What Orioles are worthy of making the All Star game?

The 2016 MLB All Star game, being played in Oriole Pa…err I mean Petco Field (in San Diego) is just over 2 weeks away. On Tuesday July 5th, the rosters will be announced for the AL and NL squads. The Orioles have a chance to be well represented in that game. Let’s take a look at the candidates for the Os.

(You can discuss this article on the BSL Board here.)

Manny Machado:

Manny currently leads AL third baseman in voting and should end up being the starter. He is facing tough competition from Josh Donaldson on who should be the starter. They basically have the same WAR, so you can make an argument either way. Manny looks like he is getting the nod and if Donaldson can somehow make up the 500K voting difference that existed earlier in the week, Machado will easily get picked as a reserve. He is having a monster year and has cemented himself as one of the best 5-10 players in all of baseball (I think he is easily top 5).

Zach Britton:

Britton has been shaky as of late. He still hasn’t blown a save but he struggled in a non-save situation earlier in the week (although none of the runs ended up being earned). He has allowed 9 base runners in the last 4.2 IP. To put that into perspective, in the previous 27 IP, he had allowed 17 base runners. That being said, he has been pretty overwhelming this year. He hasn’t given up an earned run since April 30th and the 3 unearned runs against SD this week were the first runs of any kind scored off of him since the White Sox scored the 1 run off of him on that April 30th date. His ERA stands at .83. His K rate is well over 10. His K/BB ratio is excellent. His GB/FB ratio is 15:1(!) and he leads all reliever in WPA. Not only is he a shoo-in to make the team but I think there’s a good chance he is standing on the mound in the 9th inning to close the game out if the AL are winning.

Chris Tillman:

Tillman is coming off of a poor start vs. TB last night and that hurt his chances some IMO. However, he is currently 2nd in the AL in wins with 10 and he only has 1 loss. Now, as much as I don’t care about that W/L record, it is still something that most do care about and it will be looked at very favorably. Among starters who are qualified, Tillman is 15th in ERA. Before yesterday’s start, his ERA was easily in the top 10. His K rate is also up and is currently 16th in the AL. He is also currently 16th in the AL in IP. He is definitely having a season worthy of AS consideration but there is a lot of competition and with the rule that everyone needs a player, Tillman has a chance of getting squeezed IMO. The other thing he has going against him is it appears he is lined up to start one of the last few games before the break. If he starts Saturday, that will be ok. The AS game would be his throw day. If he starts on Sunday, he likely wouldn’t be able to pitch. Of course, that doesn’t mean he can’t be selected, just that he won’t pitch.

Brad Brach:

Overshadowed by Britton and O’Day, Brach has quietly been one of the better relievers in baseball since he came to Baltimore. This year is on track to be his best. He has the 6th best ERA (1.05) in the AL among relievers and he is doing it throwing the 3rd most innings by a reliever so far this year. His WPA is 13th among AL relievers. His K rate is 21st. He is also 9th in WAR among relievers (not that WAR is the best stat to judge relievers). He is clearly having an All Star caliber season. He will probably have to continue to be dominant until the teams are announced. If he has a sub 1 ERA in a few weeks, it will be tough to not include him on the team.

Mark Trumbo:

Trumbo is currently 4th in AL OF voting and isn’t too far from Mookie Betts for that 3rd spot. I tend to doubt he will overtake Betts or Bradley Jr, because the Boston fan base is so large but he does have a chance. Trumbo is tied for the AL lead in homers, with 21. He is 6th in RBIs, 9th in slugging, 17th in wRC+, 14th in wOBA and 15th in OPS. He has the numbers to be worthy of the AS game for sure. But does he get in? Again, because of the rule that every team needs a player, does Trumbo get squeezed out of that spot? I tend to think he makes it but him getting hot, or at least staying very solid for the next 7-10 days would be in his best interest.

Jonathan Schoop:

Schoop has been on fire this month. His slash line for June is 333/378/556/933 and that was preceded by a May where he had a 789 OPS and hit 298. He has played in every game and every inning for the team this year. He is top 5, among AL second baseman, in OPS, wRC+, slugging and homers. UZR has him playing about an average second base although I think he has been better than that. All in all, he has developed an AS game worthy resume. That being said, I don’t think he makes it. Altuve is a lock and probably will start. He is having as good a year as anyone in baseball and deserves that spot. But second baseman is pretty good in the AL this year overall. Cano is having a monster year. Kinsler and Pedroia are also having excellent seasons. Barring injuries, I think Schoop is on the outside looking in but it is great to see him being a legit candidate.

Matt Wieters:

Wieters is also having a big month of June. He has a slash line of 274/356/548/905 for the month. Among catchers who have at least 120 PA, he is second in the AL in OPS, slugging, wRC+, average, wOBA and OBP. He is 4th in homers and 1st in RBIs. He is also second in WAR. The fact is, he deserves to be on the team. Sal Perez is going to get the start, as he should. He is clearly the best catcher in the AL and maybe all of baseball. The only question is, does Wieters get squeezed because of the rule of every team needing a player? Does Suzuki represent the Twins? I would think Andrew Miller will represent the Yankees but maybe McCann does? Like Trumbo, it is in Wieters’ best interest to continue to stay hot, so they have no choice but to take him.

Despite the good homer and RBI numbers by Davis and Jones, I do not think they are in consideration for a spot. Other than that, I don’t think anyone else has a chance but this is a very good list of legitimately worthy candidates.

Who do you think will make it out of this group and who should make it?