Royals’ 4 starters sensible for ASG

Dalton Vitt

Things sure worked out, didn’t they?

After Royals truthers and Kansas City fanatics went back and forth the last few weeks over the merits (or lack thereof) of Omar Infante’s All-Star bid, the system ended up winning out. With Alcides Escobar, Salvador Perez, Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain snaring starting gigs at next week’s All-Star Game, the Royals set a franchise record for starters at the Midsummer Classic.

However, not everyone was pleased with the anarchy in KC’s voting habits, as you may have heard.

When the first update was released that showed Infante leading American League second basemen, national columnists sprang to their feet to defend the sanctity of a game in July that directly — also, ridiculously — impacts the World Series.

Remember, as your blood pressure rises reading those accounts of holding sacred the Midsummer Classic, people were defending an all-important game that featured an aging Derek Jeter last season, a broken-down Cal Ripken, Jr. a decade ago and countless other farces for an exhibition that means so much. This wouldn’t have been the first time an undeserving player found himself in the lineup.

(Oh, and don’t forget that Matt Holliday was voted in as a starter on Sunday despite being injured for more than half of the season so far. Not near as many complaints about that in recent weeks, though, from national media.)

But despite their misguided, tunnel-vision complaints about one Royal in particular, those who keep the All-Star Game faith were right about Infante’s underwhelming resume. Kansas City’s second baseman deserves to be closer to Class-AAA Omaha next week than Cincinnati with a comical .547 OPS.

Infante wasn’t the only concern for non-Kansas Citians — fans of teams other than the Royals (they do exist) took issue with Alex Rios jostling for the third spot in the outfield, Eric Hosmer’s uprising against Miguel Cabrera’s throne and a chance that Mike Moustakas’s vault from minor league hero to respectable big-leaguer would leave Josh Donaldson on the outside looking in.

And truthfully, they’re all valid complaints. Rios has missed a huge chunk of time with his hand injury and probably didn’t deserve to be in the top 30 in voting, let alone the top five. As important as Hosmer is to the Royals’ offense, his numbers just don’t stack up to Cabrera’s incredible .350/.456/.578 slash line. Although, a recent injury to Cabrera just might allow Hosmer to reclaim the gig.

As for Moustakas and his key turnaround, deserving of recognition for making the leap from top-of-the-line prospect to actual baseball player, things just weren’t quite enough. Donaldson is having a career year for one of the best offenses in the game, slashing .296/.352/.527 with 19 homers and 56 RBI in the middle of the Blue Jays’ vaunted order.

If four players were going to start for KC, the right four were selected. Escobar’s numbers (.276/.314/.357) aren’t extraordinarily flashy, but the crop of AL shortstops is incredibly thin. The best shortstop in the AL belongs to the Houston Astros, but Carlos Correa has played just 25 games as a rookie call-up as of Monday.

Despite having inferior offensive numbers to Oakland’s Stephen Vogt, Perez is unquestionably the best all-around catcher in the American League and is on pace for his best season at the plate.

Gordon’s defense is what garnered votes from non-Royals fans, those who watch his highlights on Baseball Tonight and have credited him for his third straight All-Star appearance. Slated to start a couple spots over is Cain, the sparkplug in the middle of Kansas City’s order whose six home runs and 36 RBI don’t quite add up to the stellar seasons of Jose Bautista and others, but is inarguably one of the best defenders in baseball.

Even the most devoted backers of the All-Star Game have to recognize the merit of Kansas City’s four starters, leaving the final tally in a place most sensible fans can agree upon. What started as a sham with Infante and Rios gaining traction in the vote for a game with unnecessary importance finished as something respectable for everyone.

Fan voting for something that affects home-field advantage at the Fall Classic is a shame and, frankly, a frightful thought, especially that Kansas City looks like a contender once again. Be honest, Royals fans, did you really want to see Infante start a game that could hand rights to home field for Game 7 of the World Series to an NL opponent?

Trust the process, to steal Dayton Moore’s mantra. Though the voting is flawed, the kinks worked themselves out once again.