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  • Ranking the Twins' Top 5 Potential 2023 All-Stars

    Cody Christie

    By Cody Christie

    With the calendar turning to June, the MLB All-Star Game is a little over a month away. Let's look into who can represent the team at the Midsummer Classic.

    Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports

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    Voting for MLB's All-Star Game opened on Wednesday, and some Twins players will need a boost from the fan base to play in the 2023 All-Star Game. Seattle will host the All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 11, with other events like the Futures Game (July 8), the MLB Draft (July 9), and the Home Run Derby (July 10). It will be the third time Seattle plays host to the Midsummer Classic (1979, 2001), and the second time it will be held in their current ballpark. Let's examine the Twins that have a chance to join the festivities. 

    Catcher
    Ryan Jeffers is currently tied for fifth in fWAR among AL catchers, so he likely has a tough shot at being named a starter. Christian Vazquez has struggled in 2023 and ranks 22nd among AL catchers, including being behind former Twins Ben Rortvedt and Mitch Garver, who have combined to play fewer than 20 games this season. Jonah Heim and Adley Rutschman top the current AL fWAR rankings, with Seattle's Cal Raleigh in third place. Rutschman is a budding superstar, and it's his first chance to be voted in as a starter. However, Mariners' fans could vote in one of their own behind the plate. 

    First Base
    Minnesota has rotated through multiple players at first base, with Joey Gallo and Alex Kirilloff getting the bulk of the time. Gallo ranks seventh among AL first basemen in fWAR, while Kirilloff is tenth. Gallo is among the league leaders in home runs, which might help him garner some votes. Yandy Diaz has been one of baseball's best hitters this season, and Tampa Bay has dominated to start the season. Anthony Rizzo ranks second among AL first basemen, so that he might get a bump in the voting from Yankees and Cubs fans. 

    Second Base
    Jorge Polanco has missed too much time to be in consideration for the All-Star Game. The Twins have used three players fairly regularly at second, and they all rank among the top-25 in fWAR for second basemen. Polanco ranks 13th, Kyle Farmer ranks 16th, and Edouard Julien ranks 22nd. Marcus Semien sits atop the AL leaderboard and will be the frontrunner when voting opens. 

    Third Base
    Jose Miranda's struggles at third will leave the team out of the running for an All-Star at the hot corner. Royce Lewis is taking over third base, but he won't play enough games to be in consideration for the All-Star Game. Matt Chapman and Jose Ramirez are two of the more prominent stars near the top of the fWAR rankings, so it will be interesting to see who separates themselves in the voting. 

    Shortstop
    Carlos Correa is arguably the most well-known player on the Twins, so an excellent start to the season might have made him a contender for the All-Star Game. His struggles have been well documented, and some young stars deserve votes. Wander Franco, Bo Bichette, and Bobby Witt Jr. sit atop the fWAR rankings, but Seattle's J.P. Crawford is close behind. Franco is a budding superstar on the AL's best team, so it will be an exciting position for baseball fans to watch. 

    Outfield
    Julio Rodriguez, arguably Seattle's best player, has started heating up, and it seems appropriate for him to be among the starters at his home ballpark. Other superstar players like Aaron Judge and Mike Trout are near the top of the fWAR leaderboard. It seems like a foregone conclusion that those three names will be the starters when the AL squad takes the field. Gallo is Minnesota's highest-ranking outfielder, but he's 27th on the list and won't be among the top vote-getters.

    Designated Hitter
    Designated Hitter might be Minnesota's best chance to get a starter into the All-Star Game. Byron Buxton currently ranks sixth among AL DHs in fWAR, so he'd need a strong month of June to put himself in contention. Last season, he started in center field for the AL and hit a critical home run. Yordan Alvarez, Brent Rooker, and Shohei Ohtani are three players ahead of him in the fWAR rankings. MLB's updated voting format might help Buxton's candidacy if he can qualify as a finalist and get enough support in the final round. 

    Pitchers
    Fans don't vote for the All-Star pitchers, and that is where Minnesota should have multiple players on the roster. Sonny Gray (3rd) and Joe Ryan (4th) are among the AL leaders in fWAR for starting pitchers. An argument can be made for Gray to be the AL's starting pitcher for the Midsummer Classic. On the reliever side, Jhoan Duran has been one of baseball's best relievers over the last two seasons and should be elected to his first All-Star Game. He is among the AL leaders in WPA, and his pitching repertoire is ideally suited for a showcase like the Midsummer Classic.

    Current Twins All-Star Rankings

    1. Sonny Gray
    2. Jhoan Duran
    3. Joe Ryan
    4. Byron Buxton
    5. Joey Gallo

    Will Gray and Duran be the team's All-Stars? Can Buxton do enough in June to be a finalist at DH? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

    Cody Christie is a Twins writer and content contributor. His writing can be found exclusively at Twins Daily and his voice can be heard on radio stations throughout the Upper Midwest. Outside of the Twins, he is a father, high school teacher, and avid runner.
    Follow Cody Christie on Twitter: nodaktwinsfan

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    chpettit19

    chpettit19 12,834

  • Community Leader

    • Posted

    I'd actually rank Jeffers 4th, and Kirilloff 5th if I were really ranking their chances of making it overall, and thus doing a little forecasting for the next month. If Jeffers starts taking more and more playing time from Vazquez, and keeps hitting, he'll have a real argument for being one of the top 3 catchers in the AL. If Kirilloff just keeps doing what he's doing he'll have a real argument as one of the better hitters in the AL, but missing so much time will really hurt him.

