The Case for Rafael Devers to be in the All-Star Game
Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros currently leads all American League third baseman in all-star votes. Bregman is 800,000+ votes ahead of the New York Yankees Gio Urshela who currently sits in second place. There is little belief that anyone leap frogs the slugger from Houston, but that large of a lead is ridiculous. That is especially true when you have someone like Rafael Devers tearing up the league.
Bregman deserves to be in the spot he is in, but Devers has been one of the best players in all the majors at the hot corner. The 22-year-old struggled both defensively and offensively to start the year but has been a revelation for Boston as they have continued to try and find their groove.
As of today, Devers is slashing .306 / .362/ .864. He also has 11 home runs this year after hitting 0 in March / April. So overall offensively, Devers has been a force for Boston. He could even be named team MVP with Mookie Betts not hitting well and J.D. Martinez having back issues continually flare up.
Now, I know what you are going to say. “Devers stinks at defense no way he should start that game!” I used to be with you on that one, but after these last two months I can say I am fully confident in Devers’ ability at third (see Tweet below).
128 balls have been hit into Devers’ defensive zone, 99 have been converted into outs (.773). Among third basemen that is 3rd after Rio Ruiz and Nolan Arenado. Devers has made 26 out of zone plays, that trails only Bregman’s 30.
— Red Sox Stats (@redsoxstats) June 6, 2019
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
And yes I know those are just some nerdy sabermetrics but even if you watch Devers play he continually looks better and better. There is my little spiel on why Devers should be an all-star. He has been effective for the Red Sox on offense and now (surprisingly) defense, and with Matt Chapman being the only other competition at third, I think Devers should get the nod to backup Bregman on July 9th in Cleveland, Ohio.