Mauricio Dubón Had A Good Case, But Needed Help
Show of hands: who had Mauricio Dubón showing up as an All-Star game snub on your preseason bingo board? If your hand is in the air, you're either a liar or need to go buy some lottery tickets.
His numbers aren't flashy, but as crazy as this is to say, the Astros aren't competing with the Rangers for the AL West crown without their utility man.
Dubón brought stability at second base and in the leadoff spot while the Astros navigated the loss of Jose Altuve. Since Altuve has been back, he's picked up starts at 1B, SS and Left Field. He's been great at all of the spots.
He's hitting .288 with four bombs and 18 doubles, good for a 1.1 fWAR. He's right on the heels of Whit Merrifield's 1.3 fWAR. Merrifield was named an All-Star. Merrifield has less home runs, less doubles, a lower OPS, lower slugging percentage, and has been worth 0 defensive runs saved to Dubón's 7 defensive runs saved.
He's far from a household name, and he would have needed some breaks to go his way, but Mauricio Dubón built himself quite a good case. Based on who made the roster ahead of him, he very much got snubbed.