Cincinnati Reds: Eugenio Suarez should start the ASG over Nolan Arenado

Cincinnati Reds’ third baseman, Eugenio Suarez, should get the starting nod over Nolan Arenado in the 2018 MLB All-Star Game.

The Cincinnati Reds have three of their infielders in contention for a starting spot in the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Joey Votto, Scooter Gennett and Eugenio Suarez are all currently in the Top 5 at their positions on the All-Star ballot. Votto and Gennett have played well this season, but Suarez is most deserving of the starting nod.

Let’s face it, All-Star voting is often bias, as a lot of fans vote for a starting lineup comprised of every player from their favorite team. While that’s understandable, it’s often not an accurate way to reward players who are having outstanding seasons.

This year, Eugenio Suarez seems to be the victim of fans stuffing the ballot box. I mean come on, Atlanta’s Johan Camargo is currently ahead of Suarez in the voting. Camargo is hitting .221 on the season. Wait, before you tell me that batting average is an outdated statistic, his OBP is .341. Not bad, but it’s not as good as Suarez.

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Coming in at No. 2 in the voting for starting third baseman is 2016 NL MVP, Kris Bryant. While there is no denying that Bryant is having a solid season, it’s not as good as his 2016 campaign and he’s currently well off his numbers from last season.

Bryant slashed .295/.409/.537 in 2017. This season, Bryant’s slash line is .281/.389/.483. Bryant, who knocked 29 balls out of the park in 2017, is sitting on just 9 home runs thus far in 2018. That’s well off the pace of the Cincinnati Reds’ third baseman.

Suarez vs Nolan Arenado

Okay, now we come to Nolan Arenado. Arenado’s resume` is a little more difficult to pick apart, however, when you take all the factors into account you’ll see that the numbers favor Suarez.

Arenado is having a fantastic season. The three-time All-Star is currently putting up career-best numbers in batting average (.310) and on-base percentage (.401). Granted, those numbers are slightly better than Suarez who is batting .297 with a .384 OBP.

Let’s check the power numbers. Arenado is slugging .551, has 14 home runs and 42 RBIs on the year. Suarez has a slugging percentage of .569 and he’s hit 13 home runs on the season as well. Suarez, however, does have 10 more runs batted in with an NL-leading 52.

Did I mention that Suarez is doing all this after missing over two weeks with an injury? Suarez was hit in the hand by a pitch against the Pirates on April 8th and didn’t return until the 26th. He missed 16 games.

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According to MLB.com, Arenado leads Suarez in the voting by a wide margin, 1,124,563 to 228,806 as of Monday, June 18th. So while Suarez is likely not going to get the starting nod as the National League’s third baseman at the All-Star Game, he should.