If the Atlanta Braves didn’t have fantastic starting pitching this season, they would be in a world of trouble. But after falling 10 games behind in the National League East race, Atlanta may have less representation on the NL All-Star roster than they have become accustomed to having.
Chris Sale, Max Fried and Reynaldo López have all been superb on the mound for Atlanta this season. All three have numbers that could qualify them for an All-Star appearance, but with stiff competition in the NL, the trio may be fighting for just one spot.
ESPN’s David Schoenfield seems to agree. In his All-Star roster projections Thursday, Schoenfield chose Sale as the lone pitching representative from the Braves, while Fried and López missed out.
Schoenfield said “it came down to (the) three Braves” for that final spot and cited Sale’s dominance as the reason for his selection, though López has the lower ERA. Sale leads the Braves in wins, strikeouts and WHIP so far this season.
Eight starters were included on Schoenfield’s roster and notably, three came from the division rival Philadelphia Phillies. Ranger Suárez and Zach Wheeler are near locks to make the team, but perhaps Braves fans will take umbrage with Aaron Nola’s inclusion over López or Fried.
Nola owns an 8-2 record with a 2.77 ERA, while López is 3-2 with a 1.82. Fried is 6-3 with a 3.20 ERA, but has two complete games to his name, tops in all of baseball.
The Braves had eight representatives on last season’s All-Star squad, which was the most of any team in baseball. Schoenfield projects only two, Sale and designated hitter Marcell Ozuna, will make it this season. The Braves entered play Thursday on a five-game losing streak, their longest since 2017.
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