This week the 2016 All Stars were announced. Three Yankees players made the team, all of whom were deserving. It is ironic to think that 2 of the 3 could very possibly be traded within the month, but that is where we are with this team.
At this point in the season, when everybody is praising the superstars who have once again been voted All Stars or lesser-known players who have played themselves onto the team, I figured I’d take the opportunity to highlight some of the underachievers across baseball. Keep in mind they’re not the worst players in the league, bur rather the most disappointing. They are the 2016 MLB All Not Stars.
SP: David Price
Remember when the Red Sox signed Price to a 7-year, 217-million-dollar contract and everybody justified it by saying at least he’ll be really good for the next three years? Oops.
So far on the season Price is rocking a 4.64 ERA, allowing more than a hit per inning, and has posted a FIP .62 above what he posted from 2012-15, which is what earned him the mega contract.
Is David Price the worst starting pitcher in MLB? Absolutely not. But he has not come close to expectations and, as history has shown us, only gets worse as the games get more intense.
C: Yadier Molina
The Molina boys are baseball’s version of the Manning brothers, assuming Cooper actually made something of himself instead of getting that pesky spinal stenosis disease.
But seriously, what happened to Yadier Molina? He was a perennial All Star from 2009-14. Any baseball nerd would tell you Yadier was one of the most important players in the sport, and the key driving factor to why St. Louis was always able to develop that amazing pitching year after year.
This year, Molina has his lowest OPS since 2006 and has only hit 1 home run. The 33-year-old looks to be finally showing his age; I guess 1,500+ games squatting behind the dish are finally catching up to him.
1B: Ryan Zimmerman
Ryan Zimmerman is the reason Bryce Harper is leading the league in walks. Zimm, who was once one of the best all-around third baseman in the league, is now an over-the-hill first baseman whose offensive numbers look eerily similar to those of Chase Headley (the Chase Headley who really stunk, not the one we’ve recently been watching who just kind of stinks).
The low point for Zimmerman this season came when the Cubs were so positive he was not a threat, they put Bryce Harper on base 7 times in a single game. Zimmerman, batting behind Harper, went 1-for-7 while leaving the entire DC-metro area on base. The Nats went on to lose the game in extras.
2B: Starlin Castro
This one pains me to write. Full disclosure, I’m a Starlin Castro fan. I liked the move to bring him to the Bronx. Cashman got the 26-year old for Adam Warren, a pitcher they were never going to use properly.
Castro’s hot start bought him a lot of free will with Yankees fans, but his numbers since the start of May are U-G-L-Y. His batting average has plummeted to .258 and he’s not even getting on base at a .300 clip. He swings at way too many sliders in the dirt and if that doesn’t change, he will never be the player we saw from July of last year through April 2016.
I predicted Castro would make the AL All Star team before the season started, which clearly I was wrong about. But at least he made the All Not Star team – an even more exclusive list.
3B: David Wright
Old man Wright was just placed on the 60-day DL which means he’s likely done for 2016. Wright hit .226/.350/.438 in 37 injury-plagued games this season. It’s tough to put an injured player on the All Not Star team, but I’m going to take this opportunity to ask a very important question: why are Mets fans so easy on David Wright?
Wright has never won anything in New York and has been injured more often than he has played since signing a huge extension, which will pay him another $87M through 2020.
Just imagine a scenario in which the Yankees had a player who never won anything, was always injured, and made a ton of money. The Bronx would burn!
SS: Alexi Ramirez
Do you remember the golden age of shortstops – when Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra, Miguel Tejada, Omar Vizquel, and Edgar Renteria all manned the position? (yes, I know Nomar and Omar aren’t in this picture, but Alex Gonzalez and Rey Ordonez have no business being in this beautiful pic).
I’m contractually obligated to post this Walter Iooss shirtless shortstops photo every few months. Enjoy. pic.twitter.com/TZXTbEX87w
— SI Vault (@si_vault) July 7, 2016
We are re-entering a similar era with Xander Bogaerts, Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Didi Gregorius, and Eduardo Nunez (ok, that last one is a stretch). While all of those players are nowhere close to making the All Not Star team, one guy that should be the face of the team is Alexi Ramirez.
Alexi’s 8-year career with the White Sox was very respectable, but his first season in San Diego is horrendous. His .585 OPS is so embarrassing that it wouldn’t even qualify him in the top-10 for pitchers.
OF: Jason Heyward
Jason Heyward is one of the most over-paid players in the game. The only, and I mean the only reason that the Cubs could justify giving him $184M over 8 seasons is because he is 26 years old. It seems nuts, but he did debut with the Braves in 2010 as a 20-year-old.
Heyward has never put up overly impressive numbers. Last year was his career year, when he hit .293/.359/.439. A very good player, no doubt, but not a $20+ million a year guy. The Cubs front-loaded his contract, probably in hopes he will opt out after his third or fourth year, and then they could say they got him for his prime late-20s seasons. The only problem is Heyward’s batting average, OBP, SLG, and OPS this season are all far below his career averages. Nobody is noticing outside of Chicago because the Cubs are rolling.
OF: Justin Upton
For years, Justin has been the better Upton brother, but this season the player formerly known as BJ is beating him in every offensive category.
Justin Upton, like Heyward, is an overrated outfielder who is posting career lows after signing with Detroit for big bucks. It seems as though the Tigers’ plan is to cover their deficiencies with declining free agents while ignoring their bullpen. It’s a bold strategy Cotton, let’s see how it pays off.
OF: Andrew McCutchen
What the hell is going on with Andrew McCutchen? The former MVP is hitting just .241/.315/.406. He’s only 29 years old, so he should not be on the back nine of his career yet. Reports say he’s banged-up, but this is a very un-McCutchen like season for the Pirates’ star. Sad to see him nominated to his first All Not Star Team – hopefully the last of his career.
RP: Cincinnati Reds bullpen
The Reds bullpen is a giant collection of garbage. Imagine 10 Kirby Yates’, and that’s the Reds 2016 pen. They have racked-up the most losses (21), given up the most hits (332), runs (220), and home runs (66), all while only collecting 13 saves. Aroldis Chapman – you the real MVP.
