3 Brewers pitchers continue to be snubbed in All-Star replacement shuffle

For the second consecutive season, Major League Baseball's All-Star Game replacement selections are causing controversy. Last year, it was MLB's decision to add Jacob Misiorowski to the All-Star Game after just five starts that caused fans, particularly Philadelphia Phillies fans who thought Cristopher Sánchez should be an All-Star even though he turned down the invite, to question the league's method for selecting All-Star Game replacements.

This year, both Misiorowski and Sánchez are undisputed All-Stars, but now their teammates are catching the short end of the stick when it comes to the replacement selections process. Phillies' ace Zack Wheeler was denied a spot in this year's Midsummer Classic because he's scheduled to pitch on Sunday, the day before the All-Star Game, and therefore wouldn't be able to pitch in the NL vs. AL showdown. When searching for All-Star replacements, MLB targets only players who will actually participate in the game.

As a result, MLB named three new NL All-Stars yesterday, who may be less deserving than Wheeler or several other arms for that matter, but their availability to pitch on Monday paired with their still impressive 2026 campaigns ultimately earned them a spot in next week's talent showcase. Wheeler's teammate, Jesús Luzardo, Pittsburgh Pirates' starter Braxton Ashcraft, and St. Louis Cardinals' closer Riley O'Brien were each named All-Stars for the first time in their respective careers.

While Wheeler, who called the replacement selection process "BS" last night, is getting much of the attention for being snubbed from the 2026 All-Star Game, there are three Milwaukee Brewers pitchers who should be just as upset by MLB's choices.

Kyle Harrison, Trevor Megill, and Aaron Ashby all continue to be snubbed by MLB as All-Star Game replacements are announced

Kyle Harrison

Starting with Harrison, who is having a stellar debut season in Milwaukee and is the most egregious snub of the three Brewers pitchers listed above. Harrison was passed over for starters Luzardo and Ashcraft, but Milwaukee's southpaw has better numbers than both of them. The 24-year-old Harrison has the best ERA of the trio, the highest strikeout rate, and the lowest WHIP. Where Harrison trails Luzardo and Ashcraft is innings pitched, and that's largely due to the fact that the left-hander missed one start after taking one off the knee from Gary Sánchez while covering first base in a start back in April.

Harrison, whose numbers look even better if you take out his start at Las Vegas Ballpark -- a hitters' paradise that no other starting pitcher will be forced to pitch at again this season -- is more deserving of an All-Star bid than Luzardo or Ashcraft. Maybe Harrison was offered a spot but didn't want to pitch on four days' rest. Maybe MLB feels bad about snubbing Sánchez last year and Wheeler this year and is making up for it by naming Luzardo an All-Star. Maybe the Phillies are being granted a hometown advantage for hosting this year's All-Star Game. Whatever the reason, MLB has some explaining to do for continuing to snub Harrison.

Trevor Megill

An All-Star a season ago, few were expecting Trevor Megill to be in the conversation once again this year after his slow start to the season. However, the Brewers' closer has quietly been one of the best relief pitchers in baseball over the last two months and is now certainly as worthy of a spot in the Midsummer Classic as fellow closer O'Brien. Megill has a 1.44 ERA with a 34.7% strikeout rate since May 1, which has lowered his season-long ERA down to 3.00. He pairs that now-strong ERA with a 0.97 WHIP, 46 strikeouts, seven holds, and 14 saves in 16 opportunities.

O'Brien, on the other hand, has a 3.72 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and just 35 strikeouts despite pitching virtually the same number of innings as Megill. Sure, O'Brien has eight more saves than Megill in 10 more opportunities, but in terms of who has been the more effective pitcher throughout the 2026 season, it's rather obviously Megill.

Aaron Ashby

Left-hander Aaron Ashby may not have the saves or the sparkling ERA he once had needed to catch the eye of MLB in the All-Star replacement selection process, but surely his league-leading 12 wins are enough to at least have him on the radar. Yes, he's gone about acquiring them in a unique fashion, and yes, pitching wins don't mean what they used to, but Ashby has the accompanying numbers to back up his impressive win total and certainly could have earned the nod over O'Brien.

Ashby has a better ERA than O'Brien, more than double the amount of strikeouts, and has covered nearly 20 more innings. Including his one appearance as an opener, Ashby has more strikeouts than any other relief pitcher in baseball. And lest you not forget, the man has 12 wins as a relief pitcher! Surely that's worth something.

MLB's All-Star Game selection process is by no means perfect; that much has been clearly demonstrated throughout the years. From the fan vote favoring the large-market teams to questions being raised about the purpose of the All-Star Game, it's obvious that the process is not a perfect science. However, when the second-best team in baseball ends up with just two All-Stars and several snubs, one has to wonder what is truly going on behind the scenes.

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