Bogaerts on par with Correa, Lindor in AL shortstop vote

Thank goodness Manny Machado’s recent move from third base to shortstop in real life wasn’t accompanied by a move from third to short on the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot. The American League shortstop scene is complicated enough without Machado’s involvement.

You’ve got Carlos Correa, the defending AL Rookie of the Year. You’ve got Francisco Lindor, last year’s rookie runner-up. As you might have expected going into the season, they are both logging serious All-Star cases, and any click for those two is entirely defensible.

But guess who hit the midweek mark outpacing both of those guys in OPS? And in weighted runs created? And in both the FanGraphs and Baseball Reference’s Wins Above Replacement calculations?

Xander Bogaerts, welcome to the star shortstop soiree. Nice to have you here.

Bogaerts is every bit as deserving — if not more deserving — of some All-Star love as last year’s two robust rookies. By improving his power game and proving himself an asset on the basepaths, he has been a central figure in one of the league’s most electric offenses.

Now in his third full Major League season, Bogaerts has a .335/.386/.497 slash for the Red Sox. He’s increased his walk rate to kick the OBP up a notch (it was .355) last year, and his rise in slugging percentage, from .421 last year, is attributable to a 10-percent jump in the number of his …

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