Follow our new Twitter account for real-time updates and in-depth analysis of all things Chicago Cubs.
At the end of the day all-star voting doesn’t really mean much. We all understand it’s mostly a popularity contest and guys who deserve the accolades don’t always get them. Every year in every sport there are snubs and at this pace Albert Almora Jr. isn’t going to be voted in, but he does deserve the attention.
The first update for the 2018 All-Star Game voting was released earlier this week and the Chicago Cubs had several players ranked near the top at their respective position. Although no one on the Cubs leads in votes, four got the second-most and Addison Russell ranked third among National League shortstops.
The Cubs also have three outfielders in the top-10 for voting.
Here's where the #Cubs stand after the first All-Star voting update.
C – Willson Contreras: 2nd
1B – Anthony Rizzo: 2nd
2B – Javier Baez: 2nd
3B – Kris Bryant: 2nd
SS – Addison Russell: 3rd
OF – Kyle Schwarber: 7th
OF – Ben Zobrist: 8th
OF – Jason Heyward: 10th— Pinwheels and Ivy Podcast (@PinwheelsIvyPod) June 11, 2018
Follow our new Twitter account for real-time updates and in-depth analysis of all things Chicago Cubs.
No, I’m not going to ignore the fact that Anthony Rizzo and his 10th ranked .766 OPS for first basemen in the NL is getting the second-most votes so far. This goes both ways.
But as you can see from the list there’s one key player missing: Albert Almora Jr.
As a matter of fact, when you go vote for the MLB All-Star Game, Almora isn’t even on the ballot. If you want to vote for Almora you have to write him in.
You might be asking, has Almora really played at an All-Star level? The answer is yes and here are the stats to back it up.
Albert Almora Jr. rankings among NL center fielders
- 1.7 fWAR – 4th
- .314 batting average – 1st
- .365 OBP – 3rd
- .429 slugging % – 5th
- .795 OPS – 4th
- .345 wOBA – 4th
- 117 wRC+ – t-5th
- 4.3 Def – 2nd
- 3.7 UZR – 2nd
- 13.2 UZR/150 -2nd
- 3.4 RngR -2nd
- 6 DRS – 4th
- 2 rGFP -2nd
- .962 RZR – 2nd
He’s getting the job done on offense and defense.
I know, I know, the all-star voting takes into account all outfielders and not by every position, but still this is call to all Cubs fans to start writing in Almora.
And we all know how much Cubs fans have been demanding that Almora get more playing time since the start of the season. So far he’s proving the doubters wrong, myself included, so how about repaying his effort with some more show of support.
I’m in no way saying Almora should be voted in as a starter, but it would be nice if he could crack the top-15 in voting, which after the first update he hasn’t.
C’mon Cubs fans, thought you really loved Albert. Start writing him in.
