH Edwin Encarnacion, TOR
• 1B Eric Hosmer, KC
• SS Francisco Lindor, CLE
• 3B Manny Machado, BAL
• UT Eduardo Nunez, MIN
• DH David Ortiz, BOS

Outfielders

• Carlos Beltran, NYY
• Mookie Betts, BOS
• Jackie Bradley, BOS
• Ian Desmond, TEX
• Mike Trout, LAA
• Mark Trumbo, BAL

*injured, will not pitch

Italics indicates player was voted to start.

AL Surprises

David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Orioles setup man Brad Brach was perhaps the biggest surprise on either roster.

Perhaps the biggest surprise on the American League side is the fact that the pitching staff consists of eight relievers (nine counting the injured Wade Davis) and just five starters.

The name that stands out among that stable of bullpen arms is Brad Brach, who has found a home setting up fellow All-Star Zach Britton in the Baltimore Orioles bullpen.

Brach, 30, is in his third season with the Orioles, and he's pitched to a 2.46 ERA, 1.095 WHIP and 9.3 K/9 in 144 appearances since the start of 2014.

That includes a 1.01 ERA, 0.806 WHIP and 10.1 K/9 this season, with two saves and 13 holds in 36 appearances.

He was worthy of the All-Star nod, but it's still always a surprise when an unheralded non-closer reliever is chosen.

With that in mind, the same can be said about Will Harris, who went from waiver fodder two years ago to the most reliable arm in the Houston Astros bullpen.

He's converted all eight of his save chances since taking over the closer's role and overall has posted a 0.74 ERA, 0.873 WHIP and 8.8 K/9 in 36 appearances.

On the position-player side of things, Eduardo Nunez stands out as a player who no one would have guessed would be headed to the All-Star Game when the season began.

The Minnesota Twins needed someone to represent them, though, and the versatile infielder has put together a strong season with a .315/.341/.479 line while splitting his time between shortstop and third base.

Finally, how good does that one-year, $8 million deal the Texas Rangers gave Ian Desmond in the offseason look now?

He went from essentially unwanted to the best hitter on one of the best teams in the American League. He's hitting .321/.374/.526 with 20 doubles, 15 home runs and 52 RBI while adjusting on the fly to playing center field.

AL Snubs

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The electric arm of Aaron Sanchez will be absent from this year's All-Star Game.

The decision to only bring five starting pitchers left a handful of deserving arms off the AL roster.

Corey Kluber doesn't have a sterling ERA (3.79), but he's top-five in the AL in strikeouts (114), WHIP (1.044) and opponents' batting average (.219), and his 2.96 FIP is best in the AL.

Marco Estrada was a worthy choice from the Toronto Blue Jays, but one can make the argument that Aaron Sanchez deserves to be there as well.

The flame-throwing right-hander has gone 9-1 with a 2.94 ERA, 1.182 WHIP and 99 strikeouts in 113.1 innings while making the transition from setup man to starter.

Chicago White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana (6-8, 3.06 ERA, 100 K) continues to be one of the most underrated players in the game, while Trevor Bauer (7-2, 3.02 ERA, 87 K) and Josh Tomlin (9-1, 3.21 ERA, 64 K) have both come up huge this season for the streaking Cleveland Indians.

The Final Vote ballot in the AL is made up of position players, and all of them qualify as some level of snub for not making the original roster.

Second basemen Ian Kinsler (.843 OPS, 16 HR, 52 RBI) and Dustin Pedroia (.305 BA, .814 OPS, 52 R) lost out at a stacked second base position, with Robinson Cano and Jose Altuve earning roster spots over them.

Evan Longoria (.850 OPS, 18 HR, 45 RBI) was bypassed in favor of closer Alex Colome to be the Rays' rep, and outfielders Michael Saunders (.910 OPS, 15 HR, 38 RBI) and George Springer (.841 OPS, 19 HR, 50 RBI, 61 R) were victims of the numbers game as well.

Slugger Chris Davis (.855 OPS, 21 HR, 56 RBI) wasn't included on the Final Vote ballot, but he too is having a big offensive season for the first-place Baltimore Orioles.

For my money, Springer is the biggest snub.

He's exactly the kind of exciting all-around athlete that this game was designed to highlight, and he deserves the national attention.

Complete National League Roster

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Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo was one of five players voted to start for the North Siders.

