MLB All-Star voting season is upon us for 2023, and nine Red Sox appear on the ballot in phase one of fan voting, which ends June 22.
Don’t expect many, if any, Red Sox to be on the American League roster in July. Though some of Boston’s hitters are not necessarily doing badly, most are not doing nearly as well as many of their counterparts at their respective positions.
Three Red Sox are completely unworthy of an MLB All-Star nod in 2023, four have a case. Then there’s Jarren Duran.
Red Sox Unworthy of Being on 2023 MLB All-Star Fan Voting ballot
You either support him or want him gone. At least, that’s how it seems to be among Red Sox Nation. But patience is key. Triston Casas is adjusting to MLB. He will figure it out. He’s showing signs that he is beginning to figure things out. In April, Casas hit .133/.283/.293/.576 with 16 walks, 27 strikeouts, 3 HR, and 8 RBI. He was better in May (.257/.338/.429/.766 with nine walks, 22 strikeouts, 3 HR, and 8 RBI). Casas has been taking his walks all season (14th in MLB with a 14 percent walk rate), indicating a good plate approach despite the numbers. He’s not facing too many lefties yet (34 of 176 plate appearances vs. lefties). And he’s providing the Red Sox with solid defense at first base.
Christian Arroyo had been out since May 6 with a bad hamstring. He was activated Monday, and Raimel Tapia was designated for assignment as the countermove. Arroyo got off to a slow start (.160/.192/.200/.392) but was turning things around before he got hurt (.458/.500/.708/1.208). Not much else to say, he hasn’t played much.
(Maybe now Kiké Hernadez won’t be at shortstop any longer.)
Enrique Hernandez is having quite a season. He’s gone from fan-favorite, gold-glove caliber center fielder in 2021-22 to a not-so-good shortstop in 2023, one a lot of Red Sox fans are done with. Kiké has shown that he is not an MLB shortstop. Granted, he wasn’t supposed to be, but things happened. It’s one thing if Hernandez’s bat made up for having the most errors among MLB shortstops (13). But it doesn’t. Kiké is batting .237/.308/.366/.673 with 5 HR, and 23 RBI. The Red Sox have committed the 3rd most errors in MLB (37). Take shortstop out of the defensive equation, and the Sox have committed the 4th fewest errors in MLB (23).
That’s just errors. Kiké’s advanced metrics aren’t any better.
Casas may become an All-Star player at this level, but he isn’t that 2023. In all honesty, the Red Sox’ first baseman shouldn’t even be in consideration. Christian Arroyo hasn’t played enough to even be on the ballot. Hernandez is the least deserving Red Sox to be an All-Star in 2023; He’s statistically one of the worst shortstops in MLB.
Red Sox Players With a Case
2023 has been a weird year so far for Red Sox franchise third baseman Rafael Devers. The batting average and on-base numbers aren’t there, but the power and RBI numbers are (.252/.296/.510/.806 with 15 doubles, 13 HR, and 48 RBI). Devers is also taking more walks than he usually does. And his defense has been fine for him. He’s an interesting case.
Connor Wong has been one of the best defensive catchers in MLB. He’s not the best hitter (yet) (.240/.292/.479/.772 with 11 doubles, 6 HR, and 15 RBI), but he crushes the ball when he does make contact. And he throws runners out like crazy, helping him become the Sox’ best catcher.
Alex Verdugo is on a whole other level this year. He is hitting .289/.362/.445/.807 with 17 doubles, 5 HR, and 23 RBI. Dugie is faster, his arm strength is back, and he’s fielding better than ever. Plus, he is running the bases as well as ever. Verdugo has his skills back, some better than ever, after an injury-riddled 2022 trying to bulk up a la Andrew Benintendi. He was challenged this past offseason by Alex Cora, accepted the challenge, and we are witnessing the best version of Dugie in a Red Sox uniform as a result.
A particularly controversial trade is beginning to work out for the Sox.
Masataka Yoshida has been one of the best hitters in MLB. Yoshida is hitting .314/.394/.505/.899 with 14 doubles, 7 HR, 32 RBI, 23 walks, and 22 strikeouts in 2023. Since 4/20, he has a .363/.423/.589/1.012 slash line with 13 doubles, 6 HR, 26 RBI, 15 walks, and 17 strikeouts. Masa has put up multi-hit games all over the place as the Sox’ most consistent hitter. And he’s been more than serviceable defensively in left field.
As good as Justin Turner has been for the Red Sox this season — putting up great at-bats and doing well with runners in scoring position — he’s not doing that great compared to his DH counterparts. Turner is hitting .271/.354/.411/.765 with 11 doubles, 6 HR, and 25 RBI. He’s been surprisingly good defensively at first base and what little we’ve seen at third base. Turner has been precisely the hitter the Sox needed, a clear upgrade over J.D. Martinez.
Devers might be at the 2023 MLB All-Star game in some capacity. The Red Sox’ third baseman has stiff competition to overcome, though. Wong’s value comes from his defense. He probably is not making it because other catchers are doing more on both sides of the ball. Dugie and Yoshida should be MLB All-Stars in some capacity, too. I can’t imagine both getting overlooked. But the Red Sox likely to get the most attention during the voting process is Yoshida. Turner has been good but not great in 2023 compared to the other DHs. That said, almost nobody else stands a chance whenever Shohei Ohtani is involved.
Duran Has Been Good but Not That Good
Jarren Duran has been a revelation. He’s an entirely different player this season. He’s hitting and fielding so much better than before, helping the Red Sox stay afloat in the face of injuries. But Duran has fallen off offensively in recent weeks, which was coming at some point.
Duran isn’t an MLB All-Star, he just isn’t.
Phase two of fan voting to determine the 2023 MLB All-Star Game starters begins June 26 and ends June 29. I don’t know how many Red Sox will still be on the ballot by then, but we shall see.
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