Red Sox C Christian Vazquez
Christian Vazquez has had a lot of good moments during his nine-year career, but this season may be his best. After a slow start, Vazquez caught absolute fire in May, batting .343 over his last 19 games to raise his average to .281. That, along with his still above-average defense, make Vazquez one of the best catchers in the league.
In most years, Vazquez’s numbers would be good enough for at least a reserve role on the All-Star team considering how weak the catcher spot is around the league. His candidacy, however, faces a major obstacle in the form of Alejandro Kirk. The Blue Jays backstop is having a breaking campaign, slashing .306/.389/.465 and is more than doubling Vazquez’s WAR 1.9 to 0.8.
Vazquez also faces stiff competition for the backup spot. The Rangers Jonah Heim is similarly having a career year and is second to Kirk with a .780 OPS. The Twins Gary Sanchez has seven home runs and leads all AL catchers with 27 RBIs. And despite spending time on the IL, perennial starter Salvador Perez still leads Junior Circuit backstops with 8 home runs.
Simply put, Vazquez is going to need to have another month like May to have a shot at the AL roster.