Chicago Cubs: Outfielder Albert Almora snubbed in All-Star Game voting

Chicago Cubs: Almora a victim of the team’s success?

So why didn’t Almora make the All-Star team? First its a numbers game. Every team must have at least one representative in the All-Star game. So the fact that Javier Baez, Willson Contreras and Jon Lester made the team meant that Almora didn’t have to make the team.

The Cubs have been victims of their own success before. In 2016 Pedro Strop and Hector Rondon could have arguably been named to the All-Star team. But that year the Cubs sent so many other players to the All-Star Game that Strop and Rondon almost had to be left off the team.

But three or even four players from one team is not a crazy high number of representatives in the All-Star game. The Cubs had the entire starting infield on that 2016 National League All-Star team (Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist, Addison Russell and Kris Bryant) in addition to Dexter Fowler also being voted in as a starting outfielder and Jake Arrieta and Lester also making the team that year.

Chicago Cubs: National League loaded in the outfield

The other possible crunch can be by position. Matt Kemp, Bryce Harper and Nick Markakis were voted in as the starters. Almora couldn’t be voted in as a starter. He was left off the ballot because Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Kyle Schwarber were the three Cubs listed as outfielders on the All-Star ballot. Charlie Blackmon, Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich were named as the reserve outfielders.

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Sometimes the All-Star rosters end up with only corner outfielders, but that’s not the case this year. All three reserve outfielders have played center field this season. And all three were their teams’ starting center fielder last year. So an excellent defensive center fielder wasn’t specifically needed on the bench of this year’s All-Star team.

Blackmon isn’t hitting nearly as well as he did last season. Last season Blackmon finished 5th in the MVP voting. He lead the league in hits, runs, triples and total bases. This season Blackmon’s batting average and on base percentage are both over 50 points lower. And his slugging percentage is over 100 points lower.

Player ballots contribute to selecting the reserves for the All-Star game. Perhaps many of the players choose to honor Blackmon as a veteran who had a great year last season rather than Almora as a younger player who is having a great first half of this season.

Chicago Cubs: Platoon play hurting Almora’s reputation?

Perhaps some people don’t think of Almora even as a starter on his own team. The Cubs have 10 everyday position players who can start any day depending on matchups, hot or cold streaks and health. In the outfield especially it is difficult to say who the starters really are.

During spring training this year it seemed that Ian Happ had locked up the leadoff spot in the batting order and that most days his defensive position would be center field. Even if you say that Almora is a starter and that Happ isn’t. Who do you say are the other two starters: Schwarber? Heyward? Zobrist?

Almora’s stats have no doubt benefited from platoon advantages. Many of Almora’s at bats have come against left-handed pitchers. It’s only recently that Almora is beginning to regularly start against right handed starting pitchers in favor of Happ and Zobrist. Perhaps those situations were held against him.

Almora isn’t even going to have the chance of getting in as part of the final vote. The National League candidates for that spot are  Jesus Aguilar, Brandon Belt, Matt Carpenter, Max Muncy and Trea Turner.

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However there is one other way that Almora might become an All-Star this season and that’s if he is named as a replacement for an injured player. Some Cubs players have made the All-Star team this way in previous years. For instance in 2008 Carlos Marmol replaced Kerry Wood when Wood was dealing with a blister on his pitching hand.