If All-Star voting ended today in the American League, the Kansas City Royals would have seven people in the starting lineup, which is determined by fan voting. That’s seven. First baseman Eric Hosmer would be starting, instead of two-time Most Valuable Player Miguel Cabrera. Second baseman Omar Infante, who has a batting average of only .216 and has the lowest OPS in 2015 of any qualified player, is only 150,000 votes behind the leader, Astros’ star Jose Altuve. Reigning Most Valuable Player Mike Trout from the Angels would get to start in center field, but Royals outfielder Alex Gordon trails Trout by fewer than 300,000 votes. If Gordon and Infante can catch up, then the whole starting lineup would be made of the Royals.
This trend has attracted a great deal of attention, as you might imagine. Cliff Corcoran of Sports Illustrated is encouraging his readers to vote for other players, but Royals fans haven’t broken any rules. After all, any fan can vote up to 35 times, and Royals fans have been doing their part. If you think that this MLB betting fan base wasn’t electrified by their team’s first return to the World Series in 30 years, then you need to think again.
At the present time, fans have already placed over nine million votes. Here is a look at some of the position leaders and how to get the best players into the starting lineup.
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Catcher
Salvador Perez of the Royals is in first. However, Stephen Vogt from Oakland has been the best catcher in the league this year. It’s true that he’s mostly unknown, so if you think that a big-name player should start, think of the Yankees’ Russell Martin, who is in the third season of a long string of strong play behind the plate.
First Base
Miguel Cabrera deserves to be the starter over Eric Hosmer. He’s hit twice as many home runs, his average is 15 points higher. Hosmer is having a terrific season, and you could argue for a place on the team for him, but Cabrera should be the starter.
Shortstop
Jose Iglesias is having a much better season than the Royals’ Alcides Escobar, who is the leading vote-getter. Iglesias is hitting a sparkling .331 this season – and he has hit well his whole time in the big leagues, even though shin stress fractures held him out for the whole 2014 season. He can steal bases (7 for 8 so far in 2015), and his fielding is terrific as well.
Third Base
Should Mike Moustakas from the Royals make the team? Yes. Should he start over Josh Donaldson from Toronto, who started here last year? Not a chance, but Donaldson is still almost 2 million votes behind.
Outfield
Three of the four top vote-getters from the American League are Royals: Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon and Alex Rios – who has missed almost half the season so far with his stint on the disabled list. Cain is a stellar defender, and Gordon is always one of the best outfielders. However, Rios hasn’t been a star since 2012, and there are other players who deserve to be in that fourth position – if not higher. Adam Jones from Baltimore, Yoenis Cespedes from Detroit and Josh Reddick from Oakland all come to mind.
So what does this mean? It’s time for the fans from the other teams to stand up for their sides – and for those who aren’t committed to do their best to bring the starting lineup into balance. Remember – the team that wins the World Series gets home field advantage in the World Series for its league. So both teams should be as strong as possible.
