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5 Philadelphia Phillies Who Deserve 2015 MLB All-Star Game Consideration

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5 Philadelphia Phillies Who Deserve 2015 MLB All-Star Game Consideration

Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies,
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When a team is the worst in MLB -- at least in terms of record -- like the Philadelphia Phillies are, they usually are lucky to get one player named to the All-Star team. But believe it or not, the Phillies have a few players who at least deserve to be in the conversation. These are the five.

5. Maikel Franco

Maikel Franco, Philadelphia Phillies,
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5. Maikel Franco

Maikel Franco, Philadelphia Phillies,
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Maikel Franco will be a perennial All-Star, but probably not this year unless his next 22 games are like his first 22 games in 2015. In those games, the Phillies third baseman hit six homers; only one other Phillies player in their history had more homers in his first 22 games of the season and that was Don Hurst in 1928. Right now he’s hitting .274 with 16 RBIs, but if he brings that above .300, he could get some All-Star consideration.

4. Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies,
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4. Ryan Howard

Ryan Howard, Philadelphia Phillies,
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It probably will not happen for Howard unless his second half of June approaches his month of May. On the flip side, it will be hard to keep Howard off the team if he duplicates what he did in May with 10 homers and 24 RBIs to go with a .318 average. For at least one glorious month, Howard was the player he was in 2007 when he hit 58 homers with 149 RBIs and a .313 batting average. It may have been his last gasp.

3. Freddy Galvis

Freddy Galvis, Philadelphia Phillies,
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3. Freddy Galvis

Freddy Galvis, Philadelphia Phillies,
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Galvis at one time looked like a sure starter at the shortstop position, hitting .366 for the month of April. Then, as good as Howard was in May, that’s how bad Galvis was in the same month. Galvis had 27 hits in April and was hitting .347 as late as May 17. He has fallen off considerably and now is hitting only .257.

2. Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies,
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2. Cole Hamels

Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies,
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Hamels should get sympathy votes for two reasons: He gets no run support, and he has had to endure his name being mentioned in trade rumors for the better part of a year. From a pure statistical standpoint, Hamels certainly deserves consideration. He has a 2.96 ERA in 14 starts with 103 strikeouts in 94.1 innings. He has a 5-5 record, but considering those numbers, he should be 8-2 or 7-3.

1. Jonathan Papelbon

Jonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia Phillies,
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1. Jonathan Papelbon

Jonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia Phillies,
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In the absence of Mariano Rivera, Papelbon has earned a right to be considered the best closer in baseball. It’s hard to argue with the cold numbers. In 25 games (25.2 innings), Papelbon has a 1.05 ERA and 30 strikeouts along with 12 saves, which is outstanding for a team with a 22-43 record. He is likely to be the Phils' only representative.

Mike Gibson is a writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter and like him on Facebook.
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