{"id":125390,"date":"2026-07-08T15:32:55","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=125390"},"modified":"2026-07-08T15:32:55","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T19:32:55","slug":"braves-all-star-snubs-dylan-lee-michael-harris-robert-suarez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/07\/08\/braves-all-star-snubs-dylan-lee-michael-harris-robert-suarez\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Braves Players Who Should Have Made the All-Star Team"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Braves were well represented when the 2026 All-Star rosters were announced, with Chris Sale<\/a>, Matt Olson<\/a>, Ozzie Albies<\/a>, Drake Baldwin<\/a> and Raisel Iglesias<\/a> all earning spots. That is a strong showing for any team, and it reflects how much has gone right in Atlanta\u2019s first half. It still does not feel like the team full first-half story, though.<\/p>\n

For a team that has spent most of the season looking like one of the National League\u2019s most complete teams with a plethora of MVP candidates<\/a>, the Braves had more than five legitimate All-Star cases. Dylan Lee<\/a>, Michael Harris II<\/a> and Robert Suarez<\/a> all played at that level before the break, even if roster math, positional crowding and the usual All-Star politics kept them out.<\/p>\n

Snubbed Braves<\/h2>\n

Dylan Lee<\/h3>\n

Lee has been the kind of reliever who often gets squeezed out of these conversations, not because the case is weak, but because his role does not come with the clean All-Star shorthand of tons of saves, ninth-inning entrances or national name recognition.<\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

That is a mistake<\/a>. Lee has not merely been one of Atlanta\u2019s best relievers. He has been one of the best relievers in baseball. FanGraphs<\/a> currently has him as the Braves\u2019 top bullpen arm by WAR, ahead of both Robert Suarez and All-Star closer Raisel Iglesias. His 1.30 ERA, 1.42 FIP, 34.0% strikeout rate and 3.0% walk rate are not just impressive in isolation; they place him firmly in the upper tier of major-league relievers.<\/p>\n

The broader leaderboard makes the omission look even stranger. Lee ranks fourth among MLB relievers in fWAR and sixth in RA9-WAR, which strips away most of the \u201cmiddle relievers never make it\u201d excuse. If the All-Star Game is supposed to reward first-half performance, a reliever sitting that high on the leaderboards should not need a save total to validate his case.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Dylan Lee’s 3Ks in the 6th pic.twitter.com\/zI3KSHd7An<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 5, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Lee\u2019s season has also passed the eye test. He is not doing this with some cartoonish 101-mph fastball that makes highlight editors drool onto their laptops. He is doing it the Dylan Lee way: angle, deception, command and the unsettling ability to make very good hitters look like they were swinging a broken twig. His recent work against the Mets was a perfect snapshot. Starter Chris Sale ran into trouble, the game started getting itchy, and Lee entered to strike out three straight hitters and end the inning before it could turn into a bullpen trauma exercise.<\/p>\n

That matters. All-Star spots should not only be awarded to closers with lofty save totals and memorable entrance songs. Lee has been trusted in the uncomfortable pockets of games, the moments when one swing changes the temperature of a ballpark \u2013 and he has been elite in those spots. Leaving Lee out of the All-Star game is an oversight among voters and those that choose the All-Star reserves \u2013 simple as that.<\/p>\n

Michael Harris II<\/h3>\n

Harris\u2019 case is different, because he had the burden of making people forget how strange and uneven his 2025 season became. He has done that, then some.<\/p>\n

FanGraphs has Harris hitting .302\/.335\/.505 with 16 home runs, a .362 wOBA, 128 wRC+ and 2.3 WAR. He also has positive defensive value in center field, with five defensive runs saved and strong overall defensive marks. In normal human terms, he has been a power-hitting, average-carrying, run-preventing center fielder on a first-place team. That should be enough.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

On the board!#BravesCountry<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/p5PbwPwcCa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Instead, Harris got caught in the usual All-Star traffic jam<\/a>, where outfield spots are scarce and reputation still tends to arrive at the party before actual current-season performance. That is unfortunate, because Harris has been one of Atlanta\u2019s most complete players.<\/p>\n

The anecdotal evidence has been just as convincing as the numbers. He homered against the Mets during Atlanta\u2019s 5-3 win, made a key first-inning defensive play to prevent extra bases and has repeatedly been the kind of player whose fingerprints show up in every part of a game. Even the bizarre, wonderful moment with the England national football team supporters at Truist Park<\/a> became a Harris showcase. The fans came from another sport, adopted him in center field, and somehow still landed on the right guy. Baseball\u2019s coming home, apparently, so long as home is nestled in the Braves\u2019 center fielder\u2019s welcoming glove.<\/p>\n

Robert Suarez<\/h3>\n

Suarez\u2019s omission feels like a victim of role confusion and Atlanta\u2019s own bullpen depth. Iglesias made it, deservedly, but Suarez had a robust All-Star argument of his own. Through 32 innings, Suarez has a 0.56 ERA, 2.45 FIP, 0.28 HR\/9, 5.0% walk rate and a nearly absurd 97.7% strand rate. He has not just limited damage; he completely shuts down opposing offenses.<\/p>\n

\"Robert
Jun 19, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Braves pitcher Robert Suarez (75) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Suarez does not have Lee\u2019s strikeout rate, but that almost makes the season more interesting despite his current injury. He has been surviving with command, weak contact and veteran calm, the baseball equivalent of walking through a kitchen fire while calmly asking where the coriander is. His 47.1% ground-ball rate gives Atlanta a different late-inning texture, and his ability to avoid home runs has been massive for a bullpen that has had to cover a plethora of stressful innings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

On the board!#BravesCountry<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/p5PbwPwcCa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In another bullpen, Suarez might be the obvious All-Star. In Atlanta\u2019s, he is sharing oxygen with Iglesias and Lee, which is a nice problem for Walt Weiss<\/a> and a miserable one for roster politics. The league rewarded one Braves reliever. It probably should have rewarded three.<\/p>\n

Maybe Next Year<\/h3>\n

There are always controversies surrounding All-Star selections, as hometown fans often skew voting results toward fan favorites. Ultimately, All-Star rosters are not built to recognize every deserving player, and someone always gets shoved into the unfortunate \u201cgreat first half, not enough roster spots\u201d category. Still, Lee, Harris and Suarez were not fringe sentimental picks. They were legitimate All-Star-caliber performers on a contender, backed by production, role value and plenty of in-game evidence.<\/p>\n

The Braves got five All-Stars, which was tied for the most among teams with the Dodgers and Phillies. However, they probably deserved eight. That sounds greedy until you actually look at the numbers.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Brett Davis- Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Atlanta Braves were well represented when the 2026 All-Star rosters were announced, with Chris Sale, Matt Olson, Ozzie Albies, Drake Baldwin and Raisel Iglesias all earning spots. That is a strong showing for any team, and it reflects how much has gone right in Atlanta\u2019s first half. It still does not feel like the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5850,"featured_media":101388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[21,1071,35],"tags":[2734,6252,6448],"class_list":["post-125390","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-braves","category-mlb","category-news","tag-dylan-lee","tag-michael-harris-ii","tag-robert-suarez"],"modified_by":"Andrew Willis","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5850"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125390"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125390\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125417,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125390\/revisions\/125417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}