MLB All Star Surprises

The Former Perennial All-Stars

Miguel Cabrera and Robinson Cano have been making All Star games for years, but they’re getting up there in baseball age. This year neither player made the American League All Star team. A major reason for this is that the talent in both leagues has been getting younger and younger and both Cabrera and Cano are 34.

While they may not be ASG worthy, they are still performing better than league average at the dish, which is an accomplishment in itself. Only 107 MLB players have a wRC+ of 100 or better at this point in the season, and by that metric, Cabrera is tied for 69th with Lorenzo Cain at 112, while Cano ranks 48th at 122.

Cano is still in the mix stat-wise with the other AL second basemen, with only Jose Altuve being far and away the better option. Jed Lowrie and Jonathan Schoop are still with in his range, meaning that Cano still has a shot at a future All Star appearance. That is, until Yoan Moncada gets called up and wrecks havoc on the league.

For Cabrera, injuries have been catching up with him. He was once considered the best hitter in baseball, and now he’s not even the best-hitting first baseman in the American League. If Smoak, Alonso and Morrison (final vote candidate) weren’t so far ahead of Cabrera, he’d have a shot to make the team over the other two better offensive options in Eric Hosmer and Jose Abreu based on his name recognition and their relatively similar stats.

I have a feeling that Cabrera will get one more nod down the line as a tribute to all that he has accomplished (he won the Triple Crown for goodness sake) in his career, and may get a token at-bat. Cano may have another year or two to make it on sheer talent.

Next: Trout set to report to affiliate

If you think I’m being a bit harsh, it’s been two years since Albert Pujols, one of the best offensive first basemen of all time, has made an All Star team. The year that he made it he was 35.

Age is undefeated, and it comes for everyone.