Despite being just over a month into the Major League Baseball season, the online ballot for the 2016 All-Star Game in San Diego’s PETCO Park was released just a short time ago. While arguably the Indians’ best player so far, Danny Salazar, is ineligible for voting since pitcher selections are still left up to the players and managers, there is still a value in looking at the offensive side of the roster (and it has been offensive). New voting rules have been put in place to keep the Royals fans from stuffing electronic ballot boxes with Omar Infante votes, so this year, your vote really does count. Of course, it can now only count five times per day and 35 times overall (per e-mail address).
While many fans will still vote a ballot flush with their favorite team’s logo, we’ll take a position by position look hear to see who is deserving of this homer friendly policy and who is not.
1B – Mike Napoli
The Indians have used Napoli almost exclusively at first base with just a few games going to Carlos Santana, so it is fitting that he is the Tribe option here. This does not mean that he is a worthy option for your vote. Currently, Chris Davis leads all AL first basemen with a 1.1 fWAR and Eric Hosmer isn’t far behind at 0.9. I am personally going to avoid voting for any Royals this year as punishment for their abuse of the system in 2015, but neither of these would be a bad choice. The Orioles’ Davis leads all at the position with both nine home runs and 26 RBI while Hosmer is the tops in average at .338. Hanley Ramirez has been fairly productive in his new home, scoring 24 and knocking in 22 in addition to leading all at the position with four steals.
Napoli falls into the middle of the group that for right now, includes Joe Mauer, Miguel Cabrera and C.J. Cron. Chances are, at least Cabrera will break away from this group at some point and Napoli could as well, but at the moment, they just aren’t among the top quality in the league. The good thing for them is that they have almost two months until voting ends.
2B – Jason Kipnis
Kipnis has been one of the Indians top three hitters this year depending on the day and was one of the best offensive second basemen in the league in 2015. This year, he sits at #7 in the AL with an even one win above replacement, tied with Ian Kinsler. Right now, Jose Altuve is blowing away the field with 13 steals, nine home runs, 34 runs scored, a 2.5 WAR and .338 average. For those who like a little more power, Robinson Cano leads all with 12 home runs and 33 RBI while Rougned Odor has batted .297 with seven long balls.
If the obvious choices of Altuve and Cano aren’t your bag, Kipnis is one of ten players that is worth of outside consideration. Chances are, this field will separate as the season goes along and Kipnis is likely to remain among the top five in the league, so you’re not likely to be embarrassed later by a vote for him now.
SS – Francisco Lindor
Lindor is the Indians best chance for a position player All-Star this year, both because he is the Indians best overall player and because the field isn’t incredibly strong. The top short stop by fWAR, Manny Machado, is listed at third base on the ballot and Lindor (1.2) trails only Xander Bogaerts (2.1) after him. The two are tied with six steals and have been similar defensively and with the bat. Bogaerts does have the slight advantage for the moment, but Lindor is close enough that any Indians fan voting for anyone else is just being difficult. Right behind, Carlos Correa, Troy Tulowitzki and Marcus Semien have shown more power, but lack the high averages and great defense of the top two options.
3B – Juan Uribe
This is the first pre-season selection for a position by the Indians that doesn’t fit the current team. Jose Ramirez may not have played the majority of the time at third, but he’s played almost daily somewhere and has been one of the Indians top hitters with a 0.8 fWAR. Uribe, on the other hand, has batted .224 and earned 0.2 WAR. Obviously, if Uribe isn’t even the top 3B on his own team, he’s not the best in the league and here, it’s not even close. Machado is the AL’s top 3B and if you disagree, you’re just being silly. In addition to his incredible defense, he already has 10 home runs, 29 RBI and a .350 average. Vote for defense, vote outside of the Central Division, vote for Machado.
C – Yan Gomes
There’s no question that Gomes’ season has been a complete disappointment so far, although his home runs on Friday and Saturday have helped alleviate that somewhat. Instead, look to Brian McCann of the Yankees, who has four home runs, 16 RBI and 18 runs scored to go with his .267 average. If that isn’t too impressive, it’s because there aren’t many among the AL catching crew who have impressed this year. Other decent options include Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Salvador Perez, but that no voting for Royals rule gets in the way yet again. Maybe this would be a good place to show that Indians fans are better than Royals fans by fairly not voting for Gomes and instead voting for the heart and sole of the 2015 World Champions, Perez.
DH – Carlos Santana
Like a Republican in New York City, your vote here doesn’t matter. David Ortiz is going to win the public vote for DH just because it’s his last year and that isn’t a negative thing as he’s been one of the top producers with ten home runs and 33 RBI with a .320 average. If you want to be different, however, former Indians Victor Martinez (.358 average) would be a good choice as well. As far as Santana, there are at least seven better options, including Twins rookie Byung-Ho Park, so you can set your Cleveland favoritism aside on this one.
OF – Tyler Naquin – Rajai Davis – Michael Brantley
If listing Uribe for the Tribe at 3B was made because the team was too pessimistic about Ramirez, listing Brantley in left was too optimistic. Voting for him would be an abuse of the system of the like that makes many want the voting taken out of the hands of fans altogether. Similarly, for the moment at least, playing time keeps Naquin from being an honest choice while Davis has barely played well enough to keep him in the lineup.
For a few better options, Jackie Bradley Jr. of Boston has had a torrid start with six home runs, 20 runs scored and 30 RBI while batting .336. If you prefer advanced stats over traditional, the mainstay of Mike Trout (2.2 fWAR) is always a safe choice. Curiously, it is actually the White Sox Adam Eaton who leads all AL outfielders in WAR, almost completely because of his defensive accomplishments. Kevin Pillar is in a similar situation where his entire positive output comes from his exemplary defense. If you want to go outside the box, Mark Tumbo has had a really surprising start to the season, crushing 11 home runs while batting above .300. His defense is equally as devastating as the offense of Eaton and Pillar, but that won’t stop the traditionalists from voting for their right handed power bat.
Well, there you have it. Vote how you were going to anyway before, a straight Indians ticket, just Lindor or no one, but now no one can say that you are uninformed. Of course, you could always just wait a little longer to see how things play out before using up your 35 votes (or you could be like a Royals fans and just sign up for a few hundred e-mail addresses).
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