Heaps says Caldwell is "awesome" despite All-Star snub

Scott Caldwell deserves to be on the MLS All-Star ballot, according to head coach Jay Heaps.

Last week, the league announced the players available to represent MLS in this summer's All-Star game against Arsenal. Each team has eight eligible players, as voted on by the media. Fans will now have the opportunity to vote before the final roster is revealed.

For the New England Revolution, Bobby Shuttleworth, Andrew Farrell, Jose Goncalves, Chris Tierney, Diego Fagundez, Lee Nguyen, Kelyn Rowe, and Kei Kamara are in contention. Voting will be open until 3 pm ET on July 4. Fans can also have their say by playing FIFA, as each goal scored will count as a vote.

One glaring omission from the list of players is Caldwell. The Homegrown product, who was named team MVP in 2015, is a force in the midfield, regularly doing the dirty work in front of the backline.

While Heaps doesn’t follow the All-Star voting too closely, he was shocked that Caldwell’s name wasn’t on the ballot.

"Did he make it or didn’t he make it?" Heaps asked. "I don’t know, I don’t follow that stuff, but I know that he should’ve. I’m going to answer that based on the fact that the guy is awesome."

Caldwell has long been considered an underappreciated player in MLS. Ironically, the league ran an article at the beginning of the season where a writer named him as the most underrated player.

Those who know Caldwell, however, know his quality. In 2014, US midfielder Jermaine Jones campaigned for Caldwell to receive an international call-up. Meanwhile, his current teammates are regularly doling out praise.

While Caldwell won’t be in San Jose to face Arsenal, don’t expect his form to dip since he’s the type of player who puts maximum effort into everything he does.

"He puts it out there every game and every training session and every film session, and anything we ask of him, he lays it all out there," Heaps said. "I don’t think I could speak higher of another player. He really is top class all the way around, person, player, you name it."