All-Stars

[DaveW]

IMHO the Twins should have 3 all-stars this year:

 

No-doubters- Brian Dozier & Glen Perkins. Dozier is not only turning into a top 2B in baseball, but is actually making a case for early MVP consideration. Perkins is one of the best RP in baseball year in and year out, deserves the nod anyways, but playing in his home park and closing out a hopeful AL win makes too much sense.

 

Should be in- Phil Hughes- I think a lot of this will depend on where he comes up in the rotation (i.e. on 3-4 days rest before the game) at this point he certainly has earned a spot, however it often gets tricky with SP.

 

Long shots- Suzuki- Has played well, but catcher is another tricky position to make it.

Sanatana- Hasn't played enough games yet, but if he finishes the next 4 weeks out just like his first 4, I think he has a prayer of a chance to make the team as a super UTIL guy (after guys drop out due to injuries etc)

[stringer bell]

A week to ten days ago, I would have said Dozier wouldn't make it. I checked the stats yesterday and as of now Dozier belongs. Amongst AL second basemen, he is first in OPS, homers, walks, runs and tied for first in RBI. He is second in steals and he plays good defense. He also has the top WAR FWIW.

[70charger]

I may have said this before, but I don't think there's a better second baseman right now than Brian Dozier.

 

I'd like to see him have the kind of consistency year in and year out that the traditional top guys have and prove that this isn't just lightning in a bottle, but when it comes to things like all-star voting, which in theory is about how well you're playing this year, I just don't see how he doesn't objectively belong.

[gunnarthor]

Dozier belongs but there are a lot of starters better than Hughes right now - Yu, King Felix, Tanaka, Buerhle etc. Not sure there's enough room for him.

 

I guess Perkins can go - I don't really care about relievers in the all star game.

[SweetOne69]

I agree with you 100%. In Phil Hughes case he is currently scheduled to start the last game before the break so he would be out.

[Seth Stohs]

Glen Perkins is a given.

 

Brian Dozier is a Probably, and the only reason he is a Probably is because the 2B spot in the AL includes: Robinson Cano, Dustin Pedroia, Jason Kipnis, Ian Kinsler and Jose Altuve. Dozier has been the best this year, but 1.) he doesn't have the long-term success that the first four of them have, 2.) One of them will get voted in by the fans, and the second 2B will be voted in by the players. That leaves just two or three 'at-large' spots, and 3.) the Astros need a representative and Altuve has been terrific.

 

Hughes probably deserves a spot. I haven't looked at other pitchers and compared, but I'd say he's deserving.

 

Santana - no way.

[Brandon]

A week to ten days ago, I would have said Dozier wouldn't make it. I checked the stats yesterday and as of now Dozier belongs. Amongst AL second basemen, he is first in OPS, homers, walks, runs and tied for first in RBI. He is second in steals and he plays good defense. He also has the top WAR FWIW.

 

Dozier also leads the entire league in Runs Scored. IMO it is ultimately the most important offensive stat as you cannot win the game without scoring the most runs as a team in a game.

 

As far as my vote for who should make it.

 

Perkins - Dominating lefty how many of those are out there?

Dozier - He should be in IMO. he's got some big numbers where it counts.

Suzuki - needs to keep his average over .300 to deserve it. but .770 OPS from C is not too bad.

Hughes but he still needs to lower his ERA some and win 3 or 4 more games to be deserving. he is currently 7 -2 with a 3.18 ERA after today's game I think. there were quite a few deserving pitchers when I looked at stats yesterday.

[Hawkeye12]

I think Perkins, Hughes and Suzuki are almost automatic. Suzuki should start, especially being at home and the manager's getting to pick the starter with Weiters out. It's either him or Derek Norris as long as McCann doesn't slide in to win the vote. Dozier is finally starting to get some respect, but the Twins need to finish this month strong as Cano will probably start and Kinsler will make it even though Dozier has kind of become a "rich man's" version of Kinsler with solid homer and SB totals, but a lower batting average. Maybe Dozier will be one the of the final five vote guys for the fans to pick if he doesn't make it. With the web gems and 30/30 potential, the media could definitely push the fans to vote that way.

[Taildragger8791]

So is Joe Mauer going to still be the local "host" for the all star players, without even coming close to being in the game? I don't know if I've ever heard of that happening.

[stringer bell]

I still think Suzuki is a long shot. He's not going to win the vote and someone like Perez will win the player vote. Suzuki has the highest BA, but is fourth in OPS and tied for third in WAR. He doesn't have a great reputation defensively. If someone gets hot or Suzuki slides a bit, he won't make it. Hughes is not a lock. The top 6 ERA leaders all have as many or more wins, except for Yu Darvish who is one behind and Darvish could tie him tonight. Dallas Keuchel would be a Houston rep so that Altuve wouldn't have to be selected at the crowded second base spot.

 

I haven't thought Perkins has been that good, but really not many closer have been outstanding. Holland, Rodney, Uehara and Janssen would be on the same page with Perk and they usually take at least four.

[Thrylos]

Dozier is not only turning into a top 2B in baseball, but is actually making a case for early MVP consideration.

 

Sure. The Twins' MVP.

 

Here is how he is ranked in the AL top 10 in a slew of categories:

 

bWAR 8th

BA -

OBP -

SLG -

OPS -

RS 1st

Hits -

Total bases -

Doubles -

Triples -

HRs 9 th

OPS+ -

RC 10th

 

As far as the AS game goes, he is playing the same position as Pedroia and Cano and Kinsler all of whom are ahead of him. They are not going to take 4 second basemen. Suzuki is 5th as a catcher. Forget it. These are the only Twins with votes.

