Baltimore Orioles: Who is All-Star Worthy?
By Joe Serpico
The Baltimore Orioles find themselves back where they finished last season, sitting in first place in the American League East. Buck Showalter has his team back atop the division despite the struggles throughout the season. There have been times the offense has been miserable. The pitching questionable. Mental errors on the defensive end and base paths that are not typical of a Showalter-led team. However, as we are just a few games away from the All-Star break, the reigning AL East champs are right where they want to be.
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The Orioles have been one of the best teams in baseball since Buck has taken over as manager. He has turned a losing culture into one that feels like it will win every day. He deserves all the credit he garners, but also has the added benefit of having some of the best players in baseball on his team. Adam Jones is not only the face of the organization, but one of MLB’s brightest stars. Matt Wieters is a three-time All-Star. Baltimore had five players selected in 2013.
The controversy surrounding this year’s All-Star voting is the Kansas City Royals essentially taking over the process. At one point during the ballot, there were eight Royals scheduled to start the game. The number has subsided over the recent weeks, but there are still going to be more Royals starting the game than should be. That takes away spots from many players who have earned the honor.
So while we know there are going to be a few Royals in the ball game, how many Orioles are All-Star worthy in 2015?
Jones is always a candidate to make the Mid Summer Classic, but one would think that Showalter is hopeful that Jones’ name is not called. The Gold Glove outfielder has been battling an injury over recent weeks and the team would like him to take the days off to rest his ailing shoulder. Jones was lights out in April, batting .400 with five home runs and 19 RBI in the first month. His bat cooled off for the month of May, but he’s been red-hot again as of late. It would not come as a surprise if the unquestioned leader of the Orioles clubhouse was elected back as an All-Star Game for his fourth consecutive appearance and fifth total.
Pitchers are not selected by the fans. Managers and players vote and then Ned Yost will make the final decisions with the help of the Commissioner’s Office. Every MLB team must have one All-Star in the game which can snub a few deserving All-Stars a chance at the game. Ubaldo Jimenez is having a bounce back year, but he nor the rest of the starters have been spectacular this season. Mangers are asked to bring three relief pitchers, however, and the Orioles have one of the best in baseball.
Zach Britton has been phenomenal since taking over the closer role last season. In just a year and a half as the closer, he has already recorded 60 saves. He has converted 23 of 24 save opportunities this season and is sporting an ERA of 1.82 and a 1.01 WHIP. He’s tied with Angels closer Huston Street for second in the AL in saves, behind the Minnesota Twins Glen Perkins. It would come as no surprise if the trio mentioned is Yost’s choice of relievers for the AL squad.
If the Orioles are only going to get one selection for the game, it has the be the best player on the team. Early in the season, that was Jones. However, over the course of the season, the best player in Baltimore right now is Manny Machado. In fact, there needs to be a serious discussion about whether Machado might be the best player in all of baseball.
His defense is out of this world. Playing shortstop for the majority of his life leading up to Orioles, he has made the transition to the hot corner look so easy. The way he covers so much ground and fires it to first so easily is fascinating to watch on a regular basis. It seems like he is on every top-10 sports highlight show in America on a regularly basis. Baltimore was blessed to watch Brooks Robinson work his magic at third, and Machado is the modern day sensation.
He is just as good at the plate, too. He is fifth in the AL in hits with 93 and is batting .302/.357/.523 on the season. He has shown us his power with 16 home runs. The 16 stolen bases and 51 runs show us his wheels on the base paths. His line in the month of June was unreal for a 22-year-old, hitting .365/.411/.635 with eight home runs, 22 RBI, 23 runs and four stolen bases. Machado is the true definition of a five-tool player.
All of these Orioles are deserving of an All-Star appearance, but it is going to take Ned Yost‘s vote to get them in. Machado is way behind his nemesis Josh Donaldson in votes, but that is no knock on either player. Donaldson is having a terrific year in his own right. Jones is likely in as a starter if the voting was done right. Britton has done everything right to earn some national recognition.
It is likely that not a single Oriole is named a starter when the starters are revealed on Sunday night. There will be one on the squad for sure, and it will be interesting to see just how the rest of the league views the the first-place Baltimore Orioles.