Dodgers All-Star Voting: Making Corey Seager’s Case

Coming into this season, there was a lot of hype around Corey Seager. Many pegged him as the #1 prospect in the game entering 2016, and so far, he hasn’t disappointed. Entering play Tuesday, he had a first half slash line of .284/.344/.520, and leads the team in home runs (15), RBIs (36), and Runs (42). He also ranks #1 in WAR among all N.L shortstops, with a 2.8 rating (according to Fangraphs.)

At only 22 years old, the future undoubtedly looks bright for Seager. But future aside, he’s really good right now. So good, that an All-Star berth could very well be on the horizon for the Dodgers’ young star.

Looking at his numbers this season, one would think an All-Star selection is surely bound to happen.

If it were only that simple.

When it comes to the All-Star game, of course, fans get the say as to who will be starting for each respective league. And so far, the early voting doesn’t even have Seager in the top 5 for N.L shortstops. Safe to say, at this point, maybe the word isn’t getting out on just how good he has been.

Currently, the top vote getter at shortstop are:

• Addison Russell – Cubs
• Trevor Story – Rockies
• Brandon Crawford – Giants
• Corey Seager – Dodgers
• Zack Cozart – Reds

Yeah… Asdrubal Cabera and Zack Cozart are ahead of Corey Seager in the All-Star voting.

No disrespect to any of the above mentioned players. Many of them have had very good starts to this season (as well as others not on the list, like Jonathan Villar and Aledmys Diaz). Just probably not as good as Corey Seager has had.

*Updated with new results 6/15/2016 @ 11:15AM

Here are how the top five vote getters compare offensively with Seager’s stats this season.

Addison Russell – .234/.317/.368, 5 HR, 33 RBI, 1.0 WAR

Trevor Story – .261/.312/.542, 16 HR, 42 RBI, 1.3 WAR

Brandon Crawford – .267/.343/.429, 6 HR, 36 RBI, 2.6 WAR

Zack Cozart – .284/.314/.490, 9 HR, 25 RBI, 1.7 WAR

Corey Seager – .284/.344/.520, 15 HR, 36 RBI, 2.8 WAR

Looking at the numbers alone, it would be easy to make the case that Seager is the top shortstop in the league. As mentioned already, he leads his position in WAR, and also 2^nd in hits, homeruns, and RBIs. Seager’s defense has been about average so far, and certainly not at the level as some of his counter-parts, like Brandon Crawford. Still, his offensive numbers have more than made up for any defensive shortcomings.

Last year, Joc Pederson became the first Dodgers rookie position player to start an All-Star game, although he wasn’t voted in, and was replacing an injured player. Having a rookie like Seager get voted into start the All-Star game would be an enormous accomplishment, not only for Seager, but for the Dodgers franchise. Even if that doesn’t happen though, and Seager falls short in the voting, there’s still a good chance he will make the club as a reserve.

After the fans are done with their voting tomfoolery, the league rosters are then filled up by votes from other MLB players and coaches, as well as the league manager. Also, the fans get one last vote, when MLB narrows the final roster spot down to 5 players from each league. All this, plus the fact that every year some selected players sit out the All-Star game due to injuries, and I would say there’s a good chance we see Seager dressing up for the National League.

Fans still have until the end of the month to vote, and I’m sure things will change somewhat in that time. Certainly, more Dodgers fans need to get their ballots in, and hopefully baseball fans from all over will take notice of Seager’s play. Seager not only deserves an All-Star selection, but arguably a starting spot on the roster. And that’s not me talking as a homer. The stats speak for themselves.

So, I’ll close by saying something that you’ll likely hear a lot in an election year… GET OUT AND VOTE!

.@coreyseager_5, #ASGWorthy.#VoteCorey: https://t.co/zoM0K7YHlS pic.twitter.com/iOkxSB22pk

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 14, 2016