Astros Countdown: Top Five Deserving All Stars

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The Houston Astros are a very good baseball team.

The Astros were the first team to reach 50 wins this season, winning 50 of their first 74 games in 2017. The nearest team to them in the American League West standings is the Seattle Mariners, which are 12.5 games back. In the middle of the best start in franchise history, the Astros have many players that deserve a spot on the coveted AL All Star roster come July 11^th. Here are the five players that Astros fans should send to Miami.

Brian McCann

After Brian McCann was traded to the Astros in late November 2016, it was unclear of what value he would have as a 33-year-old catcher going into his 13^th season. What the Astros got was an All Star-caliber player behind the plate.

McCann has a .274 batting average, his highest since 2009, with a .845 OPS, his highest since 2008. He has hit 17 extra base hits, including 10 home runs, and has driven in 37 RBIs and has scored himself 26 times.

The offensive success is in part due to McCann’s patience at the plate. He has always been a patient hitter, never striking out more than 100 times in a season, but he has taken it to a new level this season. With an on base percentage of .360, his highest since 2010, McCann has walked 22 times compared to striking out only 29 times this season.

McCann’s impact is not only effected the Astros’ offensive production, but defensively as well. As a veteran presence behind the plate, he has led the Astros pitching staff to a combined 3.69 ERA, the third best in baseball, with a 1.19 WHIP. The Astros pitching staff has been very hard to hit against, with an opposing batting average of just .230 and a slugging percentage of .392.

As of June 20^th, McCann is in second place behind Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Perez in AL All Star voting with New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez slowly catching up in third place. Even if McCann does not receive a starting spot, he seems destined to earn his eighth trip to the All Star game this season.

George Springer

George Springer has helped change what it takes to be a leadoff hitter in the game of baseball. Now, with a successful season so far in 2017, he may earn a spot on his first AL All Star roster.

Springer has a .277 batting average with a career high OPS of .906. He leads the Astros with 21 home runs and is second on the team with 46 RBIs.

To say that Springer has shown power from the leadoff spot may be a bit of an understatement.

With a 1.128 OPS and a .746 slugging percentage, Springer has hit eight of his 21 home runs in the first inning alone.

Also, Springer has not been stagnant in terms of offensive production. His batting average, slugging percentage and OPS have all increased each month as the season has gone on. In the month of June, he has a .308 batting average with eight home runs and 15 RBIs.

As a power hitter, Springer does strike out more than a leadoff man should. With a strikeout percentage of 23.1 percent, he leads the Astros this season with 71 strikeouts in 274 at bats. However, despite an 8.5 percent walk rate, Springer is tied for third on the club with Alex Bregman with 26 walks.

Springer seems to be in pretty good shape in terms of an appearance in the All Star game. He is currently in line for an AL outfield starting spot, taking third place behind Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Los Angeles Angles superstar Mike Trout. As one of the main power threats in a very powerful Astros lineup, Springer definitely deserves the national recognition that an All Star starting spot gets.

Marwin Gonzalez

Marwin Gonzalez is one of the most underrated players in all of baseball.

Second on the team with a .312 batting average, Gonzalez is first among eligible Astros with a .990 OPS, .078 points higher than a certain perennial All Star second baseman. He is also third on the team with 13 home runs and third on the team with 40 RBIs.

The part that goes unnoticed is that he is being an offensive weapon while also being the utility man for Astros manager A.J. Hinch. He has starting primarily in either left field or first base, starting 14 and 12 games at those respective positions. However, those are not the only positions Gonzalez can play. He has played a combined 28 games at third base, shortstop, second base or right field.

No matter where he plays defensively, Gonzalez is a solid defender. He has only four errors in 58 games played this season.

In terms of All Star voting, Gonzalez is nowhere to be found. The AL All Star starter will likely go to a bigger name such as Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer or Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera. However, that does not mean that Gonzalez will not get a spot on the roster.

With the stats he is putting up for the Astros, Gonzalez is one of the most valuable players in all of baseball. The least that could be done is give him a spot on the AL All Star roster.

Carlos Correa

Carlos Correa is in his third season at the major league level. That is hard to believe right? In that short time, he has hit his way into becoming one of the faces of baseball.

Correa had a disappointing start to his 2017 season. In 22 games in the month of April, he had only two home runs and had driven in eight RBIs with a .233 batting average and a .658 OPS. However, after a monster month of May, with a.386 batting average and a 1.130 OPS, he got his season back on track in a big way.

Through 67 games this season, Correa is third on the team with a .303 batting average and third on the team with a .906 OPS. He has 29 extra base hits, including 14 home runs, and has driven in a team leading 47 RBIs.

People seem to have noticed the 22-year-old shortstop this season. He is currently first in AL All Star voting with Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor 358,242 votes behind him in second place.

There is no doubt whether the AL shortstop class is very deep. However, it seems that Correa may be leading the pack so far in his young career.

Jose Altuve

Jose Altuve is running away with the All Star second base starting spot. He currently has 2,185,035 votes cast, second to only Judge in amount of votes. The margin between first place and second place for the second base spot is pretty drastic, with Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro needing 734,563 to catch up.

The attention has been well deserved though. In 72 games played this season, Altuve is fourth in the AL with a .322 batting average with a .912 OPS, which is tenth. He has hit 32 extra base hits, including 10 home runs, and has driven in 34 RBIs. Also, he leads the Astros and is currently eighth in the AL with 12 stolen bases in 14 attempts.

After batting third for the majority of the season, Hinch and the rest of the Astros coaching staff decided to move Altuve to the two-hole with Correa hitting third. He has been hitting very well from that spot as of late. In nine games, he has a .361 batting average and a .993 OPS batting second.

Also, Altuve has been spectacular on the road. He is hitting .389 with a 1.108 OPS. He has hit six of his 10 home runs away from Minute Maid Park and has driven in 18 of his 34 RBIs.

Next: Astros: Charlie Morton throws two innings in rehab start

There is not doubt that Altuve is the best second baseman in the AL. The votes seem to say that as well.

***Stats provided by FanGraphs, MLB.com and Baseball Reference***

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