The Milwaukee Brewers have two players headed to the 2026 MLB All-Star Game, but plenty around the league think that number should be higher.
Jacob Misiorowski is in for his second straight All-Star nod, and William Contreras made the cut for the third time in his career. Both selections make sense on the numbers.
Misiorowski is 9-4 with a 1.47 ERA and 0.78 ERA, and he leads Major League Baseball with 156 strikeouts. Contreras is batting .291/.354/.411 with nine home runs and 51 RBI.
Still, with Milwaukee owning the second-best record in baseball, the Brewers’ case for more representation was obvious enough to spark debate once the roster came out.
Brice Turang drew the loudest reaction. After the All-Star selections were announced, fans and analysts questioned why the Brewers second baseman was left out, and Bleacher Report also pointed to Jackson Chourio and Jake Bauers as players who should have been considered.
“Frankly, there’s other fixtures in Pat Murphy’s lineup who could have been All-Stars:
With an .861 OPS, Jake Bauers is having the best season of his career in his age-30 campaign.
Brice Turang was definitely an All-Star snub, as he’s driven in 51 runs and already drawn 50 walks.
Jackson Chourio had a monster month of June, hitting .319 with 25 RBI.”
Turang has the strongest argument of the three. He’s hitting .268/.362/.455 with 12 home runs, 53 RBI, and 13 stolen bases, and most of those numbers compare favorably with the second basemen who did make the National League roster.
Chourio’s case is different, but still compelling. He missed the first month of the season with a broken hand, and the production he’s delivered since returning has been strong enough that he would have been in the conversation if not for that lost time. By the time All-Star voting started, though, it was already too late.
Bauers has turned into one of the season’s better surprises. He owns a career-high in home runs, has locked down a spot in the lineup every day, and is putting together the best year of his career with that .861 OPS. Whether he makes the All-Star team or not, the source of the story says he’s set up for a strong payday when he reaches free agency this winter.
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It was the kind of odd, late-night wrinkle that can only happen in a marathon game, and both Chourio and manager Pat Murphy seemed to enjoy the novelty of it. Murphy noted how unusual the swing was, while the whole scene fit the feel of an extra-inning game that had already drifted well beyond the ordinary. [Read more 🡒]
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The matchup only adds to the appeal, with the Brewers facing the Cardinals and right-hander Michael McGreevy, who has already given up 13 homers in 17 appearances. Chourios success against right-handed pitching has been part of the conversation too, which is why he stands out in this spot even if the final result is still the kind of thing that can turn on one well-placed pitch. [Read more 🡒]