Philadelphia Phillies: Nick Castellanos not an All-Star proves it’s about popularity

Becoming an All-Star in any respective sport is an honor not every player gets to participate in, but there is one player in particular in Major League Baseball that deserves a spot in the All-Star game for his play on both sides of the diamond. That player of course is Nick Castellanos of the Philadelphia Phillies. With ballots closing, Castellanos wasn’t even voted in as a finalist over four players he is having a better season then.

Should Nick Castellanos of the Philadelphia Phillies have gotten more All-Star love from fans?

Only two players in the outfield have a higher average than Nick Castellanos: Austin Hayes and the already voted in for the National League, Ronald Acuña Jr. Currently, Mookie Betts, rookie Corbin Carroll, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Michael Harris II are all currently battling for the final two starting spots for the National League roster.

With the bounce back season Castellanos is having in the field and his at-bats, he has been a key component to the success of this Phillies team who has struggled at times. He has been playing extremely similar to his 2021 campaign where he won the MVP, a Silver Slugger Award and was an All-Star. The adjustments made with Kevin Long and being fully healthy this season has brought Castellanos a long way to be the consistent batter we have seen this season.

When the Philadelphia Phillies signed Castellanos, he was never supposed to be an everyday right fielder. However, when Bryce Harper went down, they needed Castellanos to step up to the plate, literally. While Castellanos wasn’t known for his defense, he has made some spectacular jaw-dropping catches.

Castellanos has been anything short of a bad signing for this club and his play continues to improve. When Harper eventually does get back to the field, Kyle Schwarber will most likely go to be the DH while Castellanos goes to left field. You have to credit Philadelphia’s analytical team for their wizardry with Castellanos.

Per Statsmuse, Castellanos has a scorching hot bat this season with a .314 batting average in 77 games with 303 at-bats. With 95 hits, 47 runs and 49 RBI, Castellanos has been helping this team win ball games when they need it most. While he isn’t really showing a ton of power this season, he does have 10 home runs, 24 doubles and a triple.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a National League team or the American League team, Castellanos is averaging over .300 against both divisions. While there still is a hole in production from Rhys Hoskins absence, Castellanos has been carrying this team. The fact that Castellanos is not on the ballot for the All-Star game after making an extremely strong case to be an All-Star will continue to baffle me and most around the league.

Honestly, I don’t think this individual accolade will matter to Castellanos. In the long run, this entire team is after one thing … finishing what they started last season, and that’s bringing the World Series and a Red October back to Philadelphia.