Phillies Slugger Is No-Brainer Selection for NL All-Star Team

The National League All-Star Team will almost assuredly include a Philadelphia Phillies slugger.

Apr 26, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber (right) reacts with first baseman Bryce Harper (3) after hitting a home run against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning at Truist Park. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies have had quite an impressive turnaround during the 2026 MLB regular season.

After starting 9-19, manager Rob Thomson was fired and replaced by Don Mattingly on an interim basis. The team has responded to the move, as a fire was lit underneath them. They are now 39-33 on the year, only one game behind the St. Louis Cardinals for the No. 1 Wild Card spot in the National League.

Given how well they have performed, it should come as no surprise that there are plenty of Phillies players featured in the most recent MLB All-Star Game Balloting. While pitchers aren’t included in the fan voting, where Philadelphia could have multiple representatives as well, several positional players are in the mix at their respective positions.

The player who arguably deserves the All-Star nod the most is designated hitter Kyle Schwarber. Alas, he is also facing the most difficult climb to a starting spot, battling with Los Angeles Dodgers phenom, Shohei Ohtani.

Kyle Schwarber has earned spot on National League All-Star Team

Jun 14, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber (12) during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

In the first update, the Dodgers superstar has 1,165,133 votes, which is the most in baseball. It would be the sixth straight year he is voted as a starter via the fan vote, but it could be the first time that he is the overall All-Star vote getter in both leagues.

Schwarber is putting up a fight, garnering 820,009. The gap between him and the third-place vote getter, Dominic Smith of the Atlanta Braves, is massive. He has 371,508 votes at the first ballot update.

Chasing down Ohtani in the voting will be an incredibly difficult task for Schwarber, but he is deserving of a spot on the NL All-Star Team. Fans would assuredly love to see him announced as a starter, especially since the game is at the Phillies’ home field of Citizens Bank Park, but they will be happy if he makes the team.

The slugger is currently tied with Yordan Alvarez of the Houston Astros for the most home runs in the MLB with 24. His slugging percentage of .563 is the best mark in the NL. That is all occurring despite his striking out at an eye-popping pace, currently going down on strikes an MLB-high 106 times.

That comes out to a 34.1% strikeout rate, per Baseball Reference, which would be the highest in a single season for Schwarber, in which he made at least 224 plate appearances.

Despite the massive strikeout numbers, he is still producing at an incredible rate at the plate. His OPS+ of 149 through 61 games and 311 plate appearances would tie for his second-highest in a single campaign.

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