Franchise-record 7 All-Stars selected for Phillies with 4 pitchers – NBC Sports Philadelphia

ATLANTA – Four Phillies pitchers will join their three starting position players in Arlington, Texas, for a franchise-record seven All-Stars.

Jack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, Jeff Hoffman, and Matt Stram were all selected by a combination of player ballot and the Commissioner’s Office to represent the National League in the July 16 All-Star Game.

Wheeler will likely be replaced as he is set to start the final games before the break, on Tuesday and Sunday.

The other three will join Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Alec Bohm for the Midsummer Classic.

Manager Rob Thomson said, “I’m really proud of this group.” “The front office put together a really good roster. I’m proud of the seven guys and I told them to keep them on the 40-man roster if they include guys I think deserve to be gone from our club.” That’s the most All-Stars in Phillies history at 94 All-Star Games, so that tells you something.”

The Phillies had six eligible pitchers: the four who made it, Aaron Nola and Christopher Sanchez. Suárez, Wheeler and Sanchez rank first, third and fifth in the NL in ERA. Nola is 10-4 with a 3.48 ERA, and is third in majors wins.

Hoffman has made a lot of money over the past two seasons, becoming one of the most reliable right-handed relievers in baseball after his 30th birthday with his fifth different organization. He had eight saves and a 1.21 ERA with 47 strikeouts and eight walks in 37⅓ innings. Hoffman has an ERA of 1.91 in 92 appearances as a Phillie. He is their only significant free agent after the season and you would understand that bringing him back would be a priority, although it could cost $11-12 million per year.

During a pregame meeting led by Thomson, the Phillies learned which of their players made the All-Star team.

“I was shaking a lot,” Hoffman said. “Actually, it took me a while to calm down. I called my wife, everyone was really happy to cancel our All-Star plans and hang out and play baseball instead.

“You don’t know how many times things like this will happen. So I try to be in the moment as much as possible, try to enjoy it. I’m glad all four of my kids and my wife will be there with me ” “I get to enjoy it more as a family.”

This is the first All-Star selection for Suárez, Hoffman and Stram. This is the second time for Wheeler, who made it to the final for the National League at the 2021 ASG.

“It’s great to see people do it for the first time,” Wheeler said. “Hoff, the path he’s traveled has been great, Stram works hard and has gotten better, and Ranger is just grinding. It’s good to see all of those guys get better along the way.”

Stram has been nearly as impressive as Hoffman with a 1.59 ERA, 45 strikeouts and four walks in 34 innings. He has made 36 appearances, in 32 of which he scored no earned runs. The Braves scored on him twice on Opening Day and he has a 1.07 ERA since then.

He and Hoffman are throwing partners so neither will have to look for another pitcher during warmups.

“I can be alone out there with my actual catch partner,” Hoffman said. “It was amazing, I think them announcing Starmie’s name first and it took more of a burden off my shoulders than just hearing my name called. I know the kind of work, time and effort he puts in. “Really glad we were able to do this.” Enjoy it together.”

Like Hoffman, Stram has taken a circuitous career path that has made this moment even sweeter.

He arrived in Philadelphia ahead of 2023 as a pitcher who was effective when healthy, but he only pitched 72 innings combined from 2020-22. He tore his left patellar tendon in 2017, and from then through his signing with the Phillies, he worked on strengthening his knee every winter rather than strictly preparing for the upcoming season.

He’s reached a whole new level with the Phillies.

“It’s Philly. The energy,” he said. “Winning every day is everything…it’s not over yet.”

Suárez’s ERA has increased from 1.83 to 2.58 over his last two starts, and he joked, “After these few outings, I don’t think so,” when asked Saturday night if he thought he still Will be able to make a team.

However, he knew he would be in it because the previous work was so great.

“I wasn’t serious about it, I wasn’t even worried,” Suarez said. “This is what you work for during the season and offseason, you work toward achieving this goal.”

Suarez will be joined by his wife, six-year-old daughter and three-year-old son, who saw him in person for the first time at Citizens Bank Park on Father’s Day weekend. It is not easy to travel to the United States from Venezuela and they may have seen the Rangers-the-big-league only on TV from a distance.

“It was all part of my plan,” he joked. “They came this year because they knew I was going to make the All-Star team. All this is going according to plan.

“No, I’m just happy to have him here for his first All-Star selection and I’m sure we’ll make the best of it.”