Predicting Dodgers' representatives in the 2023 All-Star Game

JD Martinez, DH

Though Martinez has cooled in recent weeks, he's still been good for 16 homers, 47 RBI and a .915 OPS under the tutelage of his old friend Robert Van Scoyoc. He's also outperformed (gulp) Justin Turner and his 109 OPS+ by a good degree. The 38-year-old Turner, now in Boston, was recently named the Red Sox primary first baseman, too, while Martinez just has to roll out of bed in the California sun and hit. Interesting, to say the least.

Martinez is in for a dogfight in the voting with Phillies face of baseball Bryce Harper, who trails him for the No. 1 spot by around 30,000 votes. If Dodgers fans keep the pedal to the metal here, they should come out on top, but Martinez is the obvious bench addition in case their trigger fingers fail. Expect him to make the trip either way.

All-Star Possibility: Max Muncy?

The rest of the Dodgers' roster has a few more intriguing possibilities. Bobby Miller probably won't have enough of a case file to be considered by late June, but he's certainly pitching like a Cy Young candidate, let alone an All-Star. Evan Phillips? Not quite a closer, not quite a setup man, and won't have the gaudy save numbers, but his current WHIP (0.85) demands attention. He'll probably get forced off the roster in favor of a bullpen rep for a far worse team, though (Alexis Diaz? Josh Hader? Kidding. Kinda.).

But what about Max Muncy? The power's certainly there; his 18 home runs tie him for third in the National League behind the injured Pete Alonso and Marlins DH Jorge Soler (who's got to make the team, unless the world deems Luis Arraez to be Enough Marlins). The .191 average and mild hamstring strain he's currently dealing with might turn him into a midsummer snub, though. If it were as easy as going down the home run leaderboard and checking boxes, Muncy would have it. In reality, he probably falls among the final names eliminated.