San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb (62) celebrates Luis Matos’s home run steal against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the fourth inning of a MLB game at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Calif., on Wednesday, May 15, 2023. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
Logan Webb and Heliot Ramos have earned the first All-Star selections of their careers, the latter becoming the Giants’ first homegrown outfielder to make the Midsummer Classic since Chili Davis in 1986.
And both could have a chance to start, too.
San Francisco hasn’t had multiple players start in an All-Star Game since Buster Posey and Johnny Cueto formed the Senior Circuit’s battery in 2016, but Ramos and Webb could potentially change that next week.
Webb, 27, has been one of the National League’s best pitchers, and with his final start of the first half likely being on July 10, he’d have plenty of rest with the star-studded exhibition being on July 16. That said, Webb will have to contend with the likes of the Braves’ Chris Sale; the Phillies’ Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler; the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow; and the Pirates’ Paul Skenes, among others.
As for the 24-year-old Ramos, the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. is currently dealing with an injury that will likely prevent him from participating, leaving National League manager Torey Lovullo with a spot to fill. Along with Ramos, the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, the Padres’ Jackson Merrill and the Pirates’ Bryan Reynolds will be among the outfielders who could fill Tatis’ spot.
For Webb, there’s a case to make that he should now have three All-Star selections to his name. In 2022, Webb had a 2.83 ERA with 101 strikeouts over 117 2/3 innings at the break. The following season, Webb had a 3.14 ERA with 127 strikeouts over 126 innings in the first half, but wasn’t named an All-Star because he started the Giants’ final game of the first half. This time around, there would be no snub.
Fresh off finishing second in last year’s National League Cy Young Award voting, Webb has cemented his status as one of baseball’s most valuable pitchers. Over 19 starts, Webb has logged 119 1/3 innings, the most in the National League and the second-most in the entire league behind the Royals’ Seth Lugo (122). He’s complimented that volume with a 3.09 ERA, 2.72 FIP and 103 strikeouts.
While Webb was the favorite to serve as the Giants’ representative at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, Ramos’ candidacy was more murky.
Following Sunday’s 5-4 loss to the Guardians, Ramos owns a .299 batting average and .882 OPS with 12 home runs and 41 RBIs. Along with the bat, Ramos has totaled five defensive runs saved in the outfield entering Sunday.
The main knock on Ramos’ case for being an All-Star was his 54 games played. But despite appearing in only about 60 percent of San Francisco’s games, his 2.3 WAR (as calculated by FanGraphs) entering Sunday ranked in the top-25 among National League position players.
Few envisioned Ramos enjoying this type of breakout given how his first two seasons unfolded. Over 34 games in 2022 and 2023, Ramos had a .158 batting average and .470 OPS. But over the last two months, the former first-round pick is looking the part of a foundational piece.
If not for injury, LaMonte Wade Jr. could’ve joined Ramos and Webb in Arlington. Before missing about a month with a hamstring strain, Wade was one of the best hitters in the National League. At the time of his injury, Wade had a .333 batting average and led all of baseball with a .470 on-base percentage.
Originally published at Justice delos Santos