After being snubbed for starting jobs by the fans despite posting stellar first halves, D.J LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado have been named to the National League All-Star roster for 2015. It is the first such honor for both players.
With an off day on Monday, two of the anchors of the Rockies infield were free to watch the selection show live on ESPN and ponder the solid numbers they’ve posted through the first half of the season.
LeMahieu spent much of the first half of 2015 near the top of the league in batting. As of Monday, he had dropped from the top ten, but was still batting a very respectable .298 on the year – third among NL second basemen. His 87 hits were fourth among second basemen, as were his 34 RBI. His fielding percentage is a a stellar .995, having committed just two errors in 78 games.
Arenado, meanwhile, has been stellar with the glove as well. Until the weekend series with Arizona, he had just seven errors on the season. Still, he carries a .962 fielding percentage into the final two series before the All-Star break.
At the plate, Arenado has exceeded expectations, already having posted career highs in home runs and RBI only halfway through the season. Among NL third basemen he’s currently in the top five in batting, hits, runs, home runs, slugging and OPS and he leads with 68 RBI.
Todd Frazier was a last-minute winner of the fan vote for the starting nod at third base – a deserving honor as he leads Arenado in most of the aforementioned statistics. St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter was nearly the wire-to-wire winner of the starting job at third, but a late push by the host city (and intelligent baseball fans everywhere) led Frazier to eke out a starting spot in the final week of voting. Arenado finished a distant fourth in the fan vote.
LeMahieu did not finish in the top five in fan voting.
Troy Tulowitzki, meanwhile, had to be the biggest All-Star snub of the year, after finishing second in fan voting and off the roster altogether.
Tulowitzki entered Monday as the No. 4 hitter in the NL with a .321 average behind All-Star starters, Paul Goldschmidt (1B, Arizona), Bryce Harper (OF, Washington) and Dee Gordon (2B, Miami). At his position, shortstop, Tulowitzki ranks first in batting average, doubles (tie), runs, slugging percentage and OPS and ranked and in the top five in hits, home runs and RBI. He also boasts a .976 fielding percentage.
Tulowitzki is one of the National League “Final Vote” candidates, so his chances of making his fifth All-Star game now rest squarely on the shoulders of a fan vote once again.
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game will be played Tuesday July 14 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m. MDT.
