MLB All-Star Game voting has opened. These 4 Tigers deserve to be there

These stories initially appeared in the Motor City Bengals newsletter, your daily one-stop shop for Tigers news right in your inbox. Sign up here for daily takes from Kurt Mensching and Katrina Stebbins.

Was that Tigers sweep for real?

Anyone can sweep a series. Doesn't matter how low you are in the standings, how poorly you were playing. Anyone can get swept. Doesn't matter how well you were playing the game before. The lowly Tigers swept the kingly Rays and looked good doing it. What does it mean? Anything?

Tonight Detroit's back at home, hosting the team that ousted them from the playoffs last October, Seattle. If they can't get up for that, be worried.

The Tigers were supposed to be good -- maybe great. And then injuries struck. And then a half-replacement roster played like it and things crumbled.

Were the Tigers shaken out of their May stupor that threatened to completely ruin the season just one-third of the way through? Or was that a mirage, a bad team getting lucky for a few days?

It's hard to write off the injuries as playing a part, as with the return of Kerry Carpenter and Gleyber Torres the lineup is already starting to look better. 

Beginning tonight, we shall see whether the Tigers have their fight back.

How many All-Stars do the Tigers deserve?

As Katrina Stebbins noted in Thursday's MCB newsletter, MLB All-Star Game voting has opened. That raises an interesting question though: how many All-Stars are on this Tigers team? Despite their terrible record ... quite a few players actually deserve a nod.

Dillon Dingler

Let's start with the obvious: Catcher Dillon Dingler. He's not just a robot umpire with his laser-focused vision of the strike zone. He also has an .830 OPS and 14 home runs to go along with it. In StatCast stats, he's one of the best batters in MLB, ranking among the top 13% in batting run value, and top 3% or better in expected on base average, expected batting average, and expected slugging.

Oh and that fielding? Top 3% in fielding run value. He's not just the best catcher in baseball, he's one of the best players, period.

Kevin McGonigle

And then there's the rookie, The Prof. Kevin McGonigle. In a dual with the Southside Samari, Munetaka Murakami, for American League Rookie of the Year, it's hard to remember McGonigle has played just two months in the big leagues. (Honestly, my fingers just typed "two seasons" because he feels like such a veteran already.) He can field. He can run. He can bat.

He ranks in the top 20% in batting run value top 1% in baserunning run value, and top 28% in fielding run value, per StatCast. He doesn't strike out. He walks a lot. 

Riley Greene

Riley Greene makes a convenient third choice to put forth. Already a two-time All-Star, his numbers at the plate so far this season are even better. With a .311 batting average, .403 on-base percentage and .461 slugging (for .864 OPS), he's finding ways to provide the Tigers value in the lineup even if his home runs are down. All of those numbers are among the top five in the American League. Looking at StatCast, you find his bat among the top 10 or 15% in most categories. 

Tarik Skubal

All that and we haven't even gotten to Tarik Skubal yet. While he's been injured and hasn't pitched for more than a month now, the two-time reigning AL Cy Young winner is a gimme for the All-Star Game. There's not even a doubt there. He's one of the most sought-after trade candidates for a reason and will likely be back on the pitchers mound for Detroit very soon. 

So that's what I've got. Four likely All-Stars on the Tigers. It's easy to see why expectations were so high heading into the season -- and also why 5.5 games out of a wild card spot isn't that much to overcome if they start playing up to expectations again.

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