Diamondbacks 1B Christian Walker’s case as MLB’s biggest All-Star Game snub

PHOENIX — Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game is upon us, injury replacements have been made and there remain no signs Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker will work his way to Arlington.

Arizona’s lone All-Star is second baseman Ketel Marte, who deservingly will start and bat first for the NL.

With the dust close to settled in Texas, there is a strong statistical case Walker is having the best season of any non-All-Star.

He has yet to reach the Midsummer Classic, and the short answer for why he fell short this year comes down to the strength of his position.

Bryce Harper was voted by the fans to start for the NL, and Freddie Freeman received enough player votes to become his backup. There was doubt Harper would play due to a minor hamstring strain that put him on the injured list on June 28, but he returned with plenty of time to spare on July 9.

Harper leads all first basemen in OPS by a mile at .982. Freeman is next at .887 and Walker is third at .838. Harper paces the field in fWAR at 4.2, followed Freeman at 3.3 and Walker 2.9.

If Walker were in the American League, he would have a clearer path, so there is a bit of misfortune for his candidacy — especially considering Harper moved to first base last year.

The NL, though, has three first basemen on the roster. The third is Pete Alonso of the New York Mets, picked by the league, who has a head-scratching All-Star case this season.

Alonso, a four-time All-Star, did not make the team over Walker, per se. He is the Mets’ lone representative, making the team ahead of shortstop Francisco Lindor and outfielder Brandon Nimmo.

The first baseman ranks seventh among Mets position players with 1.1 fWAR and eighth with a .772 OPS. However, Alonso has been a Home Run Derby darling with two wins and the most home runs hit in the event. The slugger said he was open to competing again if he made the All-Star team. Soon after he was picked, news unsurprisingly broke he would jump back in the derby.

Alonso lost in the first round on Monday night, anyway. It is possible his inclusion limited Walker’s chances to be an injury replacement, but that is purely speculative.

Is Christian Walker the best player omitted from the All-Star Game?

If you only look at WAR alone, no.

Lindor would own that distinction with 4.2 fWAR, seventh in all of baseball among position players. Walker also trails Nimmo (3.0) and Milwaukee’s Willy Adames (3.3). For bWAR, Brice Turang (4.0) of the Brewers leads the group.

But let’s break this down into offensive and defense value.

Offense

At the plate, Walker is 21st in MLB with an .838 OPS. That leads the field of National League players not named All-Stars. Josh Smith of the Rangers is ahead at .861, the only other snub in the top 28. Walker has 79 more plate appearances than Smith.

Walker’s .495 slugging percentage and 22 home runs this season pace the all-snub squad.

wRC+ takes external factors into consideration (such as era or ballpark) to compare players based on a league average season. Walker (131) is fifth among snubs behind Smith (145), Nimmo (136), Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber (135) and Chicago’s Michael Busch (132). The D-backs’ clean-up hitter entered the break on an 8-for-39 stretch as he came back down to earth from his Dodger Stadium barrage.

Walker hit five home runs over a three-game series at Chavez Ravine with back-to-back multi-homer games, a key series victory for the Diamondbacks to climb back over .500.

Defense

Walker is a vacuum over at first base and a very strong contender to win his third straight Gold Glove.

The 33-year-old ranks third in MLB in outs above average (10) and 10th in defensive runs saved (seven). Lindor is right behind with nine OAA.

Looking at the most basic defensive numbers, Walker has a .998 fielding percentage, tied for fourth in MLB. He has made two errors, and no one ahead of him is remotely close in innings played (839.2).

So Walker may not have the highest WAR of the snubs, but he’s had arguably the group’s most impactful offensive season while he and Lindor stand out defensively.

Walker said missing the cut stung, as it is always a goal to become an All-Star. Instead, he said this break will be spent napping, a lot, to rest up for the second half.

“He said to me, this is what a true D-back, a true teammate says, he says, ‘Torey, at the end of the day, your respect, the respect of my coaches and the respect of my teammates is all that matters to me. As long as I have that, you guys know what I am to this organization, I can care less if I make that team,'” manager Torey Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Bickley & Marotta on Tuesday.

“That meant the world to me to hear, but it’s still frustrating. He’s going to be an All-Star one day.”

Verdict: Walker and Lindor separated themselves as the two biggest snubs, considering Lindor’s value compared to Alonso.

Walker is also an impending free agent, and his success regardless of All-Star status will be rewarded in another way.

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