MLB: 5 players you might not have heard of who will be All-Stars next year
While there was no MLB All-Star game this year, these 5 players quietly had great seasons and will be All-Star’s next year
Sadly there was no MLB All-Star Game this past summer for the first time since 1945 and many players missed out on the potential to add the selection to their list of accolades or for some, their first-ever appearance in the midsummer classic.
We could speculate who would have made the two teams, and the MLB helped us out a bit by releasing the 2020 All MLB team, but now it is time to look forward to next summer. Obviously, there are plenty of players who will be in the game if they can avoid injury but what about some of the young guys?
There are plenty of young studs who had great seasons who should be in Atlanta next summer like the Rookie’s of the Year Mariners Kyle Lewis and Brewers Devin Williams, but there were also a few low-key players of all ages who had terrific shortened 2020’s.
I specifically found five that I believe will be All-Stars for various reasons, but each had terrific 2020 seasons. Some were shorter than others, some spent more time on the bench, but all 5 will look to capitalize on their past season and turn into household names.
For now, however, they are all decently low key players that most fans will not have heard of unless they are on your team. So now I present the five players that you may not have heard of that will be All-Stars next season, starting with a 2020 World Series champion.
Dodgers 3B Edwin Rios
The Dodgers are set to lose Justin Turner in free agency, but they can handle the loss as they have Edwin Rios to take over his spot at third base.
Rios has not been able to get regular MLB at-bats, but everywhere he has played he has dominated. He has not had an OPS below .837 in his time in AA and AAA, and in 2019 he had a .915 OPS and 31 home runs in AAA Oklahoma City.
In his two seasons in the majors with the Dodgers, he has only managed to get 139 at-bats but has hit 12 home runs and a .972 OPS. He also showed out in the 2020 World Series run when he got 18 plate appearances and had a .849 OPS with 2 home runs.
With a hole at second base being filled most likely by Gavin Lux and a slow free-agent market, it looks like Edwin Rios will get his chance at being a full-time starter at third base. He does not have the best defensive statistics and the NL has been told to assume no DH next season, but Rios’ hot bat will keep him in the lineup at third base and if he has a first half of the season like he has every other year in the minors, he will be a surprise All-Star selection.
Pirates 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes
From one NL third baseman to another, Ke’Bryan Hayes is another corner infielder who could be in Atlanta for the 2021 midsummer classic. Hayes is the second-ranked prospect in the Pirates system on MLB.com and is the son of former MLB long-stay Charlie Hayes, another former third baseman.
In just under half the season played in his rookie season, Hayes was incredible and was one of the only bright spots on the Pirates. In 95 plate appearances, Hayes had five home runs, a .376 batting average, and a 1.124 OPS. He also showed an ability to hit off-speed pitches which is also a big hurdle for rookies, but the bigs looked like AA for Hayes in the shortened 2020.
One of the big reasons that Hayes will be at the 2021 All-Star Game is also the lack of talent on the Pirates. The Pirates do have guys like Jameson Taillon and Josh Bell, but some of their top talents such as those two could be traded or perform poorly leaving Ke’Bryan Hayes as the only viable option to be Pittsburgh’s lone All-Star selection.
Even if he is not selected to next year’s All-Star Game, Hayes will be in the league for a long time just like his father, but unlike Charlie, Ke’Bryan will make plenty of All-Star rosters.
Mariners utility man Dylan Moore
Dylan Moore might be the most unheard-of guy on this list, but he also has a chance to be the best hitter next year of this group.
Moore made his way to the Mariners as a 26-year-old free agent after being released by the Brewers before making his MLB debut. He spent all of 2019 in a utility role bouncing mainly between left field and shortstop and struggled with a .691 OPS in 113 games his rookie season.
However, things changed last year as, while healthy, Moore was a full-time starter in left field, right field, and second base with an .855 OPS and 8 home runs in 159 plate appearances. The more sabermetric stats also show how good Moore was as he had a 1.8 WAR, a positive dWAR while playing multiple positions, and he ranked in the top quarter percentile for exit velocity, hard-hit %, and barrel %.
The Mariners have a few guys like Kyle Lewis and Kyle Seager who could be All-Stars next year, so if Moore is to make it he would not be getting in as the lone representative whose the best of a bad bunch, but his stats from the shortened 2020 season look promising for Moore to potentially be a representative of the American League in Atlanta as an outfielder or second baseman.
Royals RHP Brady Singer
Brady Singer was one of the bright spots on a bad Royals team in 2020, and despite being their top pitching prospect he has been relatively unheard of since the Royals are not talked about that often. Singer was stellar in his rookie season this year with a 4.06 ERA and 4.08 FIP in 12 starts.
He also had some good Statcast metrics being in the 81st percentile for barrel %, and he had a well above average xBA and xSLG. Singer was also on the cusp of greatness twice as he was 7 outs away from a no-hitter and one pitch away from an immaculate inning in two different games this year.
Singer could be on the verge of a monster second season and could end up in a situation where he is the lone good choice for the MLB All-Star Game on the Royals, especially if Kansas City trades Salvador Perez.
While they are in the middle of what looks like it could be a long rebuild, the Royals have a potential ace in Brady Singer to grow a rotation around, and whether or not his first All-Star Game is next season, he will certainly be appearing in multiple of them down the road.
Giants 2B Donovan Solano
Donovan Solano has had a career resurrection in his thirties with the Giants. After four uneventful years with the Marlins, two with the Yankees including one season that he did not appear in the big leagues at all, and one season in the minors in the Dodgers organization, Solano has found a home in San Francisco.
In two seasons with the Giants Solano has hit .330 and .336 and has an OPS of .821 in 431 plate appearances over the last two years. This past season he was the Giants’ full-time second baseman appearing in 54 games with an OPS+ of 128 and a WAR of 1.5.
While the Giants had some players with impressive offensive stats like Brandon Belt and Mike Yastrzemski, who have chances to repeat their great seasons and represent the Giants at the MLB All-Star Game next summer, the reason that Solano will be there next year as well is the lack of outstanding second basemen in the NL. Despite having an OPS of just .830, Solano was second in the league in for second basemen OPS.
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Solano could have the best stats of all NL second basemen next year and will almost certainly be one of the best middle infielders offensively in the NL, leading to a potential first selection to the midsummer classic for him. The Giants also have a large fanbase that could get him in the starting lineup if they have a big voter turnout next summer.