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Rays' Snell frustrated over All-Star snub: 'I feel like I earned it'

Mike Stobe / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Much to his chagrin, Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Blake Snell won't be pitching in next week's All-Star Game at Nationals Park.

He feels he ought to be.

"It's frustrating, for sure," Snell told Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times on Monday. "I thought I did a lot of things I needed to do to be a good candidate to represent the Rays. I'm frustrated, but I think I made a good case ... I feel like I earned it."

Omitted from the AL roster despite owning the league's best ERA (2.09), Snell was passed over for fellow starters Justin Verlander, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer, Jose Berrios, and J.A. Happ, who were either voted onto the roster by their peers or appointed by the commissioner's office to ensure each team is represented. (Player ballots, it should be noted, were due in the middle of June, before Snell rattled off a four-start stretch in which he crafted a 0.63 ERA with 35 strikeouts over 28 2/3 innings.)

Name WAR ERA FIP WHIP IP
Trevor Bauer 4.5 2.45 2.17 1.09 121.1
Chris Sale 4.4 2.36 2.26 0.89 122
Luis Severino 4.2 2.12 2.47 0.96 123.1
Justin Verlander 4.2 2.15 2.63 0.84 125.2
Gerrit Cole 3.3 2.57 2.98 0.97 122.2
Corey Kluber 2.8 2.49 3.30 0.88 126.1
Blake Snell 2.3 2.09 3.36 1.03 116
Jose Berrios 2.2 3.41 3.77 0.99 121.1
J.A. Happ 1.7 4.44 3.97 1.18 105.1

Instead, veteran catcher Wilson Ramos will represent the Rays at the 89th Midsummer Classic.

Amid the frustration and disappointment, though, Snell - who has allowed more than two runs in a start just three times this season - took some solace in watching teammates, friends, and even strangers jump to his defense.

"That was cool," Snell said. "Teammates, family, friends, people that I don't even know. To see all of them have my back, I really didn't know that many people knew of who I was. That's special to me. Having people reach out to me, text message, calling, direct messaging me. It was overwhelming. It was special to see that all these people really care."

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