George Springer is in the midst of his best season with the Blue Jays and yet somehow his remarkable resurgence wasn’t quite enough to make this year’s all-star team.
Springer was the most noticeable snub from the Jays, who are first in the American League East and arguably the hottest club in Major League Baseball. Despite Springer’s recent dominance, which included being named the AL player of the week on Monday, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk are the only Jays scheduled to participate in the midsummer classic.
Complaining about who was picked to be an all-star and who wasn’t is an annual rite of passage. It’s easy to say someone should have been selected, it’s much more difficult to pick who should be replaced when the starting lineups are selected by a popularity contest and every team must have at least one representative by the time the reserves are added.
NEW YORK - É«É«À² outfielder/designated hitter George Springer has been named the American …
But a case could be made that Springer and the Jays have a legitimate beef. His offensive numbers compare favourably to his peers, but they apparently weren’t enough to get chosen as a reserve via the commissioner’s office and player ballots. While Springer has been an all-star three times before, a fourth selection will have to come as an injury replacement.
Entering Monday’s series opener against the Chicago White Sox,
Springer entered Monday trailing only New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge for the highest on-base-plus-slugging percentage among AL outfielders. He was tied for fourth with 53 RBIs and 51 runs and among the top 10 with 16 homers. Yet he was not among the six outfielders on the AL roster.
Springer’s performance compares favourably to Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez, who is one of the three outfield reserves. Springer has the clear edge in just about every batting category, including average (.281 vs. .247), home runs (16 vs. 11), RBIs (53 vs. 43), slugging percentage (.512 vs. .389) and OPS plus (143 vs. 103), which is adjusted to each player’s ballpark.
The only area where Springer has a disadvantage is in wins above replacement, where Baseball Reference has Rodriguez at 3.4 to Springer’s 1.7 and FanGraphs has Rodriguez at 2.4 and Springer at 2.0. That difference can be explained by their defensive positions, where it’s easier to add WAR as a centre-fielder than as a corner outfielder and part-time designated hitter.
Kirk has rebounded at the plate and become one of MLB’s elite catchers on defence.
If the AL was lacking a centre-fielder off the bench, picking Rodriguez over Springer would be defensible. That’s not the case this year, with Minnesota outfielder Byron Buxton making all but two of his 73 starts in centre. Proper representation for each team wasn’t a factor here either with Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, starter Bryan Woo and reliever Andres Munoz also named to the team. The backup DH spot wasn’t an option because Ryan O’Hearn is the only Baltimore player on the roster.
Springer wasn’t the only glaring omission. Jays infielder Ernie Clement and left-handed reliever Brendon Little have also put up all-star-worthy numbers in the first half but, unlike Springer, it’s much more difficult to make the case that they should have been picked over someone else.
Clement entered Monday ranked ninth in the AL with a .297 average, but his .735 OPS is significantly below that of fellow reserves Jazz Chisholm Jr. (.841), Alex Bregman (.938), Brandon Lowe (.811), Jeremy Pena (.867), Bobby Witt Jr. (.837) and Jonathan Aranda (.879). Clement has a higher WAR than Lowe and Chisholm, but that’s because of his defensive versatility. If one ignores WAR by picking Springer over Rodriguez, the same logic must apply to choosing Chisholm and Lowe over Clement.
Bregman is expected to return from a right quad strain at some point this week, but after missing significant time it’s possible he will decide to skip the all-star game. If he does, that would open the door for Clement, although even then he likely trails Detroit’s Zach McKinstry and possibly Kansas City’s Maikel Garcia to become the next man up.
Little has put up all-star numbers out of the Jays bullpen this season, but it’s even harder to make the case that he should be on the team. There were just three relievers selected from each league compared to nine starters. That discrepancy also makes sense considering starters throw a lot more innings and generally have a tougher job.
The Jays went from three games out to three up in the AL East by sweeping the Yankees and Angels.
Closers Aroldis Chapman, Josh Hader and Munoz were named to the AL team. If a setup man was added to the mix, it likely would be Houston’s Bryan Abreu or possibly Texas’s Hoby Milner. That’s not a knock on Little, who has been an unsung hero this season with a 2.18 ERA, it’s just a testament to how difficult it is to make an all-star team out of the bullpen.
Springer’s situation is different. His numbers deserve a spot but, unless one of the six outfielders currently on the AL team steps aside, he’ll have to settle for a four-day break instead of boarding a flight to Atlanta.
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