With the Royals Rocking the Vote, Jose Altuve Might Fall Short

Comparing Infante and Altuve

May 19, 2015; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Royals second baseman Omar Infante (14) is congratulated in the dugout after scoring in the seventh inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s compare the stats of Infante and Altuve.

In the picture on top of this page, Infante has a big smile. I wonder if he is smiling because he knows he’s in the lead for the starting nod in All-Star game. I would like a Royals fan to give me a justification for their choice, other than that he is a Royals player. Altuve tops Infante in batting average, OBP, homers, RBIs, runs, and stolen bases. Infante leads in zero of those categories. Eureka, I just figured it out! Infante is the better defender. Let’s look at their WAR and defense stats.

Omar Infante – .986 Fielding %, three errors, and -0.4 WAR.

Jose Altuve – .993 Fielding %, two errors, and 1.3 WAR.

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Sorry Royals fans, I thought that maybe I fell across some justification there. Let’s say that the eight Royals start the game, that means that eight of the 25-man roster will be designated Royals. That leaves only 17 positions available for the All-Star roster. Every team needs to be represented in the game, so take away 14 players to represent all the non-Royal teams. That leaves only three open roster positions at Ned Yost‘s discretion.

With only three open spots, the likelihood that another Royal player would be selected would be slim to none. Teams like the Astros, who have three possible All-Star representatives in Dallas Keuchel, Will Harris, and the already mentioned Jose Altuve. Jason Kipnis might not make the team because the manager might go with Corey Kluber instead. One of the picks also has to be a backup catcher, so the AL All-Star roster will be severely limited because of the #VoteRoyals campaign.

You can vote Astros here.

Next: A Triple Threat for Voting