Through the first 52 games of the 2026 MLB season, the Atlanta Braves have been firing all cylinders. From a pitching staff that has the best ERA in baseball to an offense that has scored the second-most runs in baseball, Braves fans could not have asked for a better start to the season.
With this high level of production up and down the roster, there are naturally several Braves players who have played like All-Stars. Unfortunately, these three Braves likely won't be able to do enough to actually join the festivities in Philadelphia this July.
3 Braves players who will get snubbed from the 2026 All-Star Game
Bryce Elder
By ERA, Bryce Elder has been one of the best pitchers in the National League this season. The 27-year-old is seventh with a 1.97 ERA among starting pitchers with at least 40 innings this year. By fWAR, Elder is 11th among NL starters.
If Elder is able to keep this level of production through the All-Star break, he would initially appear tio be a slam dunk for his second career All-Star selection. Unfortunately, there are two things working against him at the moment.
MLB only selects 12 pitchers per side for the All-Star Game. While pitchers drop out for a number of reasons, from injuries to when their most recent start was, as things stand, Elder might simply get edged out of an All-Star appearance because of how good other NL pitchers have been.
With the rule that each MLB team has to have a representative at the Midsummer Classic, a pitcher like Giants starter Landen Roupp or Rockies starter Tomoyuki Sugano might get a nod over Elder simply because their team might not have a better option to represent them.
Elder is also hurt by the number of star pitchers in the NL. Cristopher Sanchez, Paul Skenes, Jacob Misiorowski, Shohei Ohtani, and even Elder's own teammate Chris Sale will almost certainly be prioritized ahead of Elder. Add in the performances of Chase Burns, Kyle Harrison, Nolan McLean, and Braxton Ashcraft, and the Braves righty might have to pray that their final starts before the break come too close to the All-Star Game itself to make the team.
Ozzie Albies
Even with the May slump Ozzie Albies has fallen into, where he's slashed .184/.273/.250 in 20 games, he still finds himself among the top 30 position players by fWAR 52 games into the season. Thanks to a scorching hot April, Albies has produced as much fWAR this season as he did in 2024 and 2025. Simply put, the longest tenured Brave is having his best season since 2023.
Unfortunately, it seems like every other National League second baseman is also having a career year. Despite ranking 25th in MLB in fWAR, Albies is 8th among NL second baseman. Brandon Lowe, Brice Turang, JJ Wetherholt, Xavier Edwards, Luis Arraez, Nico Hoerner and Nick Gonzales all rank ahead of him, with Lowe and Turang putting up nearly a full WAR more than Albies at this point in the season.
Despite the 29-year-old switch hitter returning to his All-Star form, it appears the All-Star Game simply won't have room for him.
Dominic Smith
Dominic Smith has the highest AVG, the third-highest OBP, and the third-highest SLG among hitters this season as a designated hitter. Two months ago, the idea he would even be considered to be an All-Star was laughable, now it's unfortunate knowing he won't have a shot.
Two things are working against Smith's All-Star candidacy at this point. The first is simply the number of plate appearances. Smith has half of the plate appearances of other DHs like Ohtani and Schwarber. Part of that is that Atlanta has been fairly strict about platooning him, but the other half is that injuries to Michael Harris II and Ronald Acuña Jr. have led the Braves to utilizing the DH to keep their bat in the lineup, at the expense of Smith.
The second thing working against Smith is simply the two DHs with the most plate appearances. Simply put, Shohei Ohtani is a megastar, whose place in the Midsummer Classic is already penned in, while Kyle Schwarber's star status coupled with him playing for the host city make his selection all but a given.
While it would have been inspiring to see someone like Dominic Smith make his first All-Star appearance after struggling in the majors for the last few years, there simply isn't a spot for him in Philly this July.
Add us as a preferred source on Google