On Tuesday, July 17, 2018, Major League Baseball will celebrate its 89th All-Star Game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C. For the first time in eight years, Dodgers ace and future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw will not be there.

Think about that for a second.

The (now) 30-year-old Dallas, Texas native and Dodgers 2006 first-round draft pick out of Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Texas is in his 11th major league season and he has been to the Midsummer Classic for more than half of them and seven in a row. Along the way, Kershaw collected three National League Cy Young awards, five ERA titles, a Triple Crown (most wins, lowest ERA, and most strikeouts in a season), a National League MVP title, a Major League Player of the Year title, and for good measure, he won a Gold Glove.

Future Hall of Famer, hands down.

Unfortunately, the 6′-4″ / 228-pound hard-throwing left-hander with his signature curveball dubbed “public enemy number one” by Hall of Fame broadcaster Vin Scully experienced left biceps tendinitis and also suffered a lower back strain that landed him on the 10-day disabled list on three different occasions during the first half of the 2018 season, thereby eliminating all possibility of making his eighth consecutive All-Star Game appearance.

But what appears at face value to be a negative among Dodger fans could actually end up being the best thing that has ever happened to their beloved ace.

There is no disputing that being selected to the annual Midsummer Classic is a huge honor; a tremendously huge honor. But being 100 percent healthy for the postseason and (hopefully) for the Fall Classic – the World Series – trumps making it to the All-Star Game every time. And after dealing with his first-half health issues that kept him off of this year’s National League All-Star roster, Kershaw now appears to once again be 100 percent healthy.

In his start against the San Diego Padres on Monday night before a Petco Park crowd of 28,110 (many of whom were Dodger fans), Kershaw was as Kershaw-esque as he has been all season. He allowed no runs and only two hits, while striking out five and walking none in his 6.0 innings of work, doing so on 89 pitches, of which 60 were strikes. It was the first time this season through his (now) 12 starts that the man often referred to as ‘the best pitcher on the planet’ did not allow a run.

If Monday night is any indication of what Dodger fans can expect from Kershaw in the second half, him not making the 2018 National League All-Star roster could an absolute blessing. (Photo courtesy of LA Dodgers)

In addition to his outstanding performance on Monday, which the Dodgers won handily by a final score of 8-2, Kershaw accomplished something that only 12 other Dodger pitchers in franchise history have done – he surpassing 2,000 career innings pitched. The last Dodger pitcher to do so was former Dodger great and current SportsNet LA analyst Orel Hershiser, who accomplished this rare feat in 1993.

“I should have done it a lot sooner … keep getting hurt,” Kershaw told reporters after the game. “It’s cool, it is. Sounds like a lot of innings. Hopefully I’ve got a few more left.”

As for his superb outing on Monday night, the extremely intelligent and oft self-deprecating left-hander said that he was very pleased, as he works his way back from his lower back strain.

“It was a good day,” said Kershaw. “Definitely a step in the right direction. They were patient, got my pitch count up there, but for the most part, made some good pitches when I needed to.”

One thing is abundantly clear: while a 100 percent healthy and extremely effective second-half Clayton Kershaw is great for Dodger fans, it is absolutely the worst possible news for opposing hitters.

Advantage Dodgers.