 

Perkins might make it, but (believe it or not) there are better relievers out there and they usually take more starters. Here is Perkins' ranking among AL relievers:

 

fWAR 7th

Sv 3th

ERA 30+

K/9 12th

WHIP 15th

 

So I think that just Hughes makes it.

[stringer bell]

Thanks Thry for presenting the opposing side on Dozier. I'll take my stats quoted against his fellow second basemen. Unless he wins one of the votes, Kinsler is inferior to Dozier, same for Pedroia. Cano has the big edge in BA, but nobody has the power numbers that Dozier has put up (2B only). It wouldn't stun me if Dozier won a player vote for second basemen.

[edavis0308]

I'd think that even with his poor start that Mauer would get a fan vote. Maybe today is when he starts turning things around and his poor start is a moot point? Here's to hoping anyway..

[JB_Iowa]

At least one writer (Mike Axisa, CBS Sports) thinks Phil Hughes is a "deserving All Star".

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24585623/more-than-a-change-of-scenery-behind-phil-hughes-success-with-twins

 

The article also has an interesting chart detailing Hughes' pitch selection through the years.

[Hawkeye12]

I'd think that even with his poor start that Mauer would get a fan vote. Maybe today is when he starts turning things around and his poor start is a moot point? Here's to hoping anyway..

 

Not sure where he ranks, but he's never shown up in the top five results for first baseman voting. The funny part is if he was still at catcher, even putting up his terrible numbers, he probably would be the "undeserving" guy that was going to get voted in ala Jeter. Then again in 1993, Kirby got voted in despite a slow start and won the All-Star game MVP, so sometimes the fans still get it right.

[Thrylos]

Thanks Thry for presenting the opposing side on Dozier. I'll take my stats quoted against his fellow second basemen. Unless he wins one of the votes, Kinsler is inferior to Dozier, same for Pedroia. Cano has the big edge in BA, but nobody has the power numbers that Dozier has put up (2B only). It wouldn't stun me if Dozier won a player vote for second basemen.

 

Hold it for a sec

 

I think that Dozier deserves an All-Star selection

 

Vodka was talking about an MVP. Thus why that list.

 

Do I think that Dozier will get one? Nope. because of the reasons I listed

[stringer bell]

Between the fans and the players, the All-Star Game is now getting the position players right, most of the time. Jeter is probably going to get voted in, and that is an injustice, but then again Jeter is going to be a first-ballot HoF player. Sure, the every team getting an All-Star gets awkward, but most of the time, the voting is pretty knowledgeable.

[stringer bell]

Hold it for a sec

 

I think that Dozier deserves an All-Star selection

 

Vodka was talking about an MVP. Thus why that list.

 

Do I think that Dozier will get one? Nope. because of the reasons I listed

Sorry, misinterpreted your comment.

[Pius Jefferson]

Cano is more than 224,000 votes ahead of second place. So barring a surprise turnaround he's probably going to be the starter. It helps Dozier that Dallas Keuchel should make the team regardless of Houston needing a rep.

[DaveW]

Hold it for a sec

 

I think that Dozier deserves an All-Star selection

 

Vodka was talking about an MVP. Thus why that list.

 

Do I think that Dozier will get one? Nope. because of the reasons I listed

 

You also cherry picked some stats. Dozier is 4th in WAR (fangraphs) in the league, and you skipped his SB fully.

 

I did not say he should win, I say he should be considered. His HR/SB/R and position/defense he plays should have him in the discussion

[Brandon]

I was just on MLB.com and saw that among AL catchers Oakland has the 2 with the highest OPS in the league. Suzuki has the highest OPS however among C who qualify for the batting title. in fact 2nd place on the list was 50 points lower.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp#elem=%5Bobject+Object%5D&tab_level=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+hitting&game_type='R'&season=2014&season_type=ANY&league_code='AL'&sectionType=sp&statType=hitting&page=1&ts=1402701707877&position='2'&team_id=&playerType=ALL&sortColumn=ops&sortOrder='desc'&extended=0

[Brandon]

Could Escobar gain enough playing time to be worthy of a selection as he would be leading the AL SS in OPS if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp#elem=%5Bobject+Object%5D&tab_level=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+hitting&game_type='R'&season=2014&season_type=ANY&league_code='AL'&sectionType=sp&statType=hitting&page=1&ts=1402702135332&position='6'&team_id=&playerType=ALL&sortColumn=ops&sortOrder='desc'&extended=0

[diehardtwinsfan]

Could Escobar gain enough playing time to be worthy of a selection as he would be leading the AL SS in OPS if he had enough plate appearances to qualify.

 

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp#elem=%5Bobject+Object%5D&tab_level=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+hitting&game_type='R'&season=2014&season_type=ANY&league_code='AL'&sectionType=sp&statType=hitting&page=1&ts=1402702135332&position='6'&team_id=&playerType=ALL&sortColumn=ops&sortOrder='desc'&extended=0

 

I doubt it. The Twins sent 3 all stars on some of their best teams, I doubt they send more than 2... the only consolation might be that since it's in Minnesota, you might see an extra Twin that wouldn't otherwise make it.

[Brandon]

I doubt it. The Twins sent 3 all stars on some of their best teams, I doubt they send more than 2... the only consolation might be that since it's in Minnesota, you might see an extra Twin that wouldn't otherwise make it.

 

I would currently doubt it but if Escobar increases his average from .308 to .320 and hits 10+ 2bs next month would he be able to do enough in that regards to make it or be in the conversation.

[zenser]

Cano is more than 224,000 votes ahead of second place. So barring a surprise turnaround he's probably going to be the starter. It helps Dozier that Dallas Keuchel should make the team regardless of Houston needing a rep.

I think the only way Keuchel makes the team is if Altuve is on the DL. That could happen since he was hit in the hand yesterday. Otherwise, Altuve, if healthy, should be their rep. There could be an outside shot Springer could get in.