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#ASGWorthy: Unsung studs prove their value
- Updated: May 28, 2016
Young talent was a central theme of last year’s All-Star Game, with a record 20 players who were 25 or younger suiting up at Great American Ball Park. There’s a lot more of that in the pipeline for this summer’s game at Petco Park, but the prodigies are under attack from a group of unsung candidates.
These guys weren’t first-round Draft picks. Most of them didn’t receive million-dollar signing bonuses, and the ones that did struggled to justify expectations.
• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for #ASGWorthy players
Their success wasn’t immediate, with many having to change positions or move to a second team — or in the case of John Jaso, move to a fourth team and change positions — to have their breakthrough season. But they deserve serious consideration as you cast your votes for the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard on July 12 in San Diego.
Leonys Martin is the headliner of the group.
The Cuban center fielder has been a big reason that the Mariners are leading the American League West. At age 28, he’s contributing defensively (four Defensive Runs Saved, according to Baseball Reference) and he’s playing with the combination of speed and power that the Rangers envisioned when they invested $5 million to sign him in 2011.
Martin stole 36 bases for Texas in 2013, but he never hit more than eight homers in his three seasons as a regular there. Seattle grabbed him in a deal built around setup man Tom Wilhelmsen, and Martin was hitting .262 with nine homers, 20 RBIs and eight stolen bases before he went on the disabled list Friday. His .822 OPS is 156 points higher than his career total with the Rangers.
Martin, who left Wednesday’s game with a strained hamstring, delivered a walk-off homer Tuesday that provided one of the best moments for the first-place Mariners. He was building a strong case for himself, along with the Red Sox’s Jackie Bradley Jr. — who probably made himself a default choice with his hitting streak — and Blue Jays center fielder Kevin Pillar.
So are these other unsung All-Star …
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