Eduardo Rodriguez has made his case to be an All-Star despite a crowded field
The National League pitching staff is going to be stacked at the All-Star Game, but Eduardo Rodriguez has made a strong case to be on it.
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PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez smiled at his locker when asked about his All-Star candidacy after another quality start on Monday, maintaining that while it would be great to make the team, he was remaining present.
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His teammate and manager were not shy about expressing their opinions that he should represent the Diamondbacks in Philadelphia, which would be Rodriguez’s first All-Star Game in a big-league career that started in 2015.
“I think this is going to be the first time he’s going to be in the All-Star Game,” shortstop Geraldo Perdomo said. “They haven’t announced it yet, but I’m pretty sure he’s going to be there. I’m happy for him. That’s why he gets paid. He gets paid a lot of millions to be the same guy he was when he was in Boston and Detroit. … He deserves to be there, for sure. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball so far this season.”
By the time Rodriguez makes his next start, he will know whether or not he made the cut — barring injury replacements.
The All-Star Game rosters will be revealed on Saturday, with fans voting for starters and a combination of player ballots and the commissioner’s office selecting the pitchers and reserves.
“I’m not really thinking about that. If it happens, it happens,” Rodriguez said. “But for me, I just go out there and try to help the team win the game.”
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Rodriguez’s final case was a seven-inning outing with one earned run on five hits against the San Francisco Giants — amazingly, with only one strikeout — to lower his ERA to 2.21.
That ranks fifth among qualified starters in MLB entering Tuesday, fourth in the stacked National League:
- Jacob Misiorowski (MIL): 1.45
- Chris Sale (ATL): 2.10
- Cristopher Sanchez (PHI): 2.13
- Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI): 2.21
- Chase Burns (CIN): 2.36
Rodriguez has accomplished this with the fourth-most innings pitched in the NL (102), boosted by his six starts of at least seven innings. He put together one such start over his first two seasons with the Diamondbacks, which were injury-plagued and underwhelming when considering his four-year, $80 million contract.
The lefty started to find more success in the second half last year, got himself in better physical shape and further developed his curveball. His confidence lifted after he came up clutch with 4.1 scoreless innings to help Venezuela defeat Team USA in the World Baseball Classic final.
“It’s out of our hands, we vote, the fans vote and then Major League Baseball makes the decisions. But Eduardo has done everything he possibly can to deserve very strong consideration,” manager Torey Lovullo said.
Another metric to show his steady hand is quality starts (six-plus innings, three or fewer earned runs), of which Rodriguez has 10. Only five NL pitchers have more at this point: Yoshinobu Yamamoto (12), Sanchez (12), Sandy Alcantara (12), Shohei Ohtani (11) and Misiorowski (11).
Rodriguez does not have the sexiest numbers under the hood. His strikeout rate is running at a career-low 17% and his walk rate at a career-high 9.2%. A predictive stat is FIP (fielding-independent pitching), and his is is 3.97. His expected ERA is 4.85.
But expected numbers do not determine All-Stars, and just about every time Rodriguez has taken the mound, he has put the D-backs in position to win.
Arizona is 13-4 in his 17 starts, a better record than the Brewers have with Misiorowski, the Braves with Sale or the Phillies with Sanchez. Rodriguez has allowed seven earned runs total over the four losses, including a seven shutout-inning effort against the Braves in April.
He has pitched to contact and run through starts efficiently, benefiting from good defense played behind him. Even without a 100-mph heater, opponents are batting below .200 against his four-seamer and changeup, his two most frequent pitches.
His starts are what the Diamondbacks envisioned for what the club should look like. Arizona wanted its identity to be pitching and defense with veteran starters command the baseball. That has not materialized with Zac Gallen or Merrill Kelly, but Rodriguez has pitched with a rhythm and confidence unlike anything he showed in 2024 or 2025.
Additionally, Rodriguez has been stellar at cleaning up messy situations, executing pitches to hold hitters to a .124 average with runners in scoring position. That’s the second best in the NL.
The NL pitching staff is going to be incredible, especially with elite closers Mason Miller and Jhoan Duran on the back end.
The ERA leaderboard does not even include Ohtani since his innings are not high enough to qualify, but he is sporting a 1.58 ERA.
Twelve pitchers get picked per league — although the last time Ohtani pitched in the All-Star Game was in 2023 for the Los Angeles Angels, and the AL All-Stars rostered 13 pitchers since Ohtani took the designated hitter spot.
There are always replacements for injured players and starters who throw too close to the All-Star Game to be available. Those selections look the same on the back of the baseball card or the Baseball Reference page, but Rodriguez should not have to worry about it.
Potential NL All-Star pitchers:
Locks
- Jacob Misiorowski (MIL)
- Chris Sale (ATL)
- Cristopher Sanchez (PHI)
- Chase Burns (CIN)
- Paul Skenes (PIT)
- Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD)
- Mason Miller (SDP)
- Jhoan Duran (PHI)
- Shohei Ohtani (LAD, already picked as DH)
Should be in
- Max Meyer (MIA)
- Eduardo Rodriguez (ARI)
Starters with fewer than 80 innings but otherwise strong cases
- Kyle Harrison (MIL)
- Zack Wheeler (PHI)
- Ben Brown (CHC)
Fellow contenders
- Justin Wrobleski (LAD)
- Logan Webb (SFG)
- Tanner Scott (LAD)
- Raisel Iglesias (ATL)
- Foster Griffin (WAS)
- Braxton Ashcraft (PIT)
- Michael McGreevy (STL)
- Dylan Lee (ATL)
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Comments
3 Comments
The fact that we are even discussing whether or not he should be an all star is insanity.
Also, he making his case for the big bucks when he becomes a free agent at the end of the 2027 season. If he continues to pitch like this for the rest of the 2026 season and 2027 season, we will miss him in 2028 since the Dbacks won't be able to afford him.
What I would like see a game with E-Rod and Miz pitching against each other.
I mean he is also making his Cy Young case at this point.
Problem is the Miz up in Milwaukee is putting on a historic performance. But yea, there is a few years I can definitely remember Eduardo would've had a real chance to win it. That only happens if Miz get's hurt and nobody wants that.