Starting Pitchers

• RHP Jake Arrieta, CHC
• LHP Madison Bumgarner, SF
• RHP Johnny Cueto, SF
• RHP Jose Fernandez, MIA
• LHP Clayton Kershaw, LAD*
• LHP Jon Lester, CHC
• RHP Stephen Strasburg, WAS
• RHP Noah Syndergaard, NYM
• RHP Julio Teheran, ATL

Relief Pitchers

• RHP Jeurys Familia, NYM
• RHP Kenley Jansen, LAD
• RHP Mark Melancon, PIT
• RHP A.J. Ramos, MIA
• RHP Fernando Rodney, MIA

Catchers

• Jonathan Lucroy, MIL
• Buster Posey, SF
• Wilson Ramos, WAS

Infielders

• 3B Nolan Arenado, COL
• 3B Kris Bryant, CHC
• 3B Matt Carpenter, STL
• 1B Paul Goldschmidt, ARI
• 2B Daniel Murphy, WAS
• 1B Wil Myers, SD
• 1B Anthony Rizzo, CHC
• SS Addison Russell, CHC
  
• SS Corey Seager, LAD
• 2B Ben Zobrist, CHC

Outfielder

• Yoenis Cespedes, NYM
• Adam Duvall, CIN
• Dexter Fowler, CHC
• Carlos Gonzalez, COL
• Bryce Harper, WAS
• Odubel Herrera, PHI
• Marcell Ozuna, MIA

*injured, will not play

Italics indicates player was voted to start.

NL Surprises

Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Does Adam Duvall deserve to be the Reds' representative over Jay Bruce?

It was a bit surprising to see Adam Duvall as the choice for the Cincinnati Reds over Jay Bruce, even though Duvall has been a great story this year.

The 27-year-old Duvall has opened eyes with his 22 home runs, but Bruce holds the advantage in on-base percentage (.315 to .290), OPS (.861 to .849), RBI (62 to 59), and he's been no slouch in the power department with 18 home runs himself (stats include Tuesday's day game). 

It was also surprising to see the Miami Marlins get two relievers into the game in A.J. Ramos (24/25 SV, 2.45 ERA, 11.2 K/9) and Fernando Rodney (17/17 SV, 0.85 ERA, 10.2 K/9).

Granted, Rodney was just acquired from the San Diego Padres at the end of June, but after that move it seemed like one of those guys would get snubbed.

Hard to call either undeserving; it's just surprising from a numbers standpoint.

Seeing Buster Posey overtake Yadier Molina for starting catcher honors was a pleasant surprise, as it meant that Wilson Ramos found his way onto the roster.

With Posey likely going either way and Jonathan Lucroy an easy choice to represent the Milwaukee Brewers, Molina winning the fan vote likely would have meant Ramos was on the outside looking in despite his .340/.396/.563 line.

This wasn't a surprise from a roster standpoint, but how about the fact that Ben Zobrist won the starting second base spot over Daniel Murphy by 88 votes?!

Considering the two combined for 6,026,726 votes, that's an incredibly close margin of victory for Zobrist.

Not seeing manager Terry Collins tap another one of his own by naming Jacob deGrom (4-4, 2.62 ERA, 84 K) was also a bit surprising, even if he didn't intend on pitching him in the game.

NL Snubs

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Starling Marte was the victim of a numbers crunch in the NL outfield.

The NL outfield was full of snubs, as it was simply a matter of not enough spots for so many deserving candidates.

Pittsburgh Pirates teammates Starling Marte (.321 BA, .841 OPS, 45 R) and Gregory Polanco (.895 OPS, 24 2B, 12 HR), Miami Marlins left fielder Christian Yelich (.317 BA, .871 OPS, 38 R), Milwaukee Brewers slugger Ryan Braun (.916 OPS, 13 HR, 44 RBI), Colorado Rockies center fielder Charlie Blackmon (.304 BA, .874 OPS, 48 R) and the aforementioned Jay Bruce all had a legitimate case.

The San Francisco Giants are again among the best teams in baseball, and the infield duo of Brandon Belt (.908 OPS, 10 HR, 44 RBI) and Brandon Crawford (.775 OPS, 8 HR, 53 RBI) have been a big reason why.

Crawford wasn't the only snub at the shortstop position, and the roster crunch there became even more significant with Addison Russell earning the starting nod.

Rookies Aledmys Diaz (.896 OPS, 11 HR, 42 RBI) and Trevor Story (.876 OPS, 19 HR, 50 RBI) are both having terrific offensive seasons after entering the year with modest expectations.

Another rookie on the pitching side ranks among the biggest snubs, as Seung Hwan Oh (41 G, 1.71 ERA, 12.2 K/9) has been a force as a setup man and recently as a closer with the St. Louis Cardinals.

It's hard to poke holes in the terrific group of starting pitchers on the NL side, but it's odd not seeing Max Scherzer included on the staff.

Yes, he's allowed an NL-high 21 home runs, but he also ranks among the league leaders in strikeouts (155, first), WHIP (0.970, third) and opponents' batting average (.195, fourth). He has a 20-strikeout game to his credit as well. 

The most disappointing snub has to be left-hander Drew Pomeranz, who pitches for the host San Diego Padres.

It's hard to argue for his inclusion over anyone on the NL staff, but he's gone 7-7 with a 2.65 ERA, 1.095 WHIP, .191 BAA and 109 strikeouts in 95 innings.

He should be next up if an NL starter needs a replacement.

The NL Final Vote ballot features Belt, Braun, Marte, Story and Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jake Lamb.

Lamb, 25, has the highest OPS of any player in either league to not make the roster at .974, good for sixth in the majors.

He'll have my vote.

All stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted.