KC Royals All-Stars: Vote Early, Vote Often

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.

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