More than a third of the season is gone and both Chicago teams are well below .500, but there have been star-worthy performances.
All-Star balloting is underway at MLB.com, and fans are voting for non-pitchers in a two-step process. The top vote-getter in each league will get a starting spot. The remaining top two at each position will go to a second phase for fans to select starters in a runoff.
A handful of White Sox and Cubs have been star-level by the numbers. Let’s look at the Cubs’ non-pitching candidates first:
• Dansby Swanson, shortstop: Fangraphs.com lists him with 2.6 wins above replacement, tied for third among National Leaguers of all positions. He leads among shortstops, with the Padres’ Xander Bogaerts next at 1.8.
Swanson, hitting .276/.370/.434 with six home runs through Sunday, tops NL shortstops offensively with 124 weighted runs created plus to Bogaerts’ 106. He’s also tops in the field with 8.5 defensive runs (by the Fangraphs calculation) to 7.6 for the Rockies’ Ezequiel Tovar. Swanson has been the best shortstop in the league.
• Nico Hoerner, second base: The NL has five second basemen within a half-win of each other. The Giants’ Thairo Estrada leads with a 2.0 fWAR but is followed closely by the Marlins’ Luis Arraez at 1.8, Hoerner and the Cardinals’ Nolan Gorman at 1.6 and the Padres’ Ha-Seong Kim at 1.5.
Hoerner, hitting .284/.339/.393 through Sunday, is at the bottom of the group offensively with 103 wRC+ (where 100 is average), but his 3.6 defensive runs are in the ballpark with Kim’s 4.4 and Estrada’s 3.9.
• Cody Bellinger, outfield: Even though Bellinger has been hurt and has played about 20 fewer games than the leaders, he ranks 10th among NL outfielders with a 1.4 fWAR. Bellinger was on his way to a stellar season at .271/.337/.493 with seven homers and a 122 wRC+.
Moving to the South Side . . .
• Luis Robert Jr., outfield: All-Star balloting doesn’t differentiate among left, center and right fielders. If it did, Robert (.256/.309/.507, 13 homers, 1.8 fWAR) would be in a jam atop the American League with the Angels’ Mike Trout (1.9) and the Orioles’ Cedric Mullins III (1.8). As it is, he’s in the same category with the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (2.8), who plays more right than center.
Robert’s fWAR is tied for ninth among AL outfielders. His 120 wRC+ means he has contributed 20% more offense than an average player. And his 4.2 Fangraphs defensive runs rank third. He has been a plus at the plate and in the field.
• Jake Burger, designated hitter: This might be moot with Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani on the ballot as a DH, but Burger’s production in 145 plate appearances has been amazing.
There’s no arguing with Ohtani, who is hitting .274/.346/.539 with 15 homers and 140 wRC+ in 262 plate appearances. But Burger has 12 homers in 117 fewer plate appearances, and other numbers are right there at .265/.317/.606 with 148 wRC+. Even with Ohtani on the ballot, that’s worth a second look.
