Search

One telling number for each 2021 MLB All-Star Game starter

0
By on Sport
One telling number for each 2021 MLB All-Star Game starter

After a pandemic-induced leap year, the Midsummer Classic is back.

MLB’s best are gathered in Denver Tuesday for the 2021 All-Star Game, and with the rosters all set, it’s time to take a closer look at this year’s starters.

Here’s one fun, interesting or intriguing number for each All-Star Game starter.

American League

Salvador Perez, C : 28.

No catcher has ever hit more dingers in a Home Run Derby than Salvy.

Perez put on a show in the Home Run Derby on Monday in what was by far the best performance by a Royal in the event. The problem was he was facing the champ Pete Alonso, who racked up 35 and sent Salvy packing.

He became just the eighth catcher in history to compete.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B : 2,704,788.

Vladdy led all of MLB in All-Star voting this year, finishing phase one with almost three million votes. No wonder, since the 22-year-old leads the league in batting average, RBI and OPS. His 28 home runs can’t hurt, either.

Neither can his personality.

Marcus Semien, 2B: 3.9.

No MLB second baseman has more fWAR than Semien, who bet on himself in 2021 by signing a one-year deal with the Blue Jays.

In addition to his 22 homers, 56 RBI and .277 batting average, the 31-year-old has played every single game this season, clocking in at second base or shortstop as needed. If he’s able to replicate this performance in the second half, Semien will enter free agency in 2022 with good enough numbers to compete with the likes of Carlos Correa, Trevor Story and Javy Baez for a hefty contract.

Rafael Devers, 3B: 87.

Devers leads his Boston Red Sox in homers and has appeared in every single one of the team’s games this season. His 72 RBI trail only Guerrero Jr.’s league-leading 73.

Xander Bogaerts, SS: 27.

Bogaerts leads the American League in doubles and finished the month of June on a seven-game hitting streak, good enough to beat out Bo Bichette and grab the starting spot at short.

Aaron Judge, OF: 96.

The New York Yankees may look like a lightweight right now, but Judge is as strong as ever.

The slugger sports MLB’s highest exit velocity at 96 m.p.h. off the bat. He also leads the American League in hard-hit percentage, with a rate of 49 per cent. Sure, the Yankees are slumping, but watching Judge hit 21 homers and slug .526 is still fun.

Cedric Mullins, OF: 16.

Mullins has been one of the Baltimore Orioles’ bright spots this year. The Mike Trout replacement is among the league leaders in stolen bases with 16, adding the speed tool to a nice .304 batting average, 16 homers and 35 RBI.

Teoscar Hernandez, OF: 5,000.

Hernandez’s margin for making the starting roster was less than 5,000 votes. He received a little over 12 per cent of ballots, splitting hairs with the Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton, who also finished with 12 per cent of votes.

The 28-year-old turned heads during the abbreviated season last year and continued his hot streak in the first half of 2021.

Shohei Ohtani, DH, SP: 87.

For a guy who is a fun-stat machine, this is a particularly telling one. Ohtani leads MLB in homers and sports an ace-worthy ERA, which inevitably raises questions about endurance. Is it sustainable for the MVP candidate to keep doing it all?

But the 27-year-old looks as healthy as ever. The Los Angeles Angels have played 89 games this season so far and Ohtani was featured in all but two of them one way or another. He has batted for himself in nine of his 12 starts this year. When we say that Ohtani is unstoppable, this is what we mean.

National League

JT Realmuto, C: 2.4.

Replacing Buster Posey as starting catcher in the NL, Realmuto’s .268 average may look rather pedestrian. But his 2.4 fWAR is the highest among catchers, and his 34 RBI trail only Perez’s absurd 54 at the position.

Freddie Freeman, 1B: 33.

The reigning NL MVP had a terrible start to the season, which included an 0-for-20 spell and a .233 batting average in May.

But Freeman turned it around just in time to secure an All-Star selection, finishing the month of June with 33 hits, 15 RBI and a .306 batting average, including 10 multi-hit games.

Adam Frazier, 2B: 4.3M.

Frazier has been one of the biggest surprises of the season. A six-year Pirates veteran, he broke out in 2021, playing in every single game this season while managing a .330 batting average with a league-leading 115 hits.

He’s also doing that on a team that has the worst record in the NL and is arbitration-eligible in 2022. Right now, Frazier is making a very affordable $4.3 million and could become a valuable asset for a team looking to make a playoff push. His first All-Star nod has only added fuel to the trade-talk fire.

Nolan Arenado, 3B: 250.

Arenado looks right at home in his new uniform. His joining Paul Goldschmidt on the St. Louis Cardinals was one of the most dramatic storylines of the off-season, but the infielder has fit right into the lineup and continued to flash his glove in Missouri.

He also reached the iconic plateau of 250 career home runs in June, which goes along nicely with his 56 RBI for the season. The Cardinals may be in the middle of a bad losing streak, but watching Arenado remains a thrilling rollercoaster.

Now, he’s coming back to where it all started.

Fernando Tatis Jr., SS: 330M.

Talk about avoiding arbitration.

The San Diego Padres went ahead and signed their star shortstop to one of the largest contracts in MLB history, set to pay him $330 million over 14 years. Tatis Jr. would have been arbitration-eligible after 2021, but instead has a full no-trade provision through 2028, a guaranteed hotel suite for every road trip and the ability to purchase luxury suites and premium season tickets for all Padres home games.

That’s what 28 homers, 60 RBI and a 1.020 OPS as a 22-year-old will get you.

Bryan Reynolds, OF: 51.

By far the Pirates’ RBI leader, Reynolds has driven in 51 for Pittsburgh. The next guy on the list is catcher Jacob Stallings, with 36.

Nick Castellanos, OF: .331.

Only Guerrero Jr. has a better batting average than Castellanos this season — and it’s splitting hairs (.332). His 29 doubles also lead MLB. A nine-year veteran in his second season with the Cincinnati Reds, Castellanos earned his first All-Star selection in 2021.

Jesse Winker, OF: .286.

Winker has popped this year. Halfway through the season, the Reds outfielder has already set personal highs in home runs (19) and RBI (50).

But what sets him apart is consistency.

In his fifth MLB season, Winker sports a career batting average of .287, and his OPS has never dipped lower than .830. The 27-year-old has always been above average, and now he seems to have found a new gear.

Max Muncy, DH: 18.2.

No one in the National League has a better walk rate than Muncy, whose plate discipline continues to set himself apart in a stacked Los Angeles Dodgers lineup. His .270 average, 19 homers and .974 OPS with 52 RBI pair up nicely with that stat.

Max Scherzer, SP: Four.

The 36-year-old Scherzer will become just the sixth pitcher in history to start four All-Star Games. Scherzer earned it by sporting a 2.66 ERA with a 0.878 WHIP over 98 innings for the Nationals.

Related Stories

Comments are closed.