Boston Red Sox players who should be 2019 MLB All-Stars
The Boston Red Sox have a loaded roster with several options who are worthy of consideration for a spot on the All-Star team.
Major League Baseball released the starting lineups for the 2019 All-Star Game and none of the Boston Red Sox players were included. That doesn’t mean that they won’t get the opportunity to make the team.
We are assured that at least one Red Sox player will make the trip to Cleveland for this year’s festivities because MLB still insists on every franchise being represented. This can lead to the selection of players from bad team who don’t deserve to be there, inevitably resulting in a worthy player being snubbed.
It happens all the time. Between fan voting, a disproportionate level of talent at different positions and the requirement to squeeze in players from each team, some players with All-Star caliber numbers are going to get left out.
It would be shocking if the reigning World Series champions didn’t have multiple All-Stars from their talented roster but it’s not set in stone. We know that none of their players will be a starter but the aim here is to identify those who deserve to be considered by the players when they select the reserves.
Chris Sale
Some will look at his 3-7 record and 3.82 ERA and assume that Chris Sale is having a terrible season. He certainly hasn’t been up to his usual standards but he’s still one of the game’s best starting pitchers.
A shaky bullpen and a head-scratching lack of run support mostly explains the losing record. Sale is on pace for the worst ERA of his career but it’s inflated by early season struggles when his velocity was down and he was building himself up following a light workload in spring training. Aside from the occasional hiccup along the way, Sale has been his dominant self since mid-April.
While he ranks only 16th among qualified AL starters in ERA, Sale’s 2.94 FIP is third. He’s also second with a 13.14 K/9 and 3.0 WAR, per FanGraphs.
Sale is second in the league with 148 strikeouts and has only walked 24 batters. His 1.03 WHIP is third in the league and almost identical to his career rate.
Sale won’t be making his fourth consecutive start for the American League but he deserves to be on the team.
Rafael Devers
The 22-year old is having a breakout season that should put him in line for his first All-Star appearance.
Rafael Devers is third in the league and tops at his position with a .322 batting average and he’s on pace to set career-highs with 12 home runs and 49 RBI at the midpoint of the season.
Houston’s Alex Bregman is the right choice to start at third base but Devers is right behind him in most offensive categories. He trails only Bregman at the position with 49 RBI, a .373 OBP and a .381 wOBA. Devers leads AL third basemen with 100 hits and 23 doubles.
His 2.9 WAR places Devers behind Bregman and Oakland’s Matt Chapman, although the latter’s value is tied primarily to his glove. Players may put more emphasis on defensive value than the fans do and Chapman’s 19 home runs will garner him some attention.
Devers has been the better hitter but his power was slow to develop this season and his defense remains a work in progress. If the AL brings a trio of third baseman with them to Cleveland then Devers should be a lock. If they can pick only one backup to Bregman then it’ll be a tight contest between Devers and Chapman.
Xander Bogaerts
We’ve heard Xander Bogaerts express his annoyance with the All-Star selection process before but the players will have a chance to rectify past mistakes by sending him to the Midsummer Classic this year.
Bogaerts is hitting .298 with a career-high .924 OPS that leads his position and ranks ninth in the league overall. He leads the league with 27 doubles and his 15 home runs puts him on pace for his first 30-homer campaign.
FanGraphs has Bogaerts leading his position with 3.7 WAR and he’s third on Baseball-Reference with 2.9 WAR. He leads AL shortstops with a .385 wOBA and 139 wRC+ this season.
A case can certainly be made that Bogaerts is the best shortstop in the league regardless of what the fans say but if he can’t be the starter then he at least was fortunate that Jorge Polanco is. If the fans voted in Carlos Correa or Gleyber Torres, the players may have been forced to pick between Polanco and Bogaerts for the reserve spot. It would be a toss up for players to pick between them with the decision coming down to which metrics they favor most.
With Polanco locked in as the starter, Bogaerts should be the easy choice to back him up. The AL is loaded with shortstops and may even end up taking three, which would only increase the odds that Xander is included.
J.D. Martinez
He was expected to be a virtual lock for the starting spot but a recent slump has dragged down the production of J.D. Martinez to mere mortal levels.
Martinez is still hitting a very solid .287/.364/.528 with 17 home runs, 45 RBI, a .369 wOBA and 128 wRC+ this season.
A move to Texas has revitalized the career of Hunter Pence and earned him the starting DH spot. Martinez has a slight edge in homers and on-base percentage but Pence has him beat pretty much everywhere else.
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The reigning Sliver Slugger at the position will still be heavily considered but it’s hard to imagine the AL taking more than two designated hitters, assuming they even need a backup. The competition for that remaining slot will be steeper than anticipated.
Edwin Encarnacion leads the league in home runs. Nelson Cruz has comparable numbers to Martinez while hitting in the heart of the league’s highest scoring offense. Austin Meadows could factor into the race if he doesn’t make it as an outfielder considering he’s started 26 of his 63 games at DH. Daniel Vogelbach is having a solid season and somebody from Seattle has to make the team.
Does Martinez deserve to be an All-Star? Yes, but the odds of him making the team aren’t as set in stone as we once assumed.
Mookie Betts
There’s plenty of competition for the outfield spots but how do you not include the reigning MVP?
Mookie Betts has seen his production at the plate fall off this season. The 2018 batting champion is hitting only .261 this season as opposing pitchers have made a concerted effort to pitch him down and away to prevent him from pulling the ball with authority. His league-leading slugging percentage from last year has fallen nearly 200 points to .459.
He’s not having the MVP-caliber season he had last year but his numbers as very similar to 2017 when he made the All-Star team despite what was considered a down year.
Betts still gets on base at a healthy clip with a .379 OBP and he leads the league with 64 runs scored. He’s one of the rare hitters who walks more than the strikes out.
He remains an elite defensive right fielder and base runner, which explains why he ranks third among AL outfielders with 2.9 WAR despite his shortcomings at the plate.
Next. All-Star Game starters. dark
Betts doesn’t deserve to start the game but his solid overall production, track record and popularity should be enough to warrant a spot on the All-Star team.