Juan Soto All-Star Game snub latest example why selection process is flawed

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game selection is flawed. This is nothing new or earth-shattering. 

The fans have made the starting lineup vote a popularity contest rather than an accomplishment based on merit. The nine reserves, five starting pitchers, and three relievers selected by the players miss the mark, sometimes, too. 

Then there is MLB’s ridiculous rule that at least one player from each team makes the Midsummer Classic. 

Every year there are snubs, which is a byproduct of the rules and the voting process, and Juan Soto is the latest casualty of it all. 

The New York Mets’ superstar right fielder is not on the National League’s initial roster, which was fully revealed on Sunday night. He missed out on the fan vote to Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr., who will represent the hometown team at the All-Star Game in Atlanta next Tuesday. 

Acuna enjoyed a blistering return to action after an injury pushed his 2025 debut back to May 23. A slash line of .331/.450/.561 (1.011 OPS) with nine home runs and 18 RBI is what voters will point toward as to why it was a no-brainer rather than a consolation pick for the host city. 

But even in his 40 games played entering Monday night’s action (which is not even half of the first half of the season), Acuna’s production during that stretch has been eclipsed by Soto. 

Since the Braves star’s debut date, Soto is slashing .289/.424/.606 (1.029 OPS) with 13 home runs and 30 RBI — a torrid June eliminating a slow two-month start to life in Queens after signing that historic 15-year, $765 million contract. 

“Sometimes, you’re gonna make it, and sometimes you don’t,” Soto said. “It’s just part of baseball.”

“It looks like I didn’t,” he added when asked if his June was enough to make the cut. “I just have to be better.”

The hot stretch has made Soto’s season numbers look a lot more Soto-like, which should have made him a shoo-in for a fifth-straight All-Star nod. Instead, Corbin Carroll of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Kyle Stowers of the Miami Marlins, Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres, and James Wood of the Washington Nationals were reserve picks in front of the Mets’ man, who saw teammates Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz join starting shortstop Francisco Lindor. 

Wood is the only realistic pick that should have taken precedent over Soto. The rest are suspect, to say the least. 

This all has taken the gravitas of an All-Star selection away. A player being selected just because they are on a bad team that would have no other representation feels more like a charity pick than one based on merit. Meanwhile, some of the game’s very best, whether it be Soto or Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner, who leads the NL in hits, or Chicago Cubs slugging outfielder Seiya Suzuki, who has 25 home runs and a league-leading 77 RBI.

“For me, I try to play as hard as I can and help the team, and enjoy the moment,” Soto said. “Everyone wants to be an All-Star and live the experience of being there, but this year, it didn’t happen. I was glad I was able to be there four years in a row. If I didn’t make it this year, it’s no big deal. I’ll come back stronger next year.”

For more on the Mets and Juan Soto, visit AMNY.com