Why Nolan Arenado Deserves to Be an NL All-Star Starter

It may have something to do with the lack of exposure he gets playing in the National League West, but Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies is one of the best players in baseball who hardly gets talked about—a two-time Gold Glove winner who's dangerous with the bat in his hands—and he deserves to start at the hot corner for the National League All-Star team.

Believe it or not, kids: The All-Star Game used to be a big deal. Before the Internet or MLB Network, baseball fans really had access to only their local teams' games, making the Midsummer Classic a must-watch event.

Until playoff time came around, a lot of fans got to see their favorite athletes only when they competed in the All-Star Game—yeah, players actually used to compete in what's become a glorified exhibition game. The spectacle gave baseball enthusiasts across the country a chance to marvel at the sight of Dave Parker's cannon of an arm and Reggie Jackson's mystical power, which you can see below:

Considering the myriad of news sources available to fans these days and the emergence of advanced metrics, you would think that a player of Arenado's caliber would get the spotlight his performance on the field calls for.

But based on the most recent NL All-Star ballot update, it seems as though most people don't realize just how good he is.

As of Tuesday, Arenado—with 1,699,515—was fourth in votes among NL third basemen.

The St. Louis Cardinals' Matt Carpenter leads the way at the position with 4,455,782 votes. Kris Bryant (2,198,522 votes) of the Chicago Cubs and Todd Frazier (1,939,573 votes) of the Cincinnati Reds comprise the second and third spots.

Here are the rest of the top vote-getters across the NL, per MLB Communications:

It shouldn't come as a big surprise that Carpenter—along with two other Cardinals (Jhonny Peralta and Matt Holliday)—is in line to start the All-Star Game. After all, Cardinal Nation is widely considered one of the best fanbases in baseball—as Howard Megdal of SportsOnEarth.com noted—so it's to be expected that St. Louis fans are making it a point to vote.

Furthermore, Carpenter has showcased his skills in front of a national audience in October over the past three postseasons, meaning baseball fans are well-aware of what he's capable of.

Carpenter is hitting .291 with a .381 OBP and an .870 OPS to go along with eight homers and 32 RBI for the MLB-best 43-21 Cardinals. Those numbers are slightly better than Arenado's .274/.309/.857 slash line. Yes, Carpenter gets on base at a substantially higher rate, but that doesn't justify a 2,756,267-vote advantage.

On the surface, Frazier—.293/.359/.981—and Bryant—.294/.400/.878—appear to be more productive offensively than Arenado as well.

But Arenado is making strides at the plate, displaying more power and consistency than he did in his first two seasons. Check out how far this shot he hit off Reds pitcher Mike Leake in late May went:

Through 62 games, Arenado has 16 home runs and 50 RBI—he had 18 bombs and 61 RBI in 111 games last year—a good indication that, at just 24 years old, he's only getting better. During his rookie season in 2013, he hit .267 with 10 big flies and drove in 52 runs.

At one point this year, Arenado homered in three straight games. 

He's not a product of Coors Field, either.

The third baseman is hitting .288 on the road, as opposed to .259 at home, and 11 of his 16 homers have come away from the high altitudes of Colorado.

The young Rockies star is also hitting into some bad luck, making these numbers all the more impressive. According to FanGraphs, Arenado has a .259 BABIP, whereas the average major leaguer hovers around .300.

His peers, meanwhile, have fared better when making contact. Carpenter's BABIP stands at .343, while Kris Bryant and Todd Frazier are at .419 and .292, respectively.

Still, Arenado has found ways to contribute offensively—notably in the clutch—even when he's not getting hits, as evidenced by this walk-off sacrifice fly against the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier this month:

While it's impossible to overlook his development into a middle-of-the-order threat, Arenado's defensive prowess sets him apart.

Just watch one Rockies series, and Arenado is sure to make three or four plays that will make you ask yourself, "How the heck did he do that?"

In baseball, fans don't appreciate elite defensive players as often as they should—the team's fanbase and media members who watch them every day notwithstanding—unless they're among the leaders in certain offensive statistical categories as well.

Arenado was the best defensive player at his position in each of his first two seasons and has two Gold Gloves to show for it. But now that his home runs are showing up in the highlights with more frequency, his defense is starting to get more recognition.

ESPN's Buster Olney was dazzled by the Gold Glover's outstanding play to his left in Tuesday's loss to the Houston Astros:

Olney is right: Arenado makes the most difficult of plays look easy, and he's done so on a nightly basis over his two-plus seasons in the majors.

FanGraphs helps us put Arenado's defensive aptitude into perspective with its defensive runs saved (DRS) metric. DRS is a statistic FanGraphs uses to determine a player's defensive contributions.

The 24-year old leads MLB with 15 defensive runs saved (DRS) in 2015. He's just one shy of matching his DRS total from last year and on pace to top the 30 DRS he finished with in 2013.

Justin Edmonds/Getty Images

Of the three third basemen ahead of Arenado in the fan voting, Frazier is the closest, with only one DRS. Adrian Beltre is second overall in DRS among third basemen, and he has just six.

"If I was drafting defensively, he'd probably be the first player that I take of any position," ESPN's Chris Singleton said. "He's that special and talented."

An already-long highlight reel of outstanding defensive plays from Arenado keeps expanding in 2015. On multiple occasions, he's made catches in the stands at opposing ballparks, as if to tell fans, "If you've never heard of Nolan Arenado before, now you know him."

Take a look:

Perhaps his best play of the year came on this diving stop off the bat of San Francisco Giants third baseman Casey McGehee.

With runners on first and second base, Arenado dived to his right, stepped on third base to get the force out and somehow managed to throw across the diamond in time to complete the double play. There aren't many, if any, third basemen capable of making this kind of play:

Due to his superb defense and offensive production that is close enough to or better than that of his counterparts, Arenado should start the All-Star Game at the position he fields better than anyone else.

His chances of making the team appear to be slim since he has to leap over three players in the voting, but there's no questioning who the best all-around third baseman in baseball is.

It's just a shame that he won't be on the field in the top of the first inning at Great American Ballpark on July 14.

I mean—would you rather see an opposite-field single by Carpenter or an awe-inspiring web gem from Arenado?

Fans paying the big bucks to go to the game will likely have to settle for the former, which is why MLB has to come up with a new voting system, regardless of what Ned Yost thinks.