MLB All-Star Game 2015: Most and Least Deserving Players
The final MLB All-Star Game balloting update before Thursday's 11:59 p.m. ET voting deadline was released on Monday, and players such as Omar Infante and Matt Carpenter undeservedly have more votes than Jason Kipnis, Nolan Arenado and Todd Frazier.
If nothing changes when the final roster is revealed on Sunday, it appears as if both starting lineups will be without some worthy candidates.
Given who the leading vote-getters are at each position through Monday's update, let's rank the five least-deserving players on track to start on July 14 at Great American Ball Park and the five who most warrant the honor at their respective positions, but will seemingly come up short.
Each player's performance over the first half of the season, as well as the production by other players in their league at that position will be the main determining factors. Furthermore, only one player at a given position can make each list (least and most).
Take a look and chime in with any comments.
Honorable Mentions
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Most Deserving
Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees: Coming off a one-year suspension, Rodriguez has been one of the best stories in baseball in the first half of the season. With 15 home runs, 45 RBI and a .280 batting average that nearly every Yankees fan would have taken coming into the season, he's helped New York stay in or near first place in the AL East all season.
Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds: Frazier is putting up out-of-this-world numbers for the struggling Reds. He's second in all of baseball with 25 home runs, and the 54 runs he's driven in are tied for fifth in the majors. His long balls are coming in big spots, too. He's also hitting a solid .283. He's having as good an offensive season as anyone, but there's another third baseman in the NL who merits the start more.
Jose Altuve, Houston Astros: Though he's not having the kind of season he had in 2014, when he set an Astros franchise record with 225 hits, Altuve continues to shine both at the plate and in the field. His .298/.342/.421 slash line is far superior to that of Omar Infante, who may very well start at second base for the AL. Like Frazier, however, Altuve won't make the list because of the impressive season someone else is having.
Least Deserving
Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners: He's hitting a lot of home runs again—20 to be exact—but Cruz is benefiting from one designated hitter not being listed on the ballots as a DH.
Least Deserving: No. 5 Matt Holliday
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Sure he's got a nice .303 batting average, but Holliday's got just three home runs and 26 RBI. It's not that he's having a bad season by any means, there are just other outfielders in the National League like Andrew McCutchen, Justin Upton, Starling Marte and Ryan Braun who are displaying more power while hitting for solid averages as well.
Giancarlo Stanton is second in voting among NL outfielders, but he's out for four to six weeks, so one of these players is sure to get the start.
Still, Holliday would fit better in a reserve role.
Most Deserving: No. 5 Stephen Vogt
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For the first time in his career, Vogt is getting the opportunity to play every day, and he's quickly making Oakland Athletics fans forget about Derek Norris.
Oakland's new starting catcher can flat out hit, leading all American League backstops in batting average (.290), OBP (.382) slugging percentage (.508) and OPS (.890). Oh, and he's also tied with Salvador Perez for most home runs among AL catchers with 13.
He's stuck playing for a last-place team, so not many people are familiar with Vogt, but he's undoubtedly having a better first half than any AL catcher.
It will take a miracle for him to get the nod, however, as he trails Perez by more than six million votes and he's also behind Russell Martin.
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Least Deserving: No. 4 Salvador Perez
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See previous slide.
Perez is one of the best catchers in baseball. He plays the position as well as anyone and has two Gold Gloves to show for it. He calls a great game and provides more offense than you could ask of a catcher.
It just so happens that Vogt is having a much better season than him. Perez has hit 13 big flies and is hitting .263 with an OBP under .300 and 34 RBI—Vogt has 53.
Most years, these numbers—coupled with Perez's defensive prowess—would be worthy of starting the Midsummer Classic. But when you consider the breakout season Vogt is having, they shouldn't be this year.
Most Deserving: No. 4 Prince Fielder
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Following an abysmal 2014 campaign in which Fielder played just 42 games, hitting a paltry .247 with three home runs, he's making a case for the Comeback Player of the Year Award. The Texas Rangers slugger is tearing it up, as his .345 batting average is good for third in the AL, while his .414 OBP also ranks third in the league. Oh, and his 105 hits—second in the AL—in 78 games aren't too bad either.
Add the 12 home runs and 49 RBI he's accumulated and you have an All-Star, right?
Unfortunately for Fielder, he's listed on the ballots as a first baseman instead of DH, his primary position. Miguel Cabrera is on pace to start at first base, and it's hard argue with that.
But there's no question Fielder deserves the nod over the AL's other designated hitters. Aside from home runs, Fielder has better numbers than Cruz, the AL's current leading vote-getter, in nearly every offensive category.
Edwin Encarnacion and Kendrys Morales are second and third among designated hitters, and neither are having better seasons than Fielder.
Least Deserving: No. 3 Alex Gordon
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Kansas City Royals fans can't be happy to see another one of their beloved players on the least-deserving list, but Gordon is not having that great a year compared to other AL outfielders.
He's been unbelievable in the field, as you would expect from the Gold Glove-winner, making jaw-dropping catches like his gem against the Chicago White Sox in April.
But his offensive numbers are underwhelming. Gordon's .384 OBP is impressive, but he's got just nine home runs and 32 RBI playing a corner outfield position.
Those aren't exactly All-Star-caliber numbers. Heck, for all the criticism he's received, you can make a case that Hanley Ramirez is having a better year with a bat in his hands than Gordon.
That's not to say Ramirez should be starting this game either, by the way.
Most Deserving: No. 3 J.D. Martinez
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There's a good chance Martinez will be leading the AL in home runs entering the All-Star break, yet he has almost no chance of cracking the starting lineup. As of Monday, he was ninth among AL outfielders in votes, nearly six million behind Gordon, who was third.
Martinez, who is hitting .281, is tied with Mike Trout with 21 homers and tied for sixth in the league in RBI with 51.
It's not just Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Yoenis Cespedes that opposing pitchers have to watch out for when facing the Detroit Tigers. No, no, no.
He's often the forgotten man in that cast of sluggers, but Martinez is putting together quite the season. He's only two home runs away from matching his career high, which he set last year, and he has the ability to surpass that number in one game.
This guy deserves to join Trout and Lorenzo Cain in that AL outfield, but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen.
Least Deserving: No. 2 Matt Carpenter
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It's almost unfair to put Carpenter in the same conversation as Omar Infante in terms of least-deserving players, because he's really not having that bad a season. In fact, every team should have a guy like Carpenter on their roster.
He's having pretty much a typical season for his standards. Carpenter's got eight home runs—on pace to top his career high—and 38 RBI, while hitting .278 with a .379 OBP.
Not bad, but not worthy of an All-Star start, especially when you consider what Arenado and Frazier are doing.
St. Louis loves its Cardinals, and its fans are making that clear by successfully—so far—voting Carpenter into the starting lineup.
But it would be a crime if he got the start over Arenado and Frazier.
Most Deserving: No. 2 Jason Kipnis
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His height may have cost Carlos Carrasco a no-hitter, but let's not hold that against Kipnis, who is having the best season of any second baseman in baseball.
Kipnis is first in the AL and second in MLB—behind only Paul Goldschmidt—with a .347 batting average. He's also got a .420 OBP and 10 stolen bases.
He recently had a 20-game hitting streak snapped, the longest such streak in MLB this season, according to ESPN.
If not for Arenado's superb defense, he may have been first on this list.
The buzz surrounding the All-Star Game isn't close to what it once was, but it's still a nice accomplishment for players to have on their resumes.
Kipnis is having a career season, and who knows if he'll ever duplicate these numbers and give himself another chance to start the game. It would be a shame if he missed out on this distinction, because he's earned it.
Least Deserving: No. 1 Omar Infante
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Not to stick it to Royals fans, but even they can't justify Infante starting the All-Star Game.
The guy is hitting .231 with a .238 OBP, perfectly complementing the zero home runs he's hit and the whopping 23 runs he's driven in.
In what world is this an All-Star?
If you were to put together a roster of the least productive everyday players up to this point in the season, there's a good chance Infante would be the first guy that came to mind.
There's no way anyone can take the All-Star Game seriously with Infante on the AL roster, let alone starting.
MLB has to fix this.
Most Deserving: No. 1 Nolan Arenado
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Gone are the days when people would mention Arenado's name and only talk about his defense. The Colorado Rockies third baseman is now a legitimate threat at the plate as well.
Arenado's batting .287, with an MLB-leading 68 RBI and 24 home runs, the third-most in the NL.
He's a superstar in every sense of the word.
The decision to keep Frazier off the list came down to defense, because both are having outstanding offensive seasons.
Frazier doesn't make highlight-reel plays like this on a nightly basis, and that wound up being the tie-breaker.
There are All-Star snubs every year, but it seems as if there are going to be more blatant misses than ever before in 2015. Having the fans vote in the starters is a cool touch, but if it's going to take away from the quality of play on the field, commissioner Rob Manfred needs to consider changing the system.
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