MLB All Star Voting Leaders 2013: Players Who Aren't Receiving Enough Attention

The 2013 MLB All-Star Game is less than two weeks away, as the New York Mets prepare to host the annual event at Citi Field on Tuesday, July 16. With the votes flooding in and the fan favorites preparing to play in the annual event, however, we can't help but ask one simple question.

Which players aren't receiving enough attention?

Players dominating the stat sheet often receive praise, thus earning their spot amongst the elite on All-Star weekend. Every now and then, however, we see players that are outperforming the level of respect they receive.

2013 has been no different.

Despite their elite level of play, there are those out there who have flown under the radar. Whether fans are placing a higher interest in name value or simply voting for their favorite players, it's yet another instance of a flawed system.

Here's who is suffering the most.

American League

Pos.	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 4	No. 5
C	Joe Mauer, Twins (3,869,330)	Matt Wieters, Orioles (2,677,959)	A.J. Pierzynski, Rangers (1,441,827)	Carlos Santana, Indians (1,285,650)	Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Red Sox (1,256,505)
1B	Chris Davis, Orioles (5,468,703)	Prince Fielder, Tigers (3,280,681)	Albert Pujols, Angels (1,140,420)	Mike Napoli, Red Sox (1,123,281)	Mitch Moreland, Rangers (1,007,675)
2B	Robinson Cano, Yankees (3,974,322)	Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox (2,838,129)	Ian Kinsler, Rangers (1,767,806)	Omar Infante, Tigers (1,554,514)	Jose Altuve, Astros (1,227,462)
SS	J.J. Hardy, Orioles (3,509,180)	Jhonny Peralta, Tigers (2,505,348)	Elvis Andrus, Rangers (2,122,770)	Jed Lowrie, Athletics (1,491,376)	Jose Reyes, Blue Jays (1,091,707)
3B	Miguel Cabrera, Tigers (5,844,165)	Manny Machado, Orioles (2,752,627)	Adrian Beltre, Rangers (1,792,809)	Evan Longoria, Rays (1,528,877)	Josh Donaldson, Athletics (827,381)
OF	Mike Trout, Angels (4,822,983)	Adam Jones, Orioles (4,766,256)	Jose Bautista, Blue Jays (2,679,230)	Nick Markakis, Orioles (2,536,864)	Torii Hunter, Tigers (2,390,336)

American League All-Star voting returns as of July 2 provided by ESPN.

National League

Pos.	No. 1	No. 2	No. 3	No. 4	No. 5
C	Yadier Molina, Cardinals (5,093,645)	Buster Posey, Giants (4,674,847)	John Buck, Mets (1,446,565)	Miguel Montero, Diamondbacks (997,791)	Brian McCann, Braves (997, 322)
1B	Joey Votto, Reds (3,622,608)	Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (3,035,114)	Allen Craig, Cardinals (2,525,399)	Brandon Belt, Giants (1,804,152)	Freddie Freeman, Braves (1,494,604)
2B	Brandon Phillips, Reds (3,411,839)	Matt Carpenter, Cardinals (3,186,423)	Marco Scutaro, Giants (3,142,783)	Daniel Murphy, Mets (1,598,297)	Chase Utley, Phillies (1,355,750)
SS	Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies (3,104,285)	Brandon Crawford, Giants (1,757,255)	Jean Segura, Brewers (1,625,753)	Pete Kozma, Cardinals (1,354,974)	Andrelton Simmons, Braves (965,016)
3B	David Wright, Mets (4,452,282)	Pablo Sandoval, Giants (3,610,096)	David Freese, Cardinals (2,376,121)	Chris Johnson, Braves (1,234,095)	Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals (1,072,563)
OF	Carlos Beltran, Cardinals (3,473,030)	Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies (2,928,606)	Justin Upton, Braves (2,917,659)	Bryce Harper, Nationals (2,902,393)	Matt Holliday, Cardinals (2,697,608)

National League All-Star voting returns as of July 2 provided by ESPN.

Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates

Position: Third Baseman

Age: 26

Experience: 4th Season

2013 Season Statistics

.243/.309/.517, 36 R, 21 HR, 56 RBI

When you're hitting .243 from the plate, it's easy for fans to overlook you as a potential All-Star. When you lead all NL third basemen in home runs and RBI, however, there's genuine reason to vote you in as an All-Star starter.

Pedro Alvarez hasn't been that lucky.

David Wright is the hometown player and deserves to be the starter when pairing that fact with his top-tier production. When it comes down to it, however, Alvarez has eight more home runs and 12 more RBI than any other National League third baseman.

Even still, he's on the outside looking in of the top five in terms of voting for NL third basemen.

His batting average may be of concern, but no third baseman has hit for power as well as Alvarez to date. He's third in the National League in home runs, and for that reason alone, he should be in consideration for the starting spot.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates in first place in the NL Central, there's a case to be made that he would be starting if the All-Star Game were held in any other city.

Dominic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies

Position: Left Field

Age: 25

Experience: 4th Season

2013 Season Statistics

.279/.326/.553, 45 R, 13 2B, 3 3B, 22 HR, 60 RBI

This is easily the biggest snub of all.

Dominic Brown of the Philadelphia Phillies is currently 15th amongst all outfielders in All-Star voting. While some might say that he should be happy to be on the ballot, there's no validity to that claim when you acknowledge the facts.

Brown should be starting.

Brown is currently second in the National League in home runs, fifth in RBI and fourth in slugging percentage. He's also hitting a strong .279, has registered 13 doubles, picked up three triples and has 45 runs scored.

So how is he No. 15 on the ballot? I'll wait for you to formulate an answer.

The Phillies are a lackluster 41-45, but the main reason they're anywhere close to .500 is what Brown has been doing. More importantly, if we're to acknowledge individual greatness, few players in MLB have been as productive as Brown.

No. 15 is criminal for a player that should be starting for the National League.

Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians

Position: Second Base

Age: 26

Experience: 3rd Season

2012-13 Season Statistics

.302/.387/.537, 22 2B, 3 3B, 13 HR, 54 RBI, 19 SB

The Cleveland Indians have been one of the most pleasant surprises of the season, sitting at 45-39 and resting just .5 games behind the Detroit Tigers for second in the AL Central division. At the heart of their success has been the rise of second baseman Jason Kipnis.

A player that rests outside of the top five in All-Star voting for his position.

Thus far, Kipnis is hitting .302 with 22 doubles, three triples, 19 stolen bases, 13 home runs and 54 RBI. By comparison, the third-ranked Ian Kinsler is hitting .282 with eight home runs, 30 RBI and four stolen bases.

Need we say more?

Amongst AL second basemen, Kipnis is first in both stolen bases and slugging percentage. He's also second at his position in doubles, triples, home runs and RBI.

Even still, he's on the outside looking in of the top five vote-getters at his position—a prime example of the flawed nature of the fan voting system.