Jesus Luzardo is headed to the All-Star Game for the first time after being named one of three pitcher replacements, a move that gives the Philadelphia Phillies another reason to brag about their season. It also means the left-hander will join the National League All team after 18 starts that have put him squarely in the center of the club’s rotation.
The timing matters because the replacement call came this week, and it adds a fresh name to a Phillies list that now leads all 30 MLB teams with six All-Stars. Luzardo joins Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Cristopher Sanchez and Jhoan Duran, a group that reflects how well the Phillies have pitched and hit while building toward the 2026 MLB All-Star Game they will host in celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
Luzardo’s case rests on production as much as selection. He has a 3.75 ERA in 18 starts, along with a 3.06 xERA, a 2.96 FIP and a 2.97 xFIP, numbers that help explain why he and Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler have carried the rotation for much of the season. The Phillies are 36-14 when those three start a game, which is the kind of record that turns a midseason honor into a reflection of a team that has consistently won when its best arms take the ball.
There is still a crack in the picture. Zack Wheeler has strong numbers, a connection to the hosting franchise and the kind of resume that usually travels well in All-Star voting, yet he was left out. His agent called the omission “ludicrous,” and Wheeler is set to start the Sunday before the All-Star Game, a detail that only sharpens the sense that the Phillies could have filled even more spots if the roster had gone differently.
For Luzardo, though, the result is clear. The Phillies traded two prospects to the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2025 season to get him, then extended him to a $135 million deal that runs through the 2032 season. Now the club has its sixth All-Star and Luzardo has his first, with the only real question left being how the Phillies choose to use him once he arrives.
