MLB: Stars Trying to Make Their First All-Star Game
The Mid-Summer Classic in 2017 will have stars from all MLB teams descending upon Miami.
There will be many firsts in this edition of the game. It will be the first time that the game comes to the city of Miami. It will be the first time that the game doesn’t (thankfully) decide home-field advantage in the World Series since 2002. And, it will be a first time experience for some of the games younger and more exciting stars.
Some of these players have barely missed the cut in years past, while others are cracking into the game, and will be mainstays for years to come. Some may even be under the radar, and won’t even make this list. In any case it will be exciting to see who leaves their mark on the first half of the baseball season as it approaches.
Please comment and share other players that you feel are going to be competing in South Florida!
Rick Porcello is in rare company. Not many pitchers end up winning a Cy Young Award in a season where they do not get invited to the All-Star Game. But, last year Porcello had that happen. The 28-year old right hander for the Red Sox had a career year in 2016 capturing the Cy Young, and the Comeback Player of the Year.
Fangraphs sees Porcello coming back to Earth in 2017, with ‘Pretty Ricky’ winning 14 games. This total was what Porcello averaged in his six years with the Tigers.
Porcello is already showing he is set to return to 2016 form in his early spring performance against the Braves, prompting Red Sox manager John Farrell to comment to MLB.com:
“It’s a pleasure to watch Rick pitch,” manager John Farrell said. “His ability to command the baseball … the pace of the game when men got on base, his varying of hold times, just in complete control once again. He used all of his pitches in three quality innings of work, a very good starting point.”
Porcello had the fifth best WAR with 5.0 amongst ALL Pitchers, was top five in the league in ERA, and finished an astonishing 22-4, which was a full seven more wins than his next best year with 15 wins in Detroit. With his hardware at home, a loaded lineup coming back, and the likes of Chris Sale tiring bats that he faces, it would be not shock to see Porcello get invited.
The young Nationals third baseman was Porcello’s counterpart as he won the National League’s Comeback Player of The Year in 2016. A strong argument could have been made for Rendon making it last season as well. Rendon came back strong from an injury filled 2015, and asserted himself as a catalyst in a slugging Nationals lineup.
The Spring has already been kind to Rendon as District on Deck reported. The Nationals are a favorite in the NL East again this season, and are well-rounded for a postseason trip. They will need strong years from players like Anthony Rendon.
He does not lack for opportunities hitting behind Bryce Harper in fifth spot in the Nationals order. It may be tricky for Rendon as the hot corner has two pre-eminent third basemen in Kris Bryant and Nolan Arenado, but it might be hard to keep him away with his stellar defense, and RBI opportunities.
The switch-hitting former catcher was one among many Indians, and their fans who must have been delighted when Edwin Encarnacion was signed in the off-season. Hitting behind one of the best home run hitters in the game will no doubt make the chances for Santana to make it to his first All-Star game even greater.
Encarnacion and Santana are close friends on and off the field, and could present one of the more lethal hitting combinations in the American League. Santana told Cleveland.com:
“Me and Edwin, we have been very good friends for a long time — since before he came here,” Santana said. “Now, he’s happy and I am, too. That’s why we stay together all the time.”
Despite having the most Home Runs, RBI, and hits of his career in 2016; Santana did not partake in the festivities. He did however help the Indians win the pennant, and come within an inning of winning it all.
The man to replace Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop in Colorado did more than his share to make a name for himself as a rookie. The former first-round pick from Irving, Texas came out of the gates with a fury. He slugged for 27 home runs, 72 RBI, and finished fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting.
Competing for the All-Star Game in this era of baseball at shortstop will remind many of the late 90’s with the renaissance of elite shortstops in the game. The likes of Corey Seager, Addison Russell, and Jonathan Villar are going to make the ‘Senior Circuit’ fun to watch for years to come. It can also be expected that ‘storytime’ will be among those names.
Story also made history when he hit seven home runs in the Rockies first six games. The previous record of six was formerly held by the likes of former Rockie Larry Walker, and Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Mike Schmidt. Pretty big start for any player. He was even very close to getting into the All-Star Game making it into the ‘Final Vote’. This season Story might not need the final fan voting contest.
Another rookie who burst onto the scene. Gary Sanchez only played in 53 games for the Yanks in 2016, but that was enough to finish second in the Rookie of the Year Award voting behind Detroit’s Michael Fulmer. In his limited time, Sanchez hit .299 with 20 home runs. Not a bad start, if one wants to end up in ‘Monument Park’.
People are already wondering if in fact Sanchez is the best catcher in the league as ESPN.com pondered. A full season, and avoiding the dreaded sophomore slump will determine if Sanchez has a career trajectory along the likes of Berra, Munson, and Posada. He also is the first of several elite prospects that are making up the Yankees top 3 minor league systems heading into 2017.
Beyond great receivers like Sal Perez and Russell Martin, the spot for AL Catcher for the next decade is Sanchez’ for the taking. And, with the Yankees fan base behind him to give him the voting boost, that could be a reality.
A player who saw minimal action in 2016, and his 2016 All-Star dreams were taken away on a cruel night in Arizona. Kyle Schwarber could be coming back with a vengeance. While his big coming out party for casual baseball fans was his dramatic return for the Cubs in the World Series, many have known he could be one of the better hitters in either league for several years.
Another wrinkle in the Schwarber story in 2017 is the thought that he may spend alot of time leading off for the Cubs. Joe Maddon discussed this option as reported by FoxSports.com:
“There’s pause involved there,” Maddon told MLB.com. “If you don’t want to pitch to [Schwarber], the guys coming up behind are pretty interesting. It’s formidable so it’s uncomfortable from the other side.”
At the very least it can be expected that a healthy Schwarber will be invited to compete in the Home Run Derby, which he would be among the assumed favorites, alongside hometown Giancarlo Stanton.
The former Indiana Hoosier who is expected to play outfield, and a role of third catcher for Chicago has a veterans mind at the plate, and could be the next great slugger at Wrigley Field.
Adam Eaton might be one of the more underrated players in baseball. Eaton was robbed of a Gold Glove in 2016 as a right fielder both by the ‘eye-test’ and by statistical analysis.
Twice at the plate Eaton has also led the AL in triples both in 2014 and 2016. His WAR last season also ended up finishing in the top ten in the league.
CBSSports.com believes Eaton will not lead off in 2017, but would in fact be batting second:
Hitting Eaton second would then set up a batting order with three straight left-handed hitters, however, as he’d be followed by Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy, something manager Dusty Baker would like to avoid. The logical solution would be to hit Eaton first and Turner second, but it remains to be seen whether Baker reaches the same conclusion by the end of spring training. If Eaton does hit at or near the top of the order, the 28-year-old would be primed for his first season with 100-plus runs scored.
Eaton was traded in the off-season to the Nationals, and has the likes of Bryce Harper, and the aforementioned Anthony Rendon hitting behind him. With an opportunity to compete for a pennant, and playing game of ‘consequence’ this season in Washington, an All-Star appearance seems likely.
Kyle Hendricks or ‘The Professor’ as he is known as in Chicago was not thought of as more than a fifth starter before his 2016 campaign. That all changed last season.
Finishing third in the Cy Young, winning the NL Pitching title with a sparkling 2.13 ERA, and putting the Cubs in the World Series in Game 6 of the NLCS.
As Nicholas D. Blazek stated at Cubbies Crib, Hendricks have been working in the off-season on a curveball to even further advance his repertoire. This could make one of the most calculated pitchers in the game even harder to hit.
Fangraphs does not share the same sense of optimism that Hendricks will be able to match, or exceed his production last season. They have him going down from 16 wins to 12, and losing nearly two games in WAR.
While Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester are more household names, Hendricks is becoming one of the better pitchers in the game with Greg Maddux-like control.
Can he repeat the amazing 2016 campaign? That is something that the world champs are hoping for dearly.
Amongst this list there are young players. Justin Turner is not one of them, but in 2016 he came into his own. Turner who previously spent time with the Orioles and Mets came home to Southern California with the Dodgers, and it finally clicked.
Upon re-signing with the Dodgers, Andrew Friedman stated:
“JT has been, and will continue to be, a vital part of the Dodgers on the field, in the clubhouse and in the community,” Los Angeles President of Baseball Operations Andrew Friedman said in a statement. “His talent, work ethic, leadership and instincts for the game embodies a lot of what we look for in a Dodger player.”
He finished in the top 10 in the MVP voting, and was a massive contributor to the Dodgers advancing to the NLCS. He was rewarded in the off-season with a new contract.
Batting third in the Dodgers order will send a lot of eyeballs towards Turner who is trying to make his first All-Star Game.
The hometown crowd Marlins fans very well could have Christian Yelich to cheer for in the All-Star Game this Summer. Yelich who at 25 has already won a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger is a cornerstone of the Marlins with slugger Giancarlo Stanton.
The goal as the Sun-Sentinel reported is for Yelich to have some carry-over for some of the approaches that he has at the plate:
As Yelich enters his age-25 season, a time at which most players are only beginning to enter their primes, he is continuing to work on all of the things that helped him make a jump last year. And if he can improve on or even just maintain his 2.28 grounder-to-fly-ball rate from the second half (as well as his abnormally high rate of nearly one home run for every four fly balls), there is another jump to be made.
Yelich has proven himself to be one of the brighter young outfielders in the game, and what better way to accumulate him to the National public than having him partake in Miami. It would come as no surprise to see that in fact happen.
The first overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, Carlos Correa is a player to watch this season. At 22 years old he has already won the Rookie of the Year. He also was in the top ten in doubles last season.
The Astros performance in 2016 was below what many expected, along with the year that Correa had. Now, projecting this season, Fangraphs believes Correa bounces back as they have him over 5 games in WAR.
Houston is looking to take the next step with the loads of young talent they have, and it all starts with Correa. I think that he is poised for an MVP caliber season, and could be someone to watch to take over the reigns at short stop at the All-Star game.
The current top prospect in baseball, Andrew Benintendi is someone that could explode onto the scene in 2017. The 7th overall pick in 2015 saw limited action last season, and was off-limits in the off-season when the Chris Sale deal to Boston occurred.
Boston.com threw out one of the more lofty ceilings for Benintendi’s rookie year, using the rookie campaign of Fred Lynn who won the MVP in his first season:
Benintendi has some similarities — a graceful swing with no wasted motion, casual confidence, and the ability to spray the ball from the Monster to Pesky’s Pole. He’s the consensus best prospect in baseball. But he’ll have had a heck of a career if his best season matches Lynn’s first.
The sky’s the limit even in his first full season. Will he be the rookie that turns heads in the first half? Or will it be someone else?