The Dodgers sent six players to the All-Star Game last year, their largest crop since 2017. All three of their MVPs — Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, and Shohei Ohtani — along with Will Smith and Tyler Glsanow got nods, and Ohtani started as the National League’s DH. He hit a three-run homer in the top of the third, bringing in the NL’s only runs of the game.
We should expect a small army of Dodgers to fly out to Atlanta for the All-Star break this year, too. Ohtani, Freeman, and Smith are basically all locks (maybe even to start) and Yoshinobu Yamamoto is making a strong case for his first nod.
However, the Dodgers could have a far more lowkey addition getting his first tap, too. Andy Pages could be a serious contender to appear in center field.
The Athletic named some early contenders for both leagues, and chose Pete Crow-Armstrong and Oneil Cruz as the NL’s representatives. However, author Jim Bowden mentioned Pages as a “serious consideration” over Cruz.
Cruz and Pages’ stats look identical in a lot of categories through close to the same amount of games played, so there could be a tight race behind Crow-Armstrong (easily the favorite, unfortunately) through the voting period. Pages seriously contending at all is a huge accomplishment for the rookie, who was ice cold through the first few weeks of the season.
Andy Pages is getting much-deserved All-Star hype after breakout for Dodgers
Pages is batting .289 with a .833 OPS through June 5, both better than Cruz’s .230/.821, though Cruz has the better OBP. They have an identical amount of doubles, triples, and homers (9, 1, and 12), but Pages leads in RBI by 11. Cruz has the benefit of speed, but Pages’ defensive strides have also made him an elite center fielder after some rough showings earlier in the season.
Despite facing a lot of criticism at the beginning of the season, Pages has only gotten better. He’s batting .414 with a 1.280 OPS, three homers, and seven RBI over his last seven games and is on a 10-game hitting streak. Cruz’s performance has been a little more consistent, but Pages’ ascent has been astounding.
If Crow-Armstrong cruises into a starting role, as expected, it’ll be up to the players and the Commissioner’s Office to usher either Cruz or Pages in as a reserve. Thankfully, Pages has been making a very strong case for himself lately.
