The All Star voting is in and the rosters have been selected. While some players will be called in last minute to replace any injured players on the rosters, the voting by fans and pitcher selections have been made. The Cubs are sending closer Wade Davis to Miami as their only all star, the first time they only sent one player to the mid-summer classic since 2013.
This is a huge difference from last season when they sent seven players to the all star game, of which five started. First baseman Anthony Rizzo had been an all star for three-consecutive years until this season, and reigning NL MVP Kris Bryant was on the final vote ballot but lost to Dodgers' 3rd baseman Justin Turner.
Davis' success
This is not the first all star rodeo for Wade Davis. This will be his third-consecutive all star game going back to his Kansas City days and his first appearance in a Cubs uniform. Davis (31) has been one of the best closers in baseball going back to 2014 after converting from being a starter. As a closer, he has not had an ERA above 1.90 in a season so far, with a 88.7% save record.
Davis came to the Cubs in the offseason from Kansas City in exchange for OF Jorge Soler. Through 7/6/17, Davis is 16/16 in save opportunities with a 1.86 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 29.0 innings of work. What makes Davis so good is how he commands his pitches, which include a nasty cutter, a curveball with a lot of movement, and a fastball that averages in mid-90s range in MPH.
The Cubs have had a number of closers over the years but Davis so far has shown his is among the more consistently good ones they have had.
Lack of all stars
As mentioned, there is a dramatic difference between the list of all stars last year to this year. It is not surprising considering they have been a mediocre .500 team this year despite massive expectations after winning the World Series in 2016.
The Cubs big stars like Rizzo, Bryant, Russell, Schwarber, Lester and Hendricks are under-performing and not putting up their usual numbers. They also have had some injury problems as 2016 Cy Young candidate Kyle Hendricks has been on the DL for weeks now and Jason Heyward, Addison Russel, Brett Anderson, John Lackey and Ben Zobrist have all missed time due to injury at some point in the first half.
Schwarber has struggled mightily (which he had to spend some AAA time for his struggles) while batting below .175 and striking out over 70 times in the first two and a half months of the season and Jon Lester has been inconsistent sporting a 3.94 ERA which is not horrible, but not all star quality. As for Rizzo and Bryant, they have had a lack of production which does not bode well in voting among fans. While their on-base percentages are both in the .390 range and OPS is between .800-.900, other stats like batting average lack and Bryant in particular lacks in RBIs, with under 40. Some of the stats do not always measure a player's hitting abilities, but to the casual fan it is not a reason to get votes.
Benefits from results
While is may seem like not having a bunch of all stars this year is a horrible thing, there are some good things about it if looked at from a certain perspective. This Cubs team is struggling and the word "fatigue" is thrown around with them after last year's run. It may do their guys good to rest up over the all star break and gear up for the second half. No stress or physical playing over a few days could potentially help them. It is hard to say if it will or not but it could not hurt.
Even if Wade Davis plays, it will be no more than a few batters so it is not like he will be pitching in the game long so he will not have to physically tax himself too much. Plus, seeing the trade in the offseason work out both with results in regular games and an all star honor is good to see. Now it is just a matter of if someone like Kris Bryant gets in as a reserve for an injured player, but only time will tell.
