It’s looking very unlikely that fans will hear a Twins player’s name introduced as part of the American League’s starting lineup at the MLB All-Star Game at Target Field this summer.
The first ballot update was released Tuesday and the results didn’t favor any Twins.
As noted by the Star Tribune, Brian Dozier and Kurt Suzuki are the only Twins that rank among the top five vote getters at their positions
Dozier sits in fourth place behind fellow second basemen Ian Kinsler of the Tigers, Robinson Cano of the Mariners and Dustin Pedroia of the Red Sox. However, Dozier’s 194,941 votes are far off the pace. Kinsler, Cano and Pedroia all have at least 343,000 votes, with Kinsler leading the way with 356,244.
Dozier’s batting average of .246 doesn’t compare to Cano (.332) or Kinsler (.330), but he leads AL second basemen with 11 home runs and 30 walks; he’s second among AL two-baggers with 12 doubles and 26 RBIs. Those are the reasons why MLB.com’s Doug Miller would choose Dozier as his All-Star starter.
Even though Dozier is batting 72 points lower than Cano and 79 lower than Kinsler, his on-base percentage is right there with those guys because of his superb walk-to-strikeout ratio (30 to 42), and he’s hit 11 homers.
He’s also driven in 26 runs, second to Cano among AL second basemen, and stolen 12 bases. Considering that he was on absolutely nobody’s radar as recently as two years ago, it’s a heck of a story and one that would play very nicely on the All-Star stage in his home park.
Suzuki is fifth among catchers, totaling 187,766 votes. But he’s nearly 400,000 votes behind Orioles catcher Matt Wieters.
Six-time All-Star Joe Mauer won’t find his name in the top five. Were he still a catcher he’d likely be in the mix for a starting spot based on the equity of his name, but a poor start to the season and stiffer competition at first base has Mauer on the outside looking in.
The top five vote getters at first base are Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, Albert Pujols of the Angels, Jose Abreu of the White Sox, Chris Davis of the Orioles and Mark Teixeira of the Yankees.
Mauer is batting .284 with two home runs and 14 RBIs, which doesn’t begin to compare to Cabrera’s marks of .321 with seven home runs and 42 RBIs.
Fans can continue voting for their favorite players until July 3.
Here's a full list of the current @MLB AL All-Star ballot (positional rankings only): pic.twitter.com/14VJfoVHwG
— Alex (@asmiff) May 27, 2014
