Red Sox players who should be 2018 MLB All-Stars

The Boston Red Sox are loaded with star power but which players from this roster will represent the team in the 2018 MLB All-Star Game?

Time is running out to vote for your favorite Boston Red Sox position players to start in his year’s MLB All-Star Game.

Ballots close on July 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Until then, you can cast your vote online on MLB.com up to five times per day with a limit of 35 ballots per person.

A pair of Red Sox players have been getting plenty of support based on the most recent ballot update released by MLB. Mookie Betts leads American League outfielders by a significant margin and trails only Houston’s Jose Altuve at any position. J.D. Martinez has more than double the votes of the second-place Giancarlo Stanton at the DH spot.

First baseman Mitch Moreland and outfielder Andrew Benintendi are still hanging around the fringes of contention at their respective positions. They still need a lot more help from Red Sox Nation if they are going to push for a starting spot.

These are only the results of the fan vote and as we know from past experience, the fans can’t always be trusted to get it right (except Red Sox fans, we know best). There are also reserve players and the pitching staffs who will need to be selected by the managers.

If your favorite player isn’t currently in a starting spot on this ballot, fear not. They might still make the team!  That’s why, for the purposes of this exercise, I’ll be looking at which Red Sox players should make the All-Star team. Regardless of what the ballot says or who the managers might select to fill out the roster. These are the guys I deem worthy of consideration.

Mookie Betts
Position: Starting Right Fielder

Betts is the biggest lock to represent Boston in the All-Star Game. He’s built too big of a lead on the ballot to fall off this close to the deadline. Even if Mike Trout and/or Aaron Judge were to catch him, Betts has nearly triple the votes of the fourth place George Springer. Betts has all but clinched one of the three starting outfield spots.

For good reason. Prior to an abdomen injury that sidelined him for a couple of weeks, Betts was running away with the AL MVP race. He hit a bit of a skid as he worked his way back into the lineup but Betts is starting to heat up again.

The 25-year-old leads the league with a .679 SLG and 1.110 OPS. He’s second with a .341 batting average, third with 64 runs scored and tied for sixth with 20 home runs and 15 steals. For the analytics crowed, Betts leads the majors with a .460 wOBA and he’s second with 196 wRC+.

Betts and Judge are both right fielders. If they both get voted in to start, Betts should claim his position. After all, he’s a reigning two-time Gold Glove winner.

Even after missing time with a stint on the DL, Betts ranks third in the league with a 4.8 WAR. He’s the best all-around player on the Red Sox and right on the heels of Trout for being the best in baseball.

J.D. Martinez
Position: Starting Designated Hitter

This was supposed to be a tightly contested race at the DH position but that hasn’t been the case. Stanton has been a mild disappointment for the Yankees, drawing as many boos from the Bronx crowd as votes. The injury to rookie phenom Shohei Ohtani took the sails out of his growing momentum, preventing fans in Japan from potentially hijacking the vote.

That leaves Martinez as the clear winner. What he lacks in defensive and baserunning skills, he makes up for with what a DH should do best. Martinez has been the best hitter in baseball this season.

Martinez leads the majors with 25 home runs and 67 RBI. He’s the first Red Sox hitter to collect that many home runs before the end of June and is on pace to challenge David Ortiz‘ single-season franchise record.

Power isn’t the only aspect of his game. Martinez can hit for average, ranking fourth in the league with a .327 AVG. He’s third with a 1.033 OPS, .431 wOBA and 176 wRC+. His bat provides so much value that he’s 12th in the league with a 3.3 WAR despite adding little value on defense or on the bases.

Andrew Benintendi
Position: Reserve Outfielder

A slow start to the season is now a distant memory for Andrew Benintendi. It’s probably too late for him to make up the votes he needs to pass Judge for a starting spot. However, Benny Baseball should be a clear choice to occupy one of the reserve outfield spots.

A solid .285/.369/.508 line continues to climb as Benintendi distances himself from a rough April. Among AL outfielders, he’s sixth with a .373 wOBA and seventh with 136 wRC+

Benintendi is on pace for his second consecutive 20/20 season with 13 home runs and 15 steals. Betts and Chicago’s Tim Anderson are the only other AL players with at least as man in both categories.

