KC Royals All-Stars: Vote Early, Vote Often

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?