Jose Abreu having great year, now is not in All-Star Lineup
With the release of the full All-Star rosters for this year, one shock is that first baseman Jose Abreu did not make the cut for the American League. At the time of writing this, Jose currently has an OPS+ of 143, indicating that he has been 40% better than the league average at hitting this year, as well as a .304 average and a .387 on base percentage.
But what really makes Jose Abreu such a high quality first baseman is the quality of defense he plays at the position. He currently leads in all of the American League for first basemen in outs above average as well as in the Runs Prevented department, making him one of the best first basemen defensively in the entire league. So why wasn’t Jose Abreu voted into the All-Star Game?
In 2022, Jose Abreu is now the only player in all of Major League Baseball with:
– 100+ hits
– 40+ walks
– 10+ home runs
– 45+ RBI
– 50+ runs scored
– less than 60 strikeouts pic.twitter.com/pYevvCrlCu— WhiteSoxMuse (@SoxMuse) July 15, 2022
All Star voting has a problem
The issue with the all-star voting is that it is something of a popularity contest. And the public will generally vote for someone like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has 20 homeruns compared to Jose’s 11. Something else that could sway opinion is team success. While the White Sox are having a worse season than the previous seasons in which they made the playoffs, a team like the Seattle Mariners are currently fighting for a wild card position, making it much more exciting to watch which would lead to Ty France making the ballot for the All-Star game.
But given all factors, I still believe that Jose Abreu should have at least made the All-Star reserves, but unfortunately he will not be making an appearance at the All-Star Game. With over 10% of the league confirmed to have made the roster, its unfortunate to see good players like Jose Abreu and Dylan Cease to miss out on the roster.
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