Strike 2: Major League Baseball has this unique deal where every team has to be represented at the All-star game, even if teams that are buried in the standings can’t really promote a true All-Star. Good news for the Colorado Rockies.
It worked out well last season, right in the middle of the first 100-loss season in franchise history. Catcher Elias Diaz became the first Colorado catcher to be selected for the mid-summer classic, and ended up being named the game’s Most Valuable Player after hitting a game winning home run. His reward was not being traded at the deadline.
Whoever gets the nod this season as the Rockies All-Star rep may or may not impact the game, but you can be 100% certain that he won’t be dealt at the trade deadline, either.
So who will it be? Which Rockie will represent the last place club at Globe Life field in Arlington, Texas on July 16?
It’s really between two players at this point. One, third baseman Ryan McMahon, is emblematic of the team’s struggles the past few years, especially after he took over for the traded Nolan Arenado. RyMac has been up and down at the plate the past four seasons – honestly more down than up – but been solid with the glove – some say Nolanesque – since being made a full time third baseman. This season he’s been a lot more up than down, with a .270 batting average, 14 homers and 42 RBI at the end of the most recent losing road trip. His OPS is a decent .812.
All-Star caliber? He’s got the second most homers among NL third baseman, the second-best batting average, and the second most hits. By comparison, he’s got twice as many homers as Arenado and a slightly better batting average. Austin Riley of Atlanta is the other big name at the hot corner, and McMahon has better numbers than Riley, too.
It hasn’t been a banner first half at the hot corner thus far.
As of the first of July, McMahon is seventh in the voting at third base, behind probable starter Alec Bohm of the Phillies, San Diego’s Manny Machado, Riley and Arenado, too.
McMahon still has a decent chance of being selected as a reserve for the NL, but it’s not a slam dunk.
Then there’s the future of the Rockies, shortstop Ezequiel Tovar. You can make an equally decent case for him. Tovar is a distant ninth in the voting, and it’s a pretty sure bet that the Dodgers Mookie Betts (who is injured and can’t play) will win the fan vote. The Phillies Trey Turner and Cincinnati’s sensational Elly De La Cruz will be part of the NL roster, but as for the third guy, perhaps Tovar gets the nod slightly ahead of schedule?
Tovar leads NL shortstops in hits and doubles at the start of July, his .284 batting average is third (behind Betts) and he has a surprising 12 home runs, as well as playing Gold Glove caliber defense.
Neither McMahon nor Tovar are “finalists” in the fan voting at their positions. Betts is a finalist at shortstop along with Turner even though he’s out until August. So is Machado at third, even though he’s DH-ing most of the time now.
All things considered, Tovar has a slightly better case than McMahon, and because of the injury to Betts, probably slightly better odds, too. We’ll find out pretty soon which Rockie will try to replicate what Diaz did last season.
