Rangers Running 'Stealth' All-Star Campaign for Outfielder?
The Texas Rangers don’t have any players among the All-Star Game finalists in fan voting, but the organization could be conducting an under-the-radar campaign for at least one of their players.
The Rangers are in New York to face the Mets this weekend, and before the game the Rangers’ public relations staff tweeted this out through its PR account:
The graphic is the shot. Here’s the chaser:
"Adolis García is currently rated as the 5th-most valuable outfielder in the A.L., according to Baseball-Reference WAR. Each of the 4 players ahead of him finished among the top 12 in the first phase of All-Star voting, with García the only one to not place in the top 20."
For those that don’t know, WAR is wins above replacement. Defined, WAR measures a player's value in all facets of the game by deciphering how many more wins he's worth than a replacement-level player at his same position.
The only players with a higher WAR in the outfield are Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels), Kyle Tucker (Houston Astros), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) and Julio Rodríguez (Seattle Mariners). After Garcia was was Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins).
The point the Rangers made was clear — García may not have gotten the votes to be a finalist in the outfield, but he has the credentials.
García entered the Mets series with a .259 batting average, with 15 home runs, 49 RBI, a .297 on-base percentage and a .490 slugging percentage.
There is still an opportunity for García and, for that matter, the Rangers, to influence how many players are chosen as reserves for the AL team. To many, pitcher Martín Pérez might be the Rangers’ best shot at the team.
García has a couple of more weeks to make his case, and the Rangers are doing what they can to help.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
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