Can Story, Seager ride early buzz into ASG?

Trevor Story was more a curiosity than anything else during the spring. A highly regarded shortstop prospect in the Rockies’ system (ranked No. 10 by MLBPipeline.com), the general feeling was he might be a year away from the Major Leagues.

As big league teams were reporting to Spring Training, however, veteran shortstop Jose Reyes was placed on paid leave, pending the disposition of domestic abuse allegations.

• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Story, Seager and other #ASGWorthy players

The door of opportunity opened, and Story beat out Cristhian Adames to claim the Rockies’ Opening Day shortstop spot. He has more than reaffirmed his status in the lineup since then.

Story homered twice on Opening Day, which was his Major League debut; hit a big league-record seven home runs in the first six games of the season, and finished April with 10 home runs, matching the rookie record for the opening month of the season set by Jose Abreu of the White Sox two years ago.

Next thing Story knew, he was the Rockies’ representative at shortstop on the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, one of six rookies among 255 position players from the American League and National League listed.

Along with Story, the rookies include shortstop Corey Seager of the Dodgers, first baseman Tyler White of the Astros, DH Byung Ho Park of the Twins, and outfielders Tyler Naquin of the Indians and Joey Rickard of the Orioles.

Seager arrived with the most preseason fanfare, having been slotted into the Dodgers’ Opening Day lineup in the minds of most people before Spring Training even opened.

Story, however, has received more attention since the season started.

Story and White were the NL and AL Players of the Week for Opening Week, the first time a rookie won the award in both leagues, which put both of them on the radar in a …

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