Dodgers: Cody Bellinger and Joc Pederson Named All-Star Finalists

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 16: Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on from the dugout bench after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning of the MLB game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on June 16, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers defeated the Cubs 3-2. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 16: Cody Bellinger #35 of the Los Angeles Dodgers looks on from the dugout bench after hitting a solo home run in the sixth inning of the MLB game against the Chicago Cubs at Dodger Stadium on June 16, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers defeated the Cubs 3-2. (Photo by Victor Decolongon/Getty Images) /
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The finalists to start for the All-Star teams have been named and for the Dodgers, Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger are finalists.

The first round of All-Star voting has concluded and Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger were named finalists. Starting on Wednesday morning at 9 AM PST, fans can begin voting to see who will start out of the first batch of finalists.  The voting ends on Thursday at 1 PM PST.  Make sure to use up all your votes on Joc and Cody.

For Cody Bellinger, he will look to make his second all-star team and first as a starter.  Outside of the Brewers’ Christian Yelich, there is nobody else in the National League who has been on Cody’s level this season.  After going through a mini-slump, Bellinger is still hitting .358 with twenty-four home runs and an OPS north of 1.100.

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For Joc Pederson, his All-Star case had been slipping away with his recent struggles.  Joc has three home runs in June but a miserable slash line of .109/.180/.304.  Joc will look to start raking again this weekend against the Rockies so he can bolster his case to start in the midsummer classic.  Overall, Joc has been stellar this season with twenty home runs and an OPS over .900 while in his usual platoon role.

Outside of his home run power, Joc has been a much-improved fielder in left field this season, and currently has a DRS of 4 and a UZR/150 rating of 10.7.  Although he was below average defensively as a center fielder, Joc is an above average fielder in left with an above average arm for a left fielder.

After this next phase of voting concludes, the All-Star pitchers and reserves will be announced on Sunday, June 30th.  For pitching the Dodgers have All-Star hopefuls in Walker Buehler and Clayton Kershaw.  Hyun-Jin Ryu is a lock to make the National League roster as there has not been a better starting pitcher than him this season.

Bellinger's defense has been as impressive as his offense. dark. Next

For All-Star reserves, the Dodgers who have a chance to be named are Alex Verdugo and Max Muncy.  Muncy was left off the first base finalists for the National League which is a testament to how many good first basemen there are in the NL.  Corey Seager would’ve likely been a candidate for the NL starting shortstop role if he had not gotten injured.