Astros: Were Devenski, Gonzalez, McCann, and Reddick snubbed?

With yesterday’s announcement of the 2017 AL All-Star team, there were five Astros voted or selected to the team.

Instead of being excited about who was selected, it seems like Astros Twitter is upset that more wasn’t going. The team has the best record in baseball. You can see why fans expected more. By the way, according to Jake Kaplan, this is the second time the Astros have had five representatives at the All-Star game.

Back in 1994, the Astros sent Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, Ken Caminiti, Doug Drabek, and John Hudek. We can only wonder how far that team would have gone if it weren’t for Bagwell breaking his hand or if the strike hadn’t shut down the season. There are two Hall of Famers in that group who represented Houston in 1994. How many future Hall of Famers will there be in this 2017 bunch?

Three starters.

The Astros also have three starters voted in for the first time in franchise history. While George Springer had the lead at one point, it was a very slim lead over Michael Brantley. Getting the third most votes of the AL outfielders behind Aaron Judge and Mike Trout, Springer will play in his first All-Star game this year. Springer has nine leadoff homers of his 24 total this year. Hopefully, Springer will play centerfield, but he’s just as good in right field.

As long as Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa play shortstop, they will be forever compared. They both debuted as the next generation of shortstops in 2015. It was a close battle, but Lindor was beaten out by Correa for the AL ROY Award that year. Correa once again finishes on top as the All-Star starter at shortstop for the AL. Correa will play in his first All-Star game.

Jose Altuve will play in his fifth All-Star game, no longer the token Astro selected. Altuve was nominated by the fans to start in his second straight All-Star game at second base. Last year he was in a close battle with Robinson Cano for the start. Ironically, Cano was not even in the top five vote getters at that position this year.

The reserves.

Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers were both selected as AL reserves, but Keuchel will not play. As he said in an interview, the Astros would not be happy if he pitched for the All-Star team. Keuchel did start the 2015 All-Star game, something that McCullers will probably not do this year. This is McCullers first time that has been selected to the All-Star team.

Give me more. This is what Astros fans are screaming! Houston is well represented, but fans in Houston understand that this is a special team we are watching. Even former Yankee Mark Texiera said that on ESPN right before the All-Star selection show. Who can stop this offense?

MarWIN Gonzalez

Tim Kurkjian said that he spoke to a few coaches from the Astros (on ESPN). They both told him that the MVP of the team was not selected to the All-Star game. The real MVP of the team is Marwin Gonzalez who is having a career year as a super utility player. Gonzalez has played all over the diamond with a slash line of .313/ .399/ .576/ .975. Not impressed? Add 14 homers and 45 RBIs.

Take a look at the Tweet below on how Gonzalez’s stats compare to the rest of the All-Stars.

Gonzalez didn’t have the at-bats that the others did, but that is because of the talent on this team. His value is a player who can start at any position and not hurt you offensively or defensively. Fans were thinking that he would at least be part of the final vote. The numbers don’t lie, but Gonzalez deserved the recognition.

Beware of the Dragon!

Don’t mess with the dragon! This is a lesson that opponents have learned 70 times this year in only 50 1/3 innings. Chris Devenski and his world-class changeup has settled into the bullpen. A.J. Hinch has not been afraid to use Devenski and has been rewarded with a 2.15 ERA. Players hate to face Devenski. He would be perfect versus the NL if an AL pitcher gets in trouble and needs to be bailed out.

If you had the bases loaded, which pitcher would you rather bring in? Devenski or Dellin Betances? While Devenski has shown that he is human from time to time, I would rather have him over, Betances. If he were on the Yankees, he would be a big deal! Devenski ranked first in the AL with strikeouts by a reliever. Keuchel felt like Will Harris should have been selected as well, but that would be asking a little too much.

The others.

McCullers said that Brian McCann should have been selected as well. He also gives McCann a lot of credit for the team playing like it is this year. Salvador Perez was selected to start and Gary Sanchez, the guy who replaced McCann in New York, is a reserve. While Sanchez was hurt, I thought McCann had a good shot. McCann has struggled recently as well. This selection could also be to award Sanchez’s rookie year last year as well.

There is some talk that Josh Reddick should be an All-Star as well. Reddick is a victim of being a little late. After missing some time with the concussion, Reddick has returned on fire, raising his slash line to .309/ .360/ .506/ .866 with eight homers and 33 RBIs. This Astros team can’t win without Reddick’s fire on the field, but he’s not an All-Star this year. He is a victim of being on a good team.

Is it okay to be mad that ONLY five Astros were selected to the All-Star team? Yes, that means that you have a passion for your favorite team. Fans have waited for many years for this team, and we are proud of each one. Whether the Astros were snubbed two players or so won’t matter in the playoffs.

Next: Astros top two untouchable prospects at the trade deadline

Don’t forget that the winner of the All-Star game does not get home field advantage in the playoffs anymore. Let’s cheer on the Astros who are going and hope that the top of the AL lineup features Springer, Altuve, and Correa followed by Judge and others. Don’t forget, Devenski or Gonzalez could still be selected to replace an injured player on the roster. It doesn’t look like Trout will be ready.

***Stats from ESPN Stats and Baseball-Reference***