Joey Votto’s almost certainly not going to be tabbed by MLB fans to start in the All-Star Game, as he trails Washington’s Ryan Zimmerman by about a million votes among National League first basemen, but the Reds’ cornerstone is picking up love from those who cover the game.
Even has the team has struggled recently, Votto hasn’t. With a .304 batting average, 21 home runs and 55 RBI, he’s among league leaders in all of those categories, fourth in on-base percentage (.414) and fourth in slugging percentage (.594).
Check out the Tweet of ESPN’s Buster Olney from Saturday:
Joey Votto begins Saturday’s game ranked 7th in MLB in lowest K percentage (11.0%) and 7th in MLB in slugging pct (.595). Think about that.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) June 24, 2017
Votto didn’t hurt his standing Tuesday night, homering as Cincinnati beat the Brewers, 8-6, in Great American Ball Park. Chances are he will be chosen by players and coaches to play in the ASG.
Reds manager Bryan Price admitted that he's cast his ballot for his guy.
“I voted for him. I don't do that, I'm not that [biased] guy. I vote for the guys that I think deserve it," Price told MLB.com. "The power is great. More walks (57) than strikeouts (37), really good defense.
“There are so many parts of his game that I'm impressed with and he continues to become a better and a more well-rounded player. But we get to see him every day so we're spoiled by that. I really think he's a very deserving candidate to make the team."
As this MLB.com story points out, the last time Votto had at least 20 home runs before the All-Star break was in 2010, when he went on to hit 37 and won the MVP award.
Here’s hoping for a repeat, right?
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