Categories: News

Bryce Harper named to All-MLB First Team; Zack Wheeler All-MLB Second Team

Bryce Harper continues to win awards. (Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)

As MLB awards season winds down, Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler continue to clean up.

Harper — who slashed .309/.429/.615 with 35 home runs, 84 RBIs, 100 walks and a 6.6 fWAR — was named All-MLB First Team as an outfielder Tuesday. He’s joined by New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge and Washington Nationals right fielder Juan Soto.

Last week, Harper won the National League MVP Award. He’s also won the NL’s Hank Aaron Award and Silver Slugger Award for NL right fielders.

Meanwhile, Wheeler was named to the All-MLB Second Team for starting pitchers, joining Julio Urías of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels, Kevin Gausman of the San Francisco Giants and Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves.

You could certainly make a case that Wheeler — who finished in a close second in National League Cy Young Award voting — got snubbed by being left off the first team. Dodgers teammates Max Scherzer and Walker Buehler, who finished behind Wheeler in NL Cy Young Award voting, both made the First Team. As did NL Cy Young Award winner Corbin Burnes, American League Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray and New York Yankees All-Star righty Gerrit Cole.

The All-MLB Team — established in 2019 — “was chosen through a process in which 50% of the vote came from fans and 50% from a panel of experts.” The stated goal is to offer an alternative to All-Star Game selections, which are determined with months left to go in the season. Harper, for example, wasn’t an All-Star, but after posting a 1.188 OPS in the second half of the season won the NL MVP and now finds himself on the All-MLB First Team.