He’s been at least average defensively in left field but Benny has been a borderline liability when asked to play center. Odd, considering it’s his natural position. Benintendi has posted -6 defensive runs saved in only 23 games as a center fielder. It’s a small sample but it’s dragged down his value.

The one flaw in Benintendi’s game is that he’s struggled against lefties, hitting .216 with a .717 OPS against them. That will be less of a concern coming off the bench in the All-Star Game since the coaching staff can strategically use him when a lefty isn’t on the mound or warming up to get in the game.

Chris Sale
Position: Pitcher

Chris Sale probably won’t get the nod to start the All-Star game, as he has done in each of the last two seasons. He’ll undoubtedly still make the team.

The lefty leads the league with 164 strikeouts, putting him on pace to top 300 for the second consecutive season. He may even make another run at Pedro Martinez‘ single-season franchise record. His 12.7 K/9 is only a tick behind last year’s rate so it seems the only thing holding him back from approaching that territory is if the Red Sox limit his innings in the second half to keep him fresh for the postseason.

Sale’s 2.41 ERA is fourth in the league. He’s third with a 0.89 WHIP and 5.66 K/BB ratio, as well as second with a .179 batting average against.

In case facing Sale wasn’t terrifying enough for opposing hitters, this year he’s cranked up the velocity. Over his last few starts we’ve seen Sale hit 100 mph on the radar gun. That was once a rarity for Sale. Now he makes it look routine.

While Sale hasn’t quite matched his dominant first half from last year, he’s clearly still among the league’s top starters.

Craig Kimbrel
Position: Pitcher

Craig Kimbrel isn’t putting up the ridiculous numbers that he did last year but he remains one of the game’s most dominant closers. If the AL has a 9th inning lead then they would be wise to hand the ball to the flame-throwing right-hander.

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Kimbrel is second in the league in saves, converting 24 of 26 opportunities. His 2.16 ERA ranks fourth in the league among closers with 10+ saves this season.  His 0.87 WHIP is third among that group. Kimbrel is fourth with a 13.23 K/9 among AL pitchers who has logged 20+ innings.

The AL has several closers worthy of locking down the save if the opportunity presents itself. The case for Kimbrel is strengthened by his history in non-save situations. He’s nearly untouchable with a save on the line, producing a 1.75 ERA and holding batters to a .069 average this year. When he’s been asked to pitch in non-save situations he owns a mortal 3.52 ERA and batters are hitting .267 against him.

Kimbrel needs that adrenaline rush of pitching with the game on the line. Put him in that situation and he’s as good as it gets.

Honorable Mentions

Xander Bogaerts, Shortstop

Bogaerts has put up All-Star caliber numbers this season. The problem is that the AL crop of shortstops is loaded. Manny Machado‘s transition back to the position doesn’t help, while Francisco Lindor has to make the team. Bogaerts also faces competition from Carlos Correa, Jean Segura, Andrelton Simmons, and Didi Gregorius. How many shortstops can they fit on this team?

Brock Holt, Utility

Hey, he’s done it before! Holt isn’t the flashiest name on the roster but he’s producing career highs in batting average and OPS. He was the lone All-Star representative for the Red Sox in 2015, selected primarily for his defensive versatility. He still offers that same Swiss-army knife value with offensive numbers almost identical to what he had at the break in 2015.

Rick Porcello, Pitcher

Porcello has never been an All-Star, not even during his 2016 Cy Young campaign. He should have made the team that year so maybe this is the season they rectify that omission? He’s 9-3 with a 3.60 ERA. His ERA is about half a run higher than in 2016 but his 3.40 FIP is almost identical, which shows he’s pitching about as well as he did when he won the award. He’s also top-10 in the league in K/BB ratio.

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David Price, Pitcher

Don’t laugh. This season has given us the closest glimpse of vintage Price that we’ve seen since he joined the Red Sox. A rocky start dampens his overall numbers but Price hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a game over his last nine starts. He’s 7-1 over that stretch, lowering his ERA from 5.11 to a respectable 3.66. A couple more starts like that before the break and Price’s numbers may warrant consideration.