    My Rankings:
    Duran
    Ryan
    Gray
    Jeffers
    Kirilloff

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    stringer bell

    stringer bell 17,451

  • Gold Caretaker

    • Posted

    15 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

    I'd actually rank Jeffers 4th, and Kirilloff 5th if I were really ranking their chances of making it overall, and thus doing a little forecasting for the next month. If Jeffers starts taking more and more playing time from Vazquez, and keeps hitting, he'll have a real argument for being one of the top 3 catchers in the AL. If Kirilloff just keeps doing what he's doing he'll have a real argument as one of the better hitters in the AL, but missing so much time will really hurt him.

    My Rankings:
    Duran
    Ryan
    Gray
    Jeffers
    Kirilloff

    Concer. Jeffers has 92 PAs, about 45% of the work share, unless he's playing 80% or more of the time going forward, he won't even be considered. Kirilloff only has 85 PAs so even playing full-time from here, he'll only have 200 or so when they consider who should be going to the AS game, not enough to compare with those with 100 more plate appearances. 

    I expect Ryan's numbers will look better than Gray's in a month and Durán and his high-velo repertoire would be the most likely pick.

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    danielp19653

    danielp19653 175

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Agree with the above should have 3 pitchers in, can argue about the order of Duran, Gray, and Ryan but all have been tremendous. Simply no argument to made for the hitters with how awful and inconsistent they've been. Jeffers is the closest for me with Kirilloff second but neither have played enough to be seriously considered. Buxton has had two hot stretched this year keeping him from being in the same production level of the bottom of our order so unless he has some absolute tear about ready to kick off I don't know how you even consider him.

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    Minny505

    Minny505 820

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    3 hours ago, Danchat said:

    I think it'd be fair if those 3 pitchers made it and nobody else, seems pretty cut and dry.

    Agreed. Ryan is starting to get that venerable ACE chatter around the general MLB pod talkers. He seems like a lock unless he implodes in June.

    Gray will likely make it as well as long as he holds the course.

    Making it as a RP is much harder. Only a few RPs generally make the squad. Duran is a highlight reel, so MLB may push him on the AL manager for the WOW factor, but his baseball card numbers don't stand out at all. Felix Bautista and Yennier Cano look like locks.

    I'd add Duran to that mix for the consistent 102 since his speed does stand out in the sea of tier 2 relievers after those two guys.

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    Bodie

    Bodie 119

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    Thanks!  I didn't realize that I needed a laugh until I utterly lost it reading that any position player from the Twins was a possible all-star..

     

    When you put out 7-8 Dave Kingmans out there every night, worrying about who is an all-star is pretty low on the list of things you want to worry about!

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    Blyleven2011

    Blyleven2011 1,918

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    I see no position player voted to the Allstar game , might get one selected as a reserve  , sorry just hasn't been any highlights  from any of them ...

    Pitchers , now that is a different story  ...

    gray , Ryan and Duran If they continue to dominate  , almost impossible for all 3 to get selected  but if the Allstars game is next week  I would choose Ryan and Duran  and maybe sonny Gray as an alternate by way of an injured player ...

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    Otwins

    Otwins 795

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    17 hours ago, Bodie said:

    Thanks!  I didn't realize that I needed a laugh until I utterly lost it reading that any position player from the Twins was a possible all-star..

     

    When you put out 7-8 Dave Kingmans out there every night, worrying about who is an all-star is pretty low on the list of things you want to worry about!

    You insulted Dave Kingman.  No way we have 7-8 hitters as good as Dave Kingman in the lineup

     

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    John Belinski

    John Belinski 229

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    If they picked players who strike out the most the Twins would have several players picked.  I can not even think of any Twins hitters being in the top 5 of any spot in the field. It is really sad when a team has no hitter even close to being picked. It appears the Twins will be lucky to finish above .500 and the future doesn't look good unless some changes in leadership occurs, but that will probably not happen. The Twins have a nice baseball field, but fans will just not keep coming unless something changes. Signing Rocco as manager has really not worked out and he will never win a playoff game, but the Twins keep managers for a long time.  I think that if they had signed Doug M as manager, instead, the Twins would have had a better record over the past several years. 

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    Cody Christie

    Cody Christie 3,740

  • Twins Daily Contributor

    • Posted

    6 minutes ago, John Belinski said:

    I think that if they had signed Doug M as manager, instead, the Twins would have had a better record over the past several years. 

    What do you think he would have offered as a manager compared to Baldelli?

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    John Belinski

    John Belinski 229

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    2 minutes ago, Cody Christie said:

    What do you think he would have offered as a manager compared to Baldelli?

    Leadership and experience of playing the game. I seem to remember he did well managing in minors, but for some reason the Twins front office released him. 

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    Major League Ready

    Major League Ready 7,091

  • Verified Member

    • Posted

    13 minutes ago, John Belinski said:

    Leadership and experience of playing the game. I seem to remember he did well managing in minors, but for some reason the Twins front office released him. 

    He was also fired by Detroit when he managed the Mud Hens and no other team has employed him since then.   The facts do not exactly support your conclusion.

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    Cody Christie

    Cody Christie 3,740

  • Twins Daily Contributor

    • Posted

    35 minutes ago, John Belinski said:

    Leadership and experience of playing the game. I seem to remember he did well managing in minors, but for some reason the Twins front office released him. 

    The Twins fired him following the 2017 season and the Tigers hired him to manage their Triple-A affiliate. He only lasted two years in their organization and he hasn't managed since that point. Two organizations didn't feel like he was worth a longer look and he hasn't found a new spot, so I don't think the Twins missed out on much. 

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