5 Detroit Tigers Who Should Be on All-Star Team

Detroit Tigers players haven’t comprised the best team in the Majors as the calendar crawls towards July. However, the team is still in it, and a number of players are having excellent seasons.

Detroit Tigers fans have seen a .500 baseball team take the field so far in 2016. Despite the record, a number of star players have come out of the gates playing well. With the team in third place in late June, said players will need to keep producing if Detroit is going to turn things around.

In other news, July is just around the corner, and that means Major League Baseball’s annual Mid-Summer Classic—the All-Star game.

Detroit has sent some large contingents to All-Star Games in years past, and a number of different Tigers players could end up going this year. With the team’s pitching staff struggling at times this season, expect most of the group Detroit sends to San Diego to be from the offense. However, a pitcher sporting the Old English “D” could make their way onto the American League starter.

Here are four Detroit Tigers players, including an actual pitcher, who should be heading to Petco Park for the All-Star Game.

Miguel Cabrera, First Base

This one is rather obvious, because Miguel Cabrera is Miguel Cabrera.

Before the season, any concern that the future Hall of Famer would start to decline at the age of 33 clearly misplaced.

Cabrera entered the week leading the majors with 76 games played. He’s also hitting .296 with a .370 on-base percentage. The slugger has driven in 45 runs to go along with 41 runs scored, 16 home runs and 16 triples.

What’s more, the man known as Miggy has one triple. Yes, just one triple. However, that triple extends Cabrera’s streak to four straight seasons with one triple, which is quite an accomplishment considering the veteran isn’t exactly the fleetest of foot. In related news, the first baseman has now registered at least one triple in 14 of his 17 seasons.

The more you know.

To top it all off, Cabrera has continued to be a steadying defensive presence at first base and still checks down to first base or third base umpires on pitch calls, which is fun to see.

With typically excellent numbers and 10 All-Star appearances to his name, Miguel Cabrera should be heading to San Diego for the Mid-Summer Classic.

Michael Fulmer, Starting Pitcher

Look! A pitcher! An actual pitcher!

In all seriousness, Justin Verlander and Jordan Zimmermann probably would have had stronger cases, but recent struggles have driven the pair’s respective ERAs up. Francisco Rodriguez could be in the conversation as well, but his ERA is high compared to fellow relievers like Andrew Miller and Kelvin Herrera.

Back to Fulmer, the centerpiece of the Yoenis Cespedes trade has been superb for the Tigers this season.

Forget being one of the best rookie pitchers in the league, Michael Fulmer has been one of the best starting pitchers in the American League period.

In 11 starts, the rookie has achieved a 7-2 record to go along with 60 strikeouts in 63.2 innings pitched. Fulmer also owns a 2.5 WAR, second on the team only to Ian Kinsler.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign from the pitcher’s debut season has been his ability to adapt and make changes. The starter was tagged for 14 earned runs and nine walks in his first four starts, totaling 19.1 innings pitched.

Fulmer started to incorporate a third pitch, a changeup, and things started to click. The starter went 6-1 over his next seven starts, fanning 38 batters in 44.1 innings pitched. His ERA over that span was a miniscule 0.61.

He may not be the favorite, but Fulmer is legitimately in the conversation to start the All-Star Game. That in itself is a major achievement for a player who began the year pitching for the Toledo Mud Hens.

Victor Martinez, Designated Hitter

Like Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez has long been one of the better players at his position.

Like Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down.

After an injury-shortened season in 2015, the designated hitter is making up for it this season. Martinez hit just .245 last season, but has upped his batting average to .319 this season. He’s also surpassed his 11 home run total from last season with 14 round-trippers this season. V-Mart seems to be displaying the same power he showed in 2014 when he mashed a career-high 32 home runs.

The 37-year-old has also driven in 40 runs and continues to be an extremely difficult batter to strikeout at the plate, with just 38 punch outs in 73 played.

Martinez has considerable competition with Boston’s David Ortiz and Toronto’s Edwin Encarnacion serving as two of his bigger threats to make the team. Ortiz is in his final season and will get a high number of votes, while Encarnacion is currently leading the league in RBI. However, despite the two, Martinez should make it into the All-Star game given his excellent production so far during the 2016 season in a Detroit Tigers uniform.

Nick Castellanos, Third Base

Through 73 games, Nick Castellanos is clearly the most improved member of the Detroit Tigers offense. He may even be the most improved player in all of baseball.

Entering his third season as a full-time starter, the 24-year-old is hitting .295 at the plate, to go along with a .331 on-base percentage and a .505 slugging percentage. If the numbers hold through the end of the season, they would all be well above the player’s previous career highs.

Additionally, Castellanos has also showed significant improvements in the power department, with 13 home runs already. Last season it took him 154 games to reach 15 home runs.

The improvement of Castellanos has added significant length to an already potent lineup. Additionally, the production of the former top prospect has helped make up for a struggling Justin Upton and an injured J.D. Martinez.

Last but not least, Castellanos has continued to improve in the field. Since 2014, the Florida native has steadily become better as a defender. From a defensive metrics standpoint, Castellanos has gone from posting dreadful numbers to respectable stats in a number of categories.

Considering how far he’s come as a fielder in such a short amount of time, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him develop into one of the league’s better defensive third baseman. It may have sounded out of the question a few years ago, but if Castellanos can continue to improve at a steady rate, the sky is the limit.