First ASG start in sight for Lindor thanks to big early voting lead
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This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo's Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
NEW YORK -- Rather improbably, Francisco Lindor has never made the All-Star Game as a Met.
Without question, Lindor has been one of the league’s top overall players since arriving in New York in 2021. But sluggish starts in each of his first four seasons, along with heady competition throughout the National League, have prevented him from making the team. Last summer, Lindor was a notable snub behind Trea Turner (Phillies), CJ Abrams (Nationals), Mookie Betts (Dodgers) and Elly De La Cruz (Reds).
This year, Lindor appears intent on leaving no doubt with his best first half since joining the Mets. Fans have taken notice. Through the first week-plus of voting, Lindor leads NL shortstops by a massive margin, topping Betts by 422,085 votes. He’s one of only seven players with more than a million votes so far.
At this point, the argument for Lindor to be a starter next month in Atlanta is obvious. He leads NL shortstops in both major versions of WAR, while also ranking in the Top 4 in homers, runs scored, RBIs and stolen bases. Although De La Cruz tops the league at his position in all four of those counting stats, Lindor has him easily outclassed on the defensive front.
He’s also, by and large, one of the most popular players in baseball.
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“Francisco Lindor is one of the great players in the game,” Colorado manager Warren Schaeffer said earlier this month, after Lindor came off the bench to deliver a go-ahead, two-run double on a broken toe. “He’s a guy you never count out. He’s just one of the best. You never want to see him in the batter’s box.”
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Lindor did make the American League team every year from 2016-19 with Cleveland, serving as a reserve on all four occasions. But he hasn’t managed to do the same since switching leagues. And he’s never been a starter.
Elsewhere in Major League Baseball’s first ballot update:
- Pete Alonso trails Freddie Freeman by nearly a quarter of a million votes, but there’s an even larger gap between Alonso and the third-ranked NL first baseman, Michael Busch. As such, Alonso stands an excellent chance of making his fourth consecutive All-Star team.
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- Juan Soto ranks fourth among NL outfielders, trailing Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker and Teoscar Hernández. But Corbin Carroll and Ronald Acuña Jr. lurk close behind him.
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- Fans don’t vote for pitchers, so it’s difficult to say how many total All-Stars the Mets will have. Among those with excellent claims are David Peterson, Edwin Díaz and Reed Garrett. Peterson and Garrett have never made an All-Star team; Díaz has twice.