Paul Goldschmidt, Chris Owings both in fourth place in All-Star voting
May 30, 2017, 10:19 AM | Updated: 11:27 am
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
D-backs sluggers Paul Goldschmidt and Chris Owings are both in the top five at their positions in the first All-Star balloting update, but they have a ways to go to get voted in.
In MLB’s first release of the All-Star balloting results on Tuesday (voting doesn’t end until June 29), Goldschmidt has less than half of the votes (205,828) that Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo has (452,620) for the race to start at that position for the National League in Miami on July 11.
The Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman (2nd) and the Braves’ Freddie Freeman (3rd) are also ahead of Goldy at first.
The Gold standard. Is Paul Goldschmidt #ASGWorthy?@esurance #ASG ballot: https://t.co/7LPm8lXYAi pic.twitter.com/hypc8LI6TI
— All-Star Game (@AllStarGame) May 23, 2017
It stands to reason that Goldschmidt would be in the conversation for starting at first base in the All-Star Game, but such a comeback in the voting doesn’t look likely: Arizona’s first baseman is fourth among NL first basemen in batting average (.308), second in on-base percentage (.436), fourth in slugging percentage (.562), tied for eighth in home runs (11), and fourth in RBI (38). He does, however, lead in walks (38) and stolen bases (12).
Furthermore, the World Series hype still lingers around Rizzo, who is in first in the voting by a wide margin despite not leading NL first basemen in really any statistical category, like batting average (11th), on-base percentage (7th), slugging (9th), OPS (8th), home runs (6th) or RBI (6th).
Owings’ name carries less clout on a national level than Goldschmidt, which will make it even harder for the D-backs shortstop to make a comeback in the voting. His 219,287 votes are fourth among NL shortstops as the Dodgers’ Corey Seager (399,347) sits in first. The Cubs’ Addison Russell (2nd) and the Reds’ Zack Cozart (3rd) are in between.
Chris Owings smashes a grand slam!!! pic.twitter.com/Iy2rV4oxOP
— TheRenderMLB (@TheRenderMLB) April 25, 2017
Owings has had a hot start to the season: Among NL shortstops, he’s second in average (.317), third in OBP (.358), second in slugging (.483), third in OPS (.841), third in home runs (6) and first in RBI (27).
But because Cozart leads all four of those aforementioned percentage categories and the Rockies’ Trevor Story leads in home runs, the case for Cincinnati’s shortstop is a cut above the case for Owings.
As for the leaders at other positions, it’s the Giants’ Buster Posey at catcher, the Nationals’ Daniel Murphy at second base, the Cubs’ Kris Bryant at third, and the leading outfielders are the Nationals’ Bryce Harper, the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon and the Cubs’ Jason Heyward.
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