Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak was voted into the 2017 All-Star game after fans “Smoaked” the vote, however, the bigger newsworthy story may be the snub of the Jays closer for the classic.
Justin Smoak will be the only Toronto Blue Jays representative on July 11th when the games best suit up for the midsummer classic in Miami. Blue Jays pitcher Roberto Osuna was more than deserving of the accolade but was kept off the roster.
The most glaring omission is Roberto Osuna who has better numbers than that of Yankees reliever Dellin Betances who got the nod for the contest. Osuna is sporting a 2-0 record with a tidy 2.25 earned run average, 0.750 WHIP, 19 saves and 44 strikeouts in 32 innings of work. Osuna has also only allowed 8 earned run while walking only 3 hitters.
Betances is 3-3 with a 3.12 earned run average, 1.346 WHIP, 6 saves and 48 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched. The Yankees reliever has surrendered 9 earned and walked 21 batters thus far this season. Betances also joins teammates Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino on the roster.
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Apparently, American League Manager Terry Francona preferred the inflated stat-line of Betances over that of Osuna. Another notable omission was Houston Astros reliever Chris Devenski who like Osuna has better numbers than Betances.
Francona selected hurlers Yu Darvish, Michael Fulmer, Dallas Keuchel, Corey Kluber, Lance McCullers, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Jason Vargas, Craig Kimbrel and Andrew Miller to round out his arms for the contest.
Osuna has been in the spotlight of late after publicly sharing his anxiety issues he is battling away from baseball. The closer has been lights out all season long and is working with team psychologists to overcome the ailment.
Next: Blue Jays: A Letter to Roberto Osuna
We will have to wait and see how the roster plays out with injury replacements but Osuna is more than deserving than that of Betances and should absolutely be on the AL squad.