KC Royals All-Stars: Vote Early, Vote Often

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Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Sure … you can be a homer and vote a straight KC Royals ticket when filling out your MLB All-Star ballot. The puppet masters of America’s great pastime have ensured voters can uphold the traditions of ignorance and blind loyalty that we exercise in the voting booth. (Heck, they’ve even kept it old-school and allow you to vote up to 35 times, just like the good ol’ days of Pendergast!)

Before we venture too far into political punditry (from which baseball is a blessed reprieve), let’s throw out the pitch: Namely, which of our KC Royals players truly deserve to be in the discussion – and worthy of your vote – as representatives of the Mid-Summer Classic?

I don’t have a beef with voting a straight Royals ticket – I’m sure most fans of most other teams do just that. But I’m as much a fan of facts as I am of baseball. What follows are a few data-based thoughts for people who actually have lives and don’t obsess over baseball stats, yet are interested in which Royals players are deserving of their vote. It provides a modicum of erudition (emphasis mine) based on the most common metrics.

I’m purposely refraining from becoming too wonky with the statistics. (Feel free to peruse the basics here.) Suffice it to say I have earnestly tried to account for the most important stats, but I make no claims of being a Sabermetrics expert.

The KC Royals as an organization have become a team with a phenomenal number of remarkably great players. We saw that throughout the second half of last season. That said, your 2015 Royals truly are a case of the sum being even greater than its ridiculously good parts. KC ranks second as a team on offense, with six players ranked in the top 30. The next-closest teams have half that many! Check this out for more about the team’s impressive work with the lumber this year.

That said, being worthy of consideration as an All-Star player isn’t merely about offensive numbers. I’m not alone in arguing that defensive skills are at least half the game. Nonetheless, a player should, I think, be near the top at his position on both sides of the ball to be in the All-Star conversation. It becomes most interesting (and most difficult) to discern “worthiness” when a player dominates in one area but not the other. Or, when players are closely bunched, with one having a slight edge on defense and the other on offense.

Whatever you do: please cast a vote. These guys deserve at least a few minutes of our time. (Note that all numbers were current prior to the games on Friday, May 22.)

Next: The best catcher in the league

Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Salvador Perez – Catcher

No one in the American League combines the magical defense and the handling of pitchers like Salvy. He is a virtuoso conductor behind the plate. Few would argue this point. On defense, his Range Factor is a full 1.5 higher than the next best catcher.

On offense, giving batting average a large chunk of the influence, there are just two catchers – Stephen Vogt, (.305) with the Oakland A’s, and Russell Martin (.297) with the Toronto Blue Jays – with better averages than Salvy’s .290. Both of them also beat out Salvy with HRs, slugging percentage and a few other categories. But it’s not a blow-out. And defensively, Vogt falls out of the picture completely – while Martin and Salvy are mostly on equal footing, with a slight nod toward our lovable Perez.

Perez also brings a leadership quality to the KC Royals that is impossible to quantify. While others may have the better statistical argument, although not by much, Salvy’s leadership and intangibles could be the deciding factor. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see him grinning at Miguel Cabrera during the entirety of the All-Star festivities?

A vote for Salvy is completely justifiable. I wish I had a smaller font to write this: So is a vote for Martin.

Next: A two man race

Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Eric Hosmer – First Baseman

There are really only two candidates here: The Hoz and Miguel Cabrera. (Yes – Prince Fielder and his league-best .348 average are out of the equation: He’s only had 10 games at First Base. His other 30 games have been as DH. It speaks volumes about the unbalanced nature of most All-Star votes, I think, that when you go to vote, the only stats provided are offensive. I mean that literally.)

Anyway, Cabrera edges out Hosmer’s batting average by less than 10 points – .336 vs .321, and Miggy has 10 home runs to Hoz’s seven. Their hits, runs and RBIs are essentially identical, though the Tigers’ first baseman does get the definitive nod with some of the other more wonky stats, such as slugging percentage, OPS and OPB.

