Dodgers fans rightfully about to rage after All-Star snub, injury replacements

While few fans around baseball will feel bad for the Los Angeles Dodgers, an exception ought to be made for starting pitcher Justin Wrobleski. He's the exact kind of story the MLB All-Star Game ought to highlight, but instead it appears he'll miss out on the Midsummer Classic altogether.

As if not being named to the roster in the first place weren't bad enough, Wrobleski couldn't even make the cut as an injury replacement. That honor went to Braxton Ashcraft (at Paul Skenes request), Jesus Luzardo and Eduardo Rodriguez. Wrobleski has a serious bone to pick, although he won't say so publicly.

Wrobleski ranks eighth in the National League in ERA. All seven pitchers ahead of him made the All-Star team. He's one of only eight pitchers to reach the double-digit win plateau so far this season, and he's one of 18 pitchers to throw 100 innings despite being part of a six-man rotation. He also ranks third in the NL in WHIP. The list goes on.

As a team, the Dodgers are represented quite well in Philadelphia. Five of Los Angeles' best players made the NL All-Star team. Perhaps Wrobleski is the victim of Dodgers fatigue, or he was overlooked in favor of bigger name brands like Rodriguez and Luzardo. I don't have the answer. What I do know, however, is that Wrobleski has impressed Dodgers fans and MLB analysts alike with how he's handled his snub.

Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski was all class when asked about All-Star snub

For his part, Wrobleski isn't playing into the noise. Unlike Zack Wheeler of the Philadelphia Phillies, who admitted he was upset about missing out on the All-Star Game at his home stadium, Wrobleski is taking the snub in stride, instead using it as motivation moving forward.

"Obviously it's disappointing," Wrobleski said, per MLB.com. "You want to be an All-Star. It's something that, regardless of the year, whenever, it's always a big deal. It's something I wanted to do. It's frustrating to not get that nod. But like I said before, it's just more reason to try and keep getting better. Hopefully I can gain the respect of players and everybody else and maybe be in there next year."

Dave Roberts echoed those thoughts, suggesting that Wrobleski was 'dinged' for the Dodgers six-man rotation, despite winning 10 games on the season and ranking among the best pitchers in baseball in several statistical categories.

"We run a six-man rotation, and I just don't want him to get dinged for not making a couple more starts that he potentially could have had," Roberts said. "He's won 10 games for us. To be able to get pitching decisions, you've got to go deeper in games. … It's about winning, the ERA is stellar, innings per outing and so I just think that he's performed enough to earn that opportunity."

In the end, this is all theatre. Wrobleski may not be an All-Star by name, but he certainly is by merit.

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