AP Photo/Julio CortezNothing is better than a Fourth of July barbecue with your family, while also arguing about the MLB All-Star Game’s worst snubs.On Thursday, the starters of the 2021 Midsummer Classic were announced.Rollout of the full squads occurred in conjunction with July 4, so ASG discussion could have been particularly hot this year, with most fans enjoying their three day weekend.These are the top positions players in the American and National Leagues that are currently not eligible to participate in the All-Star Game. To accommodate those who are unable to travel to Denver's Coors Field on July 13, the rosters will likely be slightly reshuffled.American LeagueYasmani Granal, C, Chicago White Sox :.190/.388/.441, 14 H, 38 RBI. 2.0 fWARYuli Gurriel 1B, Houston Astros: 0.326/.393/.502, 10HR, 53 RBI, 2.3 FWAROnly one American League reserve catcher is available for the 2021 All-Star team. Mike Zunino was chosen to represent Tampa Bay Rays after Tyler Glasnow's injury.This is all to say Yasmani Grandal’s omission was not surprising.The.190 batting percentage may have skewed the Chicago White Sox catcher's performance. His.388 on base percentage is expected to be his second-best and he's also the first on his team for home runs. Grandal also ranks second among catchers who have at least 100 plate appearances in the weighted on base average (.367).Yuli Gurriel has probably more reasons to feel upset than any other position player within the AL.Houston Astros' first baseman has a.381-weighted onbase average and 147 runs created plus. Gurriel's strikeout percentage (8.9%) is the lowest in league. After a 2020 season where he averaged just.384, Gurriel has shown great improvement.You can make a strong argument for him being dropped by simply pointing out the number of options available to you.It's difficult to fault the AL offense, especially when every team must be represented.National LeagueWill Smith, C Los Angeles Dodgers:.261/.363/.469 10 HR, 29 RBI and 2.8 fWARJustin Turner, 3B Los Angeles Dodgers: Los Angeles Dodgers.295/.387/.484, 13 H, 41 RBI, 2.5 FWAARStarling Marte, CF Miami Marlins :.289/.396/.452, six H, 18 RBI, 2.7 fWARThe National League is a different story. It all starts with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The ASG voting pool didn't give the Dodgers the respect they deserve, despite being tied with San Francisco Giants for first in the National League West.Will Smith ranks second in WAR among NL catchers, behind Buster Posey (3.1) who was voted into the starting lineup. Posey's election should have cleared the way to his NL West counterpart. But J.T. Realmuto was elected instead.Smith outperforms Realmuto by almost every metric. Smith has more home runs than Realmuto and a better slash in each of these categories.Realmuto's inclusion is made more complicated by the fact that Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies, will also be sent to Coors Field.Justin Turner's candidacy was somewhat hampered by Eduardo Escobar, the Arizona Diamondbacks' logical representative. This narrowed down the choices for the NL.Turner is still the leader in WAR among NL third basemen. While Turner can't match Nolan Arenado (16 homers,.506 Slugging Percentage) or Kris Bryant (16 homers,.513 Slugging Percentage), he is still one of the top third basemen in the NL.Starling Marte made only 46 appearances on Sunday due to a left-rib fracture. In a league with many big-hitting outfielders, he hasn't torn off the cover of the ball.The 32-year old is outslugging Juan Soto (.433) and playing better defense. FanGraphs' defense runs are above average for Marte, the NL outfielder.Marte was the complete package.FanGraphs Stats
