With voting for the 2019 All-Star Game voting nearing its end, there’s a good chance Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto gets snubbed in the voting.
In the last few years, the Phillies have had only one representative at the MLB All-Star Game. They have the chance to break that streak this year finally, but it’s not looking that likely after the most recent voting update.
As it stands now, no Phillie will advance past the “primary” phase of the voting as none rank in the top three (or top nine in the outfield) at their position. J.T. Realmuto and Bryce Harper are both one spot outside with less than 100,000 votes separating them. While it’s a bit more understandable for Harper to be on the outside looking in, Realmuto is getting snubbed by the voters.
This is how the count stood for National League catchers as of Monday’s release on MLB.com:
"Willson Contreras, Cubs — 1,555,490Brian McCann, Braves — 725,484Yasmani Grandal, Brewers — 513,412J.T. Realmuto, Phillies — 438,390"
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Given Realmuto’s slow start offensively this year, it’s hard to imagine the average voter picking him over other the other three catchers. Realmuto trails all three in batting average and OPS and ranks third in home runs and runs batted in. Since these are the only stats shown on the voting screen, he doesn’t look up to par with the others ahead of him.
However, those four numbers don’t paint the full picture for Realmuto.
While his offense has been average, his defense has been Gold-Glove caliber. He leads NL catchers in runners caught stealing, caught stealing percentage, assists, and double plays turned as a catcher. His 1.4 defensive wins above replacement rank fourth among all NL players, not just catchers.
Realmuto also grades out well in advanced defensive metrics, trailing only Austin Hedges of the Padres in defensive runs saved (DRS) and fielding runs above average (FRAA). Realmuto only trails Hedges and Grandal in framing runs, placing him among the best defensive catchers in the game.
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Combine Realmuto’s average offensive output and stellar defense, and you get one of the most valuable players in baseball this year. Realmuto is tied with Grandal for the most Fangraphs wins above replacement (fWAR) among catchers and for 17th among all players this year with 2.7. Realmuto is on pace to rack up over five wins above replacement this season. He would be the first Phillie to do since Shane Victorino in 2011.
Fangraphs classifies a player with four to five fWAR as an “All-Star” and one with five to six as a “Superstar.” By that standard, Realmuto absolutely should be an All-Star.
Unfortunately, his offense will likely doom him in fan voting and leave his All-Star Game fate up to the player ballot and league office.
Voting ends Friday at 4 p.m. EST, so there’s still a chance Realmuto can advance to the second round of voting. He will need a lot of support, and even then, it may not be to prevent him from getting snubbed.