Defensively, Miggy also holds a very slight edge over Hoz. My suggestion to a devout KC Royals fan who is also a statistical zealot would be to NOT vote early … wait a couple (or five) weeks – voting doesn’t end until July 2. Hosmer is on fire and may just surpass the Detroit perennial All-Star. Or, hell, be a homer … the numbers are close enough!

Next: Opposite ends of the spectrum

Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Alcides Escobar – Shortstop

Another tough one. Esky currently ranks second or third by most offensive metrics and cracks the top five defensively. Erick Aybar, Xander Bogaerts, and Brad Miller are his only real competitors when you factor in all the numbers on both sides of the ball. (Marcus Semien, with a slightly better .302 batting average than Escobar’s .295, falls out if you give defensive stats mostly equal measure.) Of the three others mentioned above, none of them blow Esky out on offense, and the best average is Bogaert’s .271. At shortstop, a vote the local guy is justified. Esky is an All-Star-worthy shortstop.

Mike Moustakas – Third Baseman

This one is as easy as opening the door and repeating after Rex Hudler: The Moose is Loose! It’s not even close. Moose’s .342 average blows all other A.L. third-baseman away. Offensively, the only other player who comes close is Josh Donaldson, who has a measly .305 BA. And Donaldson doesn’t even crack the Top 10 defensively.

If this weren’t enough by itself, I offer a reminder: Last year at this time, Moustakas had been sent down to the minors and was batting about .150. His turnaround has to be one of the fastest and most memorable in recent baseball history. The Moose should NOT be loose in mid-July. He deserves to be voted into the All-Star Game.

Next: Y'all got any more of that LoCain?

Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Lorenzo Cain – Center Field (Note: We actually vote on three outfielders – but I am measuring position-by-position.)

Even most casual fans know the name of Mike Trout, so it’s little surprise that he is leading all voting when the first update came out from All-Star balloting earlier this week. His 11 home runs and .564 slugging percentage are damn sexy, I admit. Cain isn’t (yet) a power hitter, and has just three long balls this season. Yet, Cain does have a better average, at .306. And other offensive numbers are close. Cain has the same number of hits as Trout. Also, the two of them lead all AL outfielders in what I consider an important number: WAR. (This stands for Wins Against Replacement – and is a stat which attempts to measure how many more games a player helps their team win, measured against their absence on the field.)

Adam Jones and Jacoby Ellsbury are also great center fielders. Both of them have better averages than either Cain or Trout … and Jones has six home runs. However, defensively, Cain has three of the most important stats in his column, ahead of all other AL Center Fielders. Cain owns Defensive Wins Against Replacement and Range Factor. Also, he is + 14 in Defensive Runs Saved – a critical number that leads the majors.

Those of us who’ve regularly watched Cain work his mojo in center field know that he deserves to be in the All-Star game. And now that he is hitting as well as he is, including him on your ballot wouldn’t in the least be a subjectively biased vote.

Next: The Amazing Gordo

Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Alex Gordon – Left Field

Granted, Gordo got off to a slow start with the bat. That’s the reason he is fourth in batting average, lagging behind Michael Brantley, Yoenis Cespedes and Brett Gardner in that department. Hanley Ramirez leads this position in home runs, with 10, and is just behind Gordo in batting average. But when looking at what Gordon brings to the KC Royals, do we really just look at offensive production?

On the defensive side of the ball, Gordon’s Range Factor is second (barely) to Cespedes. This is a ridiculously crowded and talented field. There is obviously more than one player who is deserving. And since the last image I have in mind is Gordo face-planting against the bullpen fence to get a ball he had no business getting – I’m going full homer on this one with no shame whatsoever. Gordon and Cain both deserve to represent in the outfield in the mid-summer classic.

That’s up to six KC Royals who deserve to be in the All-Star Game, not including pitchers. Forget the Blue October of last year – could we have a Blue Mid Summer Classic? Well, the Royals have garnered quite a bit of national attention … so we’ll see.

It’s a good thing Ned Yost gets to manage the American League this year. There’s no need to stuff the ballots when you have The Mad Scientist on your side.

Next: Kansas City Royals Need a True Ace in the Rotation

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