Reds: 3 players who should be All-Stars, but will fall short

The Cincinnati Reds have a couple players who are virtual locks for the All-Star Game, but there are a few who are playing at a high level and may not make the cut. While Reds Country would love see three, four, or even five of their beloved Redlegs appear in the Midsummer Classic, it’s likely not in the cards.

Nick Castellanos’ early-season performance has all but assured he’ll not only be part of the National League All-Star team, but he should be the starting right fielder. Castellanos has been demolishing every ball that he sees and leads the league with a .368 batting average.

Jesse Winker will likely join his teammate in Colorado this July. Winker has enjoyed a breakout performance, and though his production has slowed just a bit over the last few days, the 27-year-old is still slashing .342/.403/.617 and has 10 doubles and a teem-leading 14 round trippers on the season.

But, while the outfield combo of Castellanos and Winker are likely to appear for the first time in the Midsummer Classic, a few of their teammates may fall just short of making an appearance in the All-Star Game. Who are they?

1. Tyler Naquin, Reds outfielder

Tyler Naquin was a shrewd pickup by Nick Krall during the offseason. After signing the former Cleveland Indians outfielder to a minor league deal, the left-handed hitting Naquin impressed the coaching staff enough to land a spot on the Opening Day roster.

An early-season injury to Nick Senzel opened the door for Naquin to display his power, and the 30-year-old hasn’t looked bat. Naquin is crushing balls this season, especially those low in the zone. Naquin is hitting .253/.330/.500. Naquin’s slugging percentage is his highest since his rookie campaign in 2016 (.512).

The knock on Naquin throughout his entire MLB career has been his inability to stay on the field. This season, however, with injuries to Shogo Akiyama and Nick Senzel, Tyler Naquin has been thrust into action and responded with what may end up being a career year.

It would be quite the feat for the Cincinnati Reds to send their entire starting outfield to Coors Field this July, but that’s incredibly unlikely. While Naquin’s numbers are impressive, he’s not going to supplant the likes of Ronald Acūna Jr., Juan Soto, and Mookie Betts. That said, Naquin’s OPS (.830) is better than Betts (.817), and nearly identical to Soto (.837).