Brewers: 7 Early Brewers All-Star Candidates For 2021

There’s still over two months until the MLB All-Star Game but if you’ve blinked you’ve already missed the first month of the Brewers season. The first month has already had everything from bat flips to benches clearing to superstar injuries and even the feel of October baseball in April.

You certainly can’t make a case for an All-Star appearance solely based off the first month, but a hot start can bolster your chances.

Let’s take a look at some of the Brewers that are most likely to be selected to participate in the Midsummer Classic based on their season so far.

Brewers All-Star Candidate: Omar Narvaez

Out of the hitters, Omar Narvaez has gotten off to the best start at the plate out of anyone on the Brewers roster. His ability to spray the ball wherever it’s pitched is a testament to the hard work that he put in during the offseason with his approach. Prior to his IL stint, Narvaez was hitting .368/.443/.529 with three homers and a 165 OPS+.

We’ll have to see if the injury he recently sustained will impact his play moving forward but he’s really established himself as one of the better hitters in the NL through the first month.

Other C to note in the NL: J.T. Realmuto PHI (.294/.384/.482), Carson Kelly ARZ (.333/.476/.667), & Buster Posey (.382/.440/.735)

Brewers All Star Candidate: Kolten Wong

Kolten Wong has been one of the more reliable guys in the Milwaukee lineup this year and his defense has been spectacular a month in. A stint on the IL thanks to an injured left oblique forced Wong to miss some games but he’s come off the injury in impressive form.

His slash line is .306/.397/.484 which are solid numbers to start a season and with two months until the All-Star Game, he has plenty of time to even improve those numbers.

Other 2B to note in the NL: Jazz Chisholm Jr. MIA (.290/.375/.551), Adam Frazier PIT (.289/.359/.404), Ryan McMahon COL (.272/.317/.526)

Brewers All Star Candidate: Christian Yelich

With the recent news of Yelich’s aggravated back injury, his chances of making the All-Star roster have obviously slimmed down even more. When on the field, he’s looked solid, making good contact more often than not.

If this is a quick 10 days on the IL, Yelich might have a chance to make up some ground but if he’s out for around a month or so, you can almost forget about him making his third NL All-Star  roster. The main priority right now for the former MVP and the Brewers is figuring out what the issue is with his back.

Other OF to note in the NL: Ronald Acuna ATL (.337/.430/.723), Nick Castellanos CIN (.324/.360/.648), Bryce Harper (.317/.446/.598), Corey Dickerson (.317/.404/.439)

Brewers All Star Candidate: Brandon Woodruff

Brandon Woodruff has started the 2021 season playing like an All-Star. The Brewers’ ace has a 1.80 ERA in six starts with 40 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.80.

If you want to talk about analytics, he’s among the best. The Big Woo is near the 75th percentile or better in 9/15 major pitching categories according to Baseball Savant including avoiding barrels at an impressive rate (92nd percentile).

And if you want to talk about the eye test, he’s shown he can maneuver out of jams and also keep his composure in games that he’s thrown behind when hitting. If the All-Star Game was tomorrow, Brandon Woodruff would be sporting the NL uniform.

Other SP to note in the NL: Jacob deGrom NYM (0.51 ERA/0.57 WHIP/59 K), Trevor Rogers MIA (1.91 ERA/1.06 WHIP/44 K), Trevor Bauer (2.44 ERA/0.79 WHIP/58 K)

Brewers All Star Candidate: Corbin Burnes

Similar to Yelich, Corbin Burnes is currently on the IL but the team didn’t disclose the reason. Regardless, it doesn’t seem like he’ll be there for an extended amount of time and that bodes well for him in receiving the honor of making the All-Star team.

Burnes has been dominant to start the 2021 season, plain and simple. He still has yet to allow a walk and three punch outs away from setting the record for most consecutive strikeouts without issuing a walk in MLB history. One outing against the Marlins bumped Burnes’ ERA up to 1.53 when it was previously at a 0.37 four starts into the season.

He’s been a pleasure so far to watch and his first Midsummer Classic nomination should be in the very near future if he can get off the IL.

Other SP to note in the NL: Marcus Stroman NYM (1.80 ERA/0.93 WHIP/23 K), Anthony DeSclafani SF (2.00 ERA/0.94 WHIP/33 K), Max Scherzer (2.54 ERA/0.85 WHIP/47 K)

Brewers All Star Candidate: Josh Hader

After scuffling a bit in 2020, the Josh Hader of old looks to have returned and it’s as fun as ever to watch him work. As of May 5th he’s tied for third in the NL in saves with seven and his ERA is way down as well.

Hader has only allowed three hits in 10.2 innings pitched with 19 strikeouts. He’s one of the best late game weapons in the sport and if you’re a left-handed hitter you might be better off closing your eyes and swinging because he hasn’t allowed a hit to a lefty yet this year.

Other RP to note in the NL: Mark Melancon SD (0.64 ERA/.109 AVG/10 SV), Alex Reyes STL (0.00 ERA/.125 AVG/8 SV), Craig Kimbrel CHI (0.75 ERA/.122 AVG/5 SV)

Brewers All Star Candidate: J.P. Feyereisen

J.P. Feyereisen has the most games pitched in the NL without allowing an earned run (16) and if he can keep up a pace similar to this, it will be hard to keep him off the NL roster. He’s been one of the biggest surprises this year but after watching him dominate hitters for the last month, there isn’t a reliever that Brewer fans should feel safer with entering the game.

He can reach mid 90s on his fastball and then compliments the four seamer with a changeup that’s only getting better and a slider that has a whiff percentage of almost 40. Also, if it came down to him and a couple others in a fan’s choice, I think the entire state would vote for the Wisconsin native.

However, it’s an uphill battle for non-closer relievers to make the team. But if Feyereisen keeps this up, they might have no choice.

Other RP to note in the NL: Caleb Baragar SF (0.00 ERA/.231 AVG/8 K), Richard Rodriguez PIT (0.00 ERA/0.26 AVG/10 K), Kyle Crick (0.00 ERA/0.32 AVG/ 10 K)

There’s still tons of time between now and July 13, but these guys have set themselves up well to be there with the best MLB players in the game.