Orioles ‘Might Lead in Snubs’ For All-Star Game

Getty Anthony Santander

Every season when Major League Baseball announces the AL and NL rosters for the All-Star Game, some top players are noticeably absent from the list. In 2024, the Baltimore Orioles in particular have a number of top performers who didn’t make the cut, with USA Today’s Gabe Lacques writing that the team “might lead in snubs.”

“They’re just a game behind the Cleveland Guardians for the AL’s best record yet have two fewer All-Stars — fan-elected starters Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman and starter Corbin Burnes,” Lacques wrote on July 7. “Not surprisingly, they might lead in snubs, too, with closer Craig Kimbrel and infielder Jordan Westburg joining [Anthony] Santander and [Grayson] Rodriguez as deserving dudes.”

As of July 7, the Orioles are leading the AL East and ranked third in MLB with a record of 57-33, and there is a no shortage of players on their roster who have been instrumental in that success.

In just his second major-league season since his debut in June 2023, Jordan Westburg is slashing .281/.328/.506 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs. Outfielder Anthony Santander is slashing .235/.302/.502 this season with 23 home runs (the most of any AL player not on the Orioles) and 57 RBIs (ninth-most in MLB). Starter Grayson Rodriguez is 11-3 with a 3.52 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 94.2 innings, and per Lacques, the 24-year-old is “tied for the AL lead with 11 wins and sixth with 9.98 strikeouts per nine innings.”

Westburg, Santander, and Rodriguez are all yet to receive their career-first All-Star selection, but it’s not just first-timers who were left off the AL roster this year.

In 34.1 innings this season, closer and nine-time All-Star Craig Kimbrel is 5-2 with a 2.10 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 52 strikeouts, having closed 23 out of 27 save opportunities. Kimbrel signed a one-year, $13 million deal with the Orioles before 2024, and so far, he’s put up his best stats since 2017 — but it wasn’t enough to get him the 10th All-Star nod of his career.

All-Star Snubs Across MLB

While the Orioles may have had the most snubs of any team, there were a slew of deserving players across MLB who failed to make this season’s All-Star rosters.

In his July 7 article, Lacques listed Brent Rooker (Oakland Athletics), Ronel Blanco (Houston Astros), Kenley Jansen (Boston Red Sox), Christian Walker (Arizona Diamondbacks), Cristopher Sanchez (Philadelphia Phillies), Trevor Megill (Milwaukee Brewers), Masyn Winn (St. Louis Cardinals), and Jake Irvin (Washington Nationals) as the top players snubbed this year.

CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder added Patrick Bailey (San Francisco Giants), Brice Turang (Brewers), Francisco Lindor (New York Mets), Willi Castro (Minnesota Twins), Brandon Nimmo (Mets), George Kirby (Seattle Mariners), Joe Ryan (Twins), Hunter Gaddis (Guardians), and Griffin Jax (Twins) to that list.

Over the next nine days until the All-Star Game on July 16, it’s almost certain that some of these players will be selected as injury replacements, and any selected pitcher who is starting the Sunday prior will need to be replaced. As such, for some snubbed top performers, it’s not over quite yet.

Orioles’ Corbin Burnes, Adley Rutschman, and Gunnar Henderson Selected to AL All-Star Team

There are plenty of players on the Orioles who could’ve rightfully been selected as an All-Star this season, and three of them — Corbin Burnes, Adley Rutschman, and Gunnar Henderson — did indeed make the AL roster.

Burnes was traded to the Orioles from the Brewers before the 2024 season, and in 18 starts, he’s gone 9-3 with a 2.32 ERA and 105 strikeouts. His ERA ranks the 29-year-old third in MLB and just second in the AL, only behind Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals).

In 84 games this season, Rutschman is slashing .284/.345/.459 with 16 home runs and 59 RBIs. Not to be outdone, Henderson is slashing .293/.384/.604 with 27 home runs and 61 RBIs in 89 games.

This will be the first All-Star Game of Henderson’s career, Rutschman’s second, and Burnes’s fourth. Despite Burnes being selected in the last three consecutive seasons, he told MLB.com’s Jake Rill that the experience this year has been “a whirlwind.”

“I’m excited to be a part of another All-Star Game, honored to represent the Orioles and the American League,” Burnes said on July 7. “It’s an exciting time. It’s an exciting time of the year to join the teammates that have already been elected to the All-Star Game. To join them is pretty special.”