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The Rays don't stand a chance in the popularity contest that is online voting, which has been dominated by Royals-heavy voting this season, but they do stand a chance at more than one player on this year's roster thanks to their run at first place thus far.
For the pitching side, sudden Cy Young candidate Chris Archer is far-and-away the shoo-in from this Rays roster. Here's the Fangraphs leaderboard as of this morning, using a 2+ WAR cutoff:
# | Name | Team | W | L | GS | K/9 | BB/9 | ERA | FIP | WAR |
1 | Chris Sale | White Sox | 6 | 4 | 15 | 12.28 | 1.92 | 2.87 | 2.09 | 3.7 |
2 | Corey Kluber | Indians | 3 | 9 | 17 | 10.69 | 1.82 | 3.64 | 2.45 | 3.5 |
3 | Chris Archer | Rays | 9 | 5 | 18 | 10.97 | 2.18 | 2.18 | 2.46 | 3.3 |
4 | Clay Buchholz | Red Sox | 7 | 6 | 17 | 8.51 | 1.88 | 3.27 | 2.55 | 3.1 |
5 | Sonny Gray | Athletics | 9 | 3 | 16 | 8.11 | 2.17 | 2.09 | 2.67 | 3.0 |
6 | Michael Pineda | Yankees | 8 | 5 | 16 | 9.48 | 1.17 | 3.79 | 2.57 | 3.0 |
7 | David Price | Tigers | 8 | 2 | 17 | 8.23 | 1.69 | 2.54 | 2.90 | 2.9 |
8 | Dallas Keuchel | Astros | 10 | 3 | 17 | 7.38 | 2.24 | 2.03 | 2.93 | 2.9 |
9 | Carlos Carrasco | Indians | 10 | 6 | 16 | 10.17 | 1.94 | 3.88 | 2.77 | 2.4 |
This morning on Sports Center the one and only Buster Olney declared that Chris Archer is the most deserving starter among the top candidates, bolstered by that 2.18 ERA.
On offense, there are three candidates the Rays may hope to land in the Summer Classic. Just check the Fangraphs leaderboard using the same 2+ WAR cutoff.
# | Name | Team | PA | wOBA | wRC+ | HR | SB | WAR |
1 | Jason Kipnis | Indians | 368 | .399 | 163 | 6 | 10 | 4.8 |
2 | Mike Trout | Angels | 346 | .408 | 171 | 21 | 9 | 4.5 |
3 | Josh Donaldson | Blue Jays | 365 | .379 | 142 | 19 | 3 | 4.3 |
4 | Manny Machado | Orioles | 348 | .380 | 144 | 17 | 11 | 3.7 |
5 | Miguel Cabrera | Tigers | 333 | .436 | 184 | 15 | 1 | 3.6 |
6 | Lorenzo Cain | Royals | 301 | .360 | 131 | 6 | 15 | 3.6 |
7 | Kevin Kiermaier | Rays | 277 | .302 | 97 | 4 | 9 | 3.0 |
8 | Jose Bautista | Blue Jays | 325 | .388 | 149 | 16 | 3 | 2.9 |
9 | Russell Martin | Blue Jays | 279 | .360 | 129 | 12 | 4 | 2.8 |
10 | J.D. Martinez | Tigers | 325 | .381 | 145 | 22 | 2 | 2.8 |
11 | Brian Dozier | Twins | 355 | .359 | 131 | 16 | 7 | 2.7 |
12 | Stephen Vogt | Athletics | 304 | .380 | 149 | 13 | 0 | 2.7 |
13 | Mookie Betts | Red Sox | 352 | .342 | 116 | 9 | 13 | 2.7 |
14 | George Springer | Astros | 324 | .361 | 133 | 13 | 14 | 2.6 |
15 | Brett Gardner | Yankees | 331 | .372 | 138 | 9 | 15 | 2.6 |
16 | Logan Forsythe | Rays | 321 | .352 | 132 | 8 | 7 | 2.5 |
17 | Yoenis Cespedes | Tigers | 329 | .344 | 119 | 10 | 3 | 2.4 |
18 | Alex Gordon | Royals | 297 | .349 | 124 | 9 | 1 | 2.4 |
19 | Evan Longoria | Rays | 329 | .329 | 116 | 8 | 2 | 2.4 |
20 | Dustin Pedroia | Red Sox | 314 | .357 | 127 | 9 | 1 | 2.3 |
21 | Albert Pujols | Angels | 327 | .375 | 148 | 24 | 1 | 2.3 |
22 | Mike Moustakas | Royals | 319 | .350 | 125 | 7 | 1 | 2.3 |
23 | Brian McCann | Yankees | 267 | .349 | 122 | 13 | 0 | 2.3 |
24 | Xander Bogaerts | Red Sox | 311 | .331 | 108 | 3 | 4 | 2.2 |
25 | Jose Altuve | Astros | 328 | .329 | 111 | 7 | 23 | 2.2 |
26 | Trevor Plouffe | Twins | 321 | .330 | 111 | 10 | 1 | 2.1 |
27 | Adam Jones | Orioles | 294 | .338 | 115 | 10 | 3 | 2.1 |
28 | Kevin Pillar | Blue Jays | 323 | .315 | 98 | 7 | 12 | 2.1 |
29 | Josh Reddick | Athletics | 310 | .352 | 129 | 11 | 3 | 2.1 |
30 | Alex Rodriguez | Yankees | 322 | .385 | 147 | 15 | 1 | 2.1 |
One of these things is not like the other, and that's Kiermaier's sub-100 wRC+ standing in the top ten in WAR for the American League. He and Longoria make the cut thanks to quality defense at their positions, but KK's is so stellar he might actually stand a chance at making the team.
Elsewhere, Logan Forsythe's career year as the starting second baseman currently rests 16th on the big board. His .282/.368/.429 slash line isn't gorgeous, but it's quality for his position.
The All-Star starters announcement is tonight and full rosters are announced tomorrow. Cross your fingers.