So, the first round of All-Star voting has been released, and well, the Reds look like they'll be represented in the Mid-Summer Classic about as well as they've been represented in the Fall Classic since, you know, I was in high school.
There are no Reds in the Top 5 at any position. Sure, they're your favorite team, but do they deserve to be there? There's one, I believe, that has as good a case as any Red to be a starter in St. Louis, and you may be surprised.
First base: Albert Pujols is the leading vote-getter. Pujols is hitting .323/.449/.645 with 14 HR and 40 RBis. Joey Votto is hitting .364/.473/.645 with 8 HR and 33 RBI. This is a close one. Pujols is probably the best player in baseball, but, well, let's head to the VORP -- 26.5 for Pujols to 20.5 for Votto. Pujols is the better choice, but Votto certainly deserves to be in consideration. The choice: Pujols
Second base: Chase Utley is no longer underrated. After the World Series and all that, he's leading the NL second basemen in fan voting, even if he's not the best 2B in the NL this season. Utley's been very, very good, and even amazing considering his off-season surgery, but he's hitting .290/.429/.559 with 11 HR and 31 RBIs. Brandon Phillips has had an amazing month of May, and if it continues, he's in the mix. But Phillips' good friend, Orland Hudson is having the best season among NL 2B. Hudson is hitting .349/.421/.500 with 3 HR and 30 RBIs. He also has 36 runs scored. The choice: Hudson.
Third base: Big shocker, New York golden boy David Wright leads the voting. And, well, like Utley, he's been really good, but Ryan Zimmerman's been a tick better. Wright is hitting .349/.452/.512 and Zimmerman is hitting .339/.400/.583. The Reds? Do they have a third baseman to consider? No. The choice: Zimmerman.
Shortstop: Surprisingly it's not Jimmy Rollins winning that one, it's J.J. Hardy. Hardy? Why? When did he become that popular? Usually you get players who are overly popular or playing at home that come up in votes like that. Hardy, nope. Hardy's hitting .234/.321/.397 -- he doesn't belong in the discussion one bit. There are two players who deserve it, Hanley Ramirez and Miguel Tejada. Hardy? Wow. Why not just vote for Alex Gonzalez? The choice: Ramirez
Catcher: Yadier Molina is a Cardinal, the game is in St. Louis and there are no more glamour catchers in the NL -- no Mike Piazza of the past or Joe Mauer of the AL. So this is where it's interesting -- who should be the NL's catcher? Brian McCann of the Braves leads in VORP with a 10.9, following by Washington's Jesus Flores 8.5 and Florida's John Baker 8.4. The Reds' Ramon Hernandez is 9th with a 3.8 (behind David Ross, FWIW), but he's having a very good season -- of all qualified catchers, he leads the league in hitting at the position with a .294 average -- 24 points higher than the next-highest catcher. Also, only six catchers have enough ABs to qualify. Hernandez's OPS of .745 trails on Ivan Rodriguez's .755 among qualified catchers, but has a more even line. He's also tied for second in the league in runners caught stealing with 10, and much of that is because more run on him than others, but still has thrown out 37% of runners. Honestly, I'm not sure if he deserves the spot, but he deserves it as much as any other catcher. This will be my homer pick. The pick: Hernandez
Outfield: The leaders are Ryan Braun, Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Beltran -- no, no, yes. The Reds, well, no. There are no Reds in the top 15 of OF voting, and, really, not sure there should be. Willy Taveras has played well, but not among the best in baseball. A former Red deserves some discussion -- Adam Dunn (.284/.421/.599 with 15 HR and 40 RBI) -- but he's not among the top 3 OFs in the NL. These picks are pretty easy, actually. So easy, I'll even do it pure in the actual three positions instead of lumped together -- The picks: left field Raul Ibanez, center field Beltran and right field Justin Upton.
Blogs: C. Trent Rosecrans
All-Star voting 5.27
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One thing you did not factor in that you should have is fielding, does that give Phillips a nudge?
phillips is much better defensively than either of those, but if you go with dewan's belief that defense is worth half as much as offense, don't think it's enough
I too have been impressed by Hernandez, but seriously, he's not in the same league as Brian McCann, who is most certainly a "glamour" catcher in the NL. Had McCann not missed so many games with eye problems his stats would be even better.
right, but mccann has missed those games. when he's 100 percent, he's the best in the league. but he hasn't been 100 percent. but yeah, mccann probably deserves it. and i noted it was my only homer pick. he's the only debateable one, to me. votto's as good as anyone in the leauge not named pujols, but, well, he plays the same position as pujols
Joe Sheehan almost entirely ignores the current season numbers - says the game is about stars and not who's having a hot 10 weeks.
I think he takes that too far, and ends up with two boring-ass columns every May because of it. But I do agree that you should vote for the better player, considering both career and this season. I wouldn't vote for a HOFer having a lousy start, but if the established star is having a good year, I vote for him, even if there's someone "better."
Thus Utley over Hudson, but agreement with the rest of your ballot.