MLB: AL Sabermetric All-Stars
By Jim Turvey
First Base: Yonder Alonso (Oakland A’s)
It has been the year of Alonso, who seemingly has a big-time profile on him come out every few days. That will happen when you set a new career high in home runs by May 9. Alonso has also been walking more than ever this season, due in part to pitchers beginning to fear this hitter who had never topped nine home runs in a season before 2017. Alonso’s isolated power of .347 this season leads all AL first baseman, a powerful position to say the least.
Alonso is far from a defensive wizard at first base, but none of the other top candidates for the spot (Marwin Gonzalez, Logan Morrison, Justin Smoak) are elite defenders either, allowing Alonso’s offensive breakout to be the difference maker.
It’s kind of crazy looking over the top four candidates for the position right now and a friendly reminder that it is still early in the season. When All-Star voting wraps in six weeks or so, there’s a decent chance that Miguel Cabrera, Jose Abreu, or another big name has started to percolate and may overtake Alonso et al., but for now it’s Yonder’s spot to lose.