Washington Nationals outfielders Kyle Schwarber and Juan Soto as well as shortstop Trea Turner have been selected to represent the Washington Nationals in the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. It is the first All-Star selection for all three players. Schwarber and Turner were named to the All-Star Game rosters by the Player Ballot, while Soto was selected by Major League Baseball. The 2021 All-Star teams were unveiled on Sunday during the Google MLB All-Star Selection Show on ESPN.
Schwarber, 28, ranks second in the National League in home runs (25), fifth in slugging percentage (.570), tied for fifth in RBI (53), and seventh in OPS (.910). He leads Major League Baseball with seven leadoff home runs and 13 game-winning RBI. Schwarber finished the first half of the season hitting .253 with nine doubles, 25 homers, 53 RBI, 31 walks, one stolen base and 42 runs scored in 72 games.
He earned the selection after his historic month of June in which he led the National League in home runs (16), RBI (30), slugging percentage (.760) and OPS (1.122). His 16 home runs during the month were the most in any single month in Nationals history (2005-pres.) and the second-most hit in the month of June in Major League history behind Sammy Sosa (20 in June 1998), according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Soto, 22, entered play on Sunday ranked second in the National League with a .399 on-base percentage and tied for second in the National League with 50 walks. He hit .278 with nine doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 37 RBI, 50 walks, five stolen bases and 46 runs scored in 71 games entering play on Sunday.
Soto has reached base safely in 21 straight games. It is the longest streak of his season, the longest by a Nationals player in 2021 and tied for the longest streak of his career.
Turner, 28, leads the National League in stolen bases (18) and ranks among league leaders in multi-hit games (T2nd, 30), hits (3rd, 100), batting average (3rd, .318) and fWAR (3rd, 3.6) entering play on Sunday. He paces all National League shortstops with 18 stolen bases and his .318 batting average. In addition, he ranks among the position in on-base percentage (2nd, .367), fWAR (2nd, 3.6), wOBA (2nd, .378), wRC+ (3rd, 138), OPS (3rd, .879) and slugging percentage (3rd, .513).
Over his last 16 games, Turner is hitting .397 (25-for-63) with four doubles, two triples, four homers, eight RBI, six walks, five stolen bases and 18 runs scored. He has a .449 on-base percentage and a .714 slugging percentage over this stretch.
On June 30 vs. Tampa Bay, Turner recorded the third cycle of his career. In doing so, he joined Adrian Beltré, Babe Herman, Bob Meusel and Long John Reilly as the only players in Major League history to record three cycles, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
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