Yankees: Five players who are on track to make this year’s All-Star Game

We’re just under two months away from this year’s Midsummer’s Classic in Cleveland but that doesn’t mean its too early to start making roster predictions. So far the Yankees have a handful of players who are making a strong case to earn a selection on the AL squad. Which of them will earn the nod?

Despite having 13 players currently on the injured list the Yankees record sits at 26-16, just a .5 game behind the first place Rays. Many of their top contributors are still on the IL including former All-Stars Aaron Judge, Luis Severino, Dellin Betances, and Giancarlo Stanton. 

Heading into the season I’m sure a lot us expected them to add another All-Star appearance to their collective list of accolades but they’ve already missed too much time so that’s not going to happen. That being said there’s still a number of healthy Yankees who are in the running to represent the pinstripes come July 9th. Here they are:

C Gary Sanchez, 1x All-Star

Numbers: .263 BA, 12 HR, 22 RBI, 15 R, .663 SLG%, 1.009 OPS

Sanchez made his first All-Star appearance back in 2017 in Miami as a reserve and this season he’s the heavy favorite to start the game for the first time in his career. After an injury-plagued season in 2018 that definitely prevented him from putting up his usual numbers Sanchez is back to being the best offensive catcher in baseball.

He leads all catchers with 12 HR despite only appearing in 26 games and has an OPS of 1.009. Sanchez continues to barrel up to the ball better than any hitter in baseball as 8 of his 12 homers have left the ballpark at 110 mph or harder while six of them have traveled at least 425 ft.

On the defensive side, Sanchez has been much better now that his left shoulder is 100% healthy. He’s also cut down on the passed balls and does a great job of controlling the running game and managing a pitching staff that’s one of the toughest to catch in the game. With all the injuries the Yankees have suffered they needed Sanchez to step up and carry the load more than anyone and he’s done just that. He’s a shoo-in to start this year’s game for the first of many times.

Numbers: .322 BA, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 46 H, 10 2B, 23 R, .371 OBP

LeMahieu has been a savior for the Yanks through the first month and a half and without him, there’s no they’d be 10 games over .500. There hasn’t been a more consistent hitter in the Yankees lineup up to this point or a more clutch one for that matter. With RISP, DJ is hitting an incredible .471 with 17 RBI in 34 at-bats.

Defensively he’s been sure-handed at second, third and even first on occasion. Right now he’s the primary second basemen for the Yanks and Gleyber Torres is the shortstop with both Didi Gregorius and Troy Tulowitzki still out. Once one of them returns that could change but no matter where he plays we’ll continue to see him in the everyday lineup.

His power numbers aren’t great but in a day and age where all anybody seems to care about is launch angles and home runs LeMahieu has shown the value of putting the ball in play and hitting to the opposite field. He’s exactly what the Yankee lineup needed and deserves serious consideration to earn his third All-Star nod in the coming weeks.

We’ve seen utility players get selected to the All-Star game more and more over the past couple seasons and this year there’s no one better to represent the AL than LeMahieu.

Numbers: 8-1, 2.50 ERA, 50.1 IP, 52 K’s, .179 OPP BA, 0.95 WHIP

Domingo German is not only on his way to his first All-Star game selection but right now there’s a decent chance we could see him start the game for the AL. Outside of maybe Justin Verlander there isn’t a starter in the AL more