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Jose Altuve or Jason Kipnis: Who’s More Deserving of AL All-Star Start?

By Josh Sippie |

With the preliminary all-star results out and the initial shock of how Blue it is, there are several other notable absentees as well. One of the better signs is that Jose Altuve is leading the second base vote, meaning he’s finally maintaining the attention he deserves.

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But does he actually deserve it this year?

Cleveland Indians’ second baseman Jason Kipnis didn’t even come near cracking the all-star team in terms of votes and it’s a real shame because statistically, he’s at the top in a lot of statistical categories among AL second basemen. Jose Altuve is right there with him, as he’ll be for the remainder of his career, but Kipnis is setting the mark as is for second baseman in the American League.

Here’s a look comparing him to Jose Altuve.

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Aside from Average (and therefore OPS) and stolen bases, the two are relatively even in every statistical category, so distinguishing between the two is no easy feat. Voters are of the opinion that Jose Altuve should be starting, and it’s hard to argue. Altuve finally has the track record to prove that he isn’t a fluke and he’s the best second baseman in baseball.

But the all-star game is about (or at least it’s supposed to be about) who’s doing the best in the here and now (apparently a lot of Royals).

Both Altuve and Kipnis deserve to make the all-star team, that’s not really up for question. The question is, who is more deserving of the start?

It’s hard to base the vote on statistics alone because the two are so similar, so it may be better to hearken back to the track record of the two. Jose Altuve is the reigning AL Batting Champ, he set records in hits and steals and did some things that only Ty Cobb had done. That’s pretty special. This is the same Jose Altuve. He may be in a bit of a mess right now as his average has dipped down to .296 (one heck of a dip), but that will change.

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Jason Kipnis is a fantastic second baseman as well, but his track record isn’t as pristine as Jose Altuve’s. Kipnis has never hit above .300 before. He has displayed more power than Altuve, but he doesn’t steal near as much. While this has been a fantastic start to the year, one has to wonder if he isn’t just in the middle of a blazing hot streak. He was widely touted as a superb prospect, so he could very well make this a regular thing.

Like I said, both should make the team, they’re the two best second baseman in the American League. But Jose Altuve is more of an all-encompassing player than Jason Kipnis, at least this far into his career he is.

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