DETROIT – Three Detroit Tigers players have a chance be voted in as All-Star starters this season.
Second baseman Gleyber Torres and outfielders Riley Greene and Javier Baez advanced to the second phase of voting this week, and they need Tigers fans to help them officially earn their spots.
Tigers candidates
Torres dominated the first phase of voting at second base. He’s been the clear-cut best player at the position in the American League, posting an .823 OPS with nine homers, 13 doubles, and more walks (42) than strikeouts (40).
He’s been a near-average defender at second base and has only two errors on the season.
Greene also soared in the first phase of All-Star voting, finishing second in the AL behind MVP frontrunner Aaron Judge. The last few weeks have Greene up to an .887 OPS with 19 homers and 21 doubles on the season.
Baez isn’t playing much outfield anymore with Parker Meadows and Matt Vierling back from the injured list. But he did enough early in the season to justify All-Star consideration, and Tigers fans have shown their appreciation by making him the third-highest vote-getter at the position in Phase 1.
Even though Baez hadn’t played center field at the MLB level, he took to the position immediately in spring training and played at a Gold Glove level. He’s also carrying a .783 OPS with 23 extra-base hits.
Where to vote
Click here to vote for the All-Star finalists.
How Phase 2 of voting works
The starting position players and designated hitters for both leagues will be decided during Phase 2 of the voting process.
For three days -- starting at noon Monday, June 30, and ending at noon Wednesday, July 2 -- fans can vote among the finalists at each position.
Each fan can vote once per day:
- You can vote one time between noon and 11:59 p.m. Monday, June 30.
- You can vote one time between 12 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. Tuesday (midnight to midnight, essentially), July 1.
- You can vote one time between 12 a.m. and 11:59 a.m. Wednesday (before noon), July 2.
These votes are once per day per valid email address, so technically, fans could use multiple emails to submit more than one vote.
The players who receive the most votes at each position will earn starting All-Star spots.
Gleyber Torres vs. Jackson Holliday
Gleyber Torres is up against Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, who is having a solid second season at the MLB level.
Torres has one fewer home run than Holliday, but other than that, he’s been better than the 21-year-old is basically every aspect.
Torres has a higher average by 25 points, a higher on-base percentage by 76 points, and a higher slugging percentage by 23 points.
By the metrics, Torres has also been a better defender and base runner this season.
Riley Greene/Javier Baez vs. Steven Kwan and Mike Trout
Judge automatically earned a starting outfield spot as the top overall vote-getter in the American League, so two of these four outfielders will earn the other two spots.
Greene is a bit of a no-brainer in this group. While Kwan has graded out as a better defender and base runner, Greene leads him by more than 100 OPS points.
Trout is having a really solid season, but he’s only played in 57 games and is 99 points behind Greene in OPS.
Baez vs. Kwan is the most interesting debate. Kwan leads in both fWAR and bWAR, and the surface numbers are basically a wash. Maybe the 11 stolen bases push Kwan ahead, but Baez also played a key role for the team with the best record in the league, so that has to count for something.
Baez could definitely get a bump from Tigers fans who log on to vote for Greene. There’s a realistic chance the Tigers could have three starting position players on this year’s AL All-Star team.
