Through dwindling patience with the front office and dwindling hope the Tigers will come out on the other end of this season with a winning record, there's always Riley Greene, who is carving out a niche for himself that some of his compatriots in the lineup could only dream of: as the Tigers' golden boy.
After a slow start to the season (he was hitting under .200 until April 9), Greene is the only one of the Tigers' three first-round picks that has actually looked like he can live up to his potential. Spencer Torkelson is back in Triple-A and Casey Mize has a 6.07 ERA over his last seven starts, but Greene has only gotten better through the season. He's on an eight-game hitting streak through Tuesday's game against the Phillies, when he hit a solo homer to help the Tigers to victory.
But not only is Greene the Tigers' most valuable hitter, he's also one of the best-hitting left fielders (if not the best) in the AL, and is eighth in fWAR of all qualified position players, and fifth of all outfielders.
Recent All-Star voting doesn't reflect this, though. Greene's name hasn't appeared on the AL outfielder leaderboards through two updates, even though it definitely deserves to be there.
Tigers MVP Riley Greene is on the cusp of an All-Star snub despite being one of the best outfielders in the AL
Not only is Greene the most deserving Tigers position player to make it onto the All-Star team for his first career appearance, he's one of the most deserving in the American League. Of all qualified outfielders, Greene ranks fourth in runs scored, walks, OBP, and OPS, and fifth in average and slugging (through Wednesday). He's right up there in all of those categories with Yankees juggernauts Aaron Judge and Juan Soto.
It's a little absurd that Greene doesn't have more votes than Mike Trout, running in ninth place, who hasn't played since April 29 while he's dealing with a meniscus tear. Sure, Mike Trout is Mike Trout, but Greene has been grinding to carry the lineup on his back for months now, and it would be an incredible shame for him to lose out on his first All-Star appearance during a season that warrants one.
Fans can vote up to five times a day for their teams' representatives in the All-Star game, and voting closes on June 27 at noon Eastern. Time for a call to action: it's not too late for a massive push for Greene. Tigers should be spamming that 'vote' button like their lives depend on it.