Only four Chicago Cubs players are worthy of an All-Star Game selection
Seven Chicago Cubs players advanced to the All-Star Starters Election for this year’s Midsummer Classic. But only four truly deserve such an honor.
Love it or hate it, the new MLB All-Star Game voting is what we have to work with. Since we can’t change it or do anything about it, we may as well support the Chicago Cubs players who deserve to go and vote for other Major Leaguers worthy of heading to Cleveland along with our guys. Or, you can do what a lot of fans do and just vote for all Cubs to go to the All-Star Game, regardless of performance.
While it’s great to hype your own team and get lots of guys on an All-Star team, it feels cheap and artificial if it becomes a popularity contest. The game should be an example of what the best and brightest stars can do (hence, fan voting so they get who they want) along with the newbies who are having banner seasons. Letting fans vote is a great idea, but like anything else, it gets abused and a few ruin it for the many.
However, if we are talking about Cubs position players who deserve to go and those who don’t, we may as well break down who is actually having a season worthy of the big game, and also whose presence would serve to make this just another farce of voting and elections.
So, while it may sound harsh, let’s get the three guys who don’t belong in Cleveland out of the way. While they have all had their moments and have been productive players for the Cubs at times in 2019, their seasons have not been All-Star worthy as things currently stand.
Chicago Cubs: And, here they are, all in one picture
Kyle Schwarber has predominantly done a nice job leading off after being mired in a slump for a few weeks earlier in the season. Sure, he’s struck out a bit more than you’d like to see, but in 33 starts since being moved to leadoff, Schwarber has 26 runs, 11 home runs, 24 RBI, and a .545 slugging percentage. Still, he hasn’t put up those numbers for all 75 games, and his numbers don’t scream “All-Star” material even if many Cubs fans love their left fielder.
While Schwarber has put up the best numbers of the three outfielders who don’t have a great case to make it to the All-Star Game, Jason Heyward is probably in the middle of the three. Heyward has seen a surge in power this year, blasting 10 bombs so far on the season, but he’s still only hitting .256. While that’s a higher average than Schwarber, Heyward doesn’t slug nearly as well as his left field counterpart, and he also has played the worst defense of his career according to UZR metrics in 2019.
Albert Almora, while playing his typical great center field defense, hasn’t even been a starter for stretches of the season, especially since the Cubs signed Carlos Gonzalez. Our best defensive outfielder by metrics, Almora has only started 47 games for the Cubs this season and struggled mightily to start the year. He has posted a .795 OPS since April 25, but that’s not exactly Midsummer Classic material in this day and age.
Chicago Cubs: These two guys will find their way to Cleveland
Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, affectionately known as “Bryzzo” for their MLB commercials and bromance on and off the field, should both be perennial All-Stars at this point in their careers.
Bryant has been to the All-Star game twice and notably hit the first-inning bomb off Chris Sale in his 2016 appearance. Rizzo has been three times and is as steady as they come in terms of production. Both guys, while not especially hot at the moment, have done enough to deserve nods to go, even if they’re not starters.
Bryant currently is tied for the team lead in fWAR at 2.8, has 15 bombs, 57 runs, a 141 wRC+, and a .930 OPS. His fWAR number says he’s the second-best third baseman in the NL, behind Nolan Arenado, but of course, many make the argument that Arenado’s stats are a bit tainted because of his home games at Coors Field.
Bryant has been a consistent performer for the Cubs in the first half, making most fans forget about his injury-plagued 2018 and showing that he’s back to being one of the best all-around ballplayers in the majors.
His other half, Rizzo, has actually been bettering some of his usual counting stats so far in 2019, an amazing feat for a guy who was Mr. Consistent coming into this season. Rizzo already has 19 home runs (his career-high is only 32) and 53 RBI (career-high 101) and is also on pace for a career high in runs, already having scored 47 times this year.
If Rizzo can maintain his current pace for the year, he will set a few personal bests this season. At 2.0 fWar for the season so far, Rizzo is certainly in the conversation with guys like Pete Alonso, Freddie Freeman and sometimes first baseman Max Muncy. He could get some help if his pitchers wouldn’t let Alonso keep hitting bombs though…
Chicago Cubs: Everyone wants to see this guy shine in the All-Star game
When your name is “El Mago,” and you’re the most exciting player in the game, why on earth would you not start in the All-Star game? While Paul DeJong and Trevor Story are both worthy of All-Star selections themselves, nobody moves the needle like Javier Báez. The game is ultimately for the fans, and who better to give them what they want than Báez?
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Báez has not disappointed so far in 2019 after a breakout season in 2018 that saw him come up just a bit short to the nuclear Christian Yelich for NL MVP a season ago.
And, for parts of this season, it looked like Báez was looking to do the same second (or third) fiddle dance, this time trailing not just Yelich, but also Cody Bellinger, who has matched Yelich step for step so far in 2019 (and maybe then some).
On pace for 40 home runs and over 100 runs and 100 RBI, Báez has taken to his “new” old home at shortstop like a perfectly broken-in glove.
Still baffling pundits with his ability to mash without walking or swinging at great pitches, Báez has made it so normal to make sensational plays in the field, on tags, and hitting balls, that he’s probably suffering from a lack of appreciation from Cubs’ fans who now expect him to make every single highlight play.
At 2.8 fWAR, Báez is right with the aforementioned DeJong and Story, and has five more days to wow voters if he wants to start in the Midsummer Classic on July 9. If all goes to plan, he should be joined by a teammate in the starting lineup.
Chicago Cubs: Don’t look now Yadi, but someone’s taken your spot
Barring a huge injustice, Willson Contreras should be your All-Star starter for the National League. While he trails JT Realmuto and Yasmani Grandal in fWAR, Contreras has been the best hitter out of the three and is much improved behind the dish as well.
His pitch framing may be a bit behind the other two, but as a converted infielder, his mechanics and foundational work behind the plate have always been a work in progress. What isn’t a work in progress with Contreras is his heart, his excitement for the game and his stick.
Enjoying a bounce back year after a mediocre 2018 that probably saw Contreras get a bit worn down, the Cubs’ catcher has put up 15 home runs and 42 RBI while clocking in an OPS of .934 that leads the Cubs. His wRC+ of 143 is also tops for catchers in the NL and second only to Gary Sanchez of the Yankees in the majors.
Contreras has looked like the guy who went on a tear and carried the Cubs for part of 2017 before he got hurt, and Joe Maddon has been able to get him more days off with the emergence of Victor Caratini as a viable backup option and de facto personal catcher for Yu Darvish.
With any luck, and some more votes from Cubs’ fans starting on Wednesday, the Cubs will push a few starters into this year’s All-Star game and maybe a couple of them will participate in the Home Run Derby as well.
While we’ll get to see the results of the position player voting going on this week, there’s also always the chance that the Cubs could have Kyle Hendricks or Cole Hamels named as pitching All-Stars, though it’s highly unlikely Hendricks would pitch given his recent injury, even if he were to come back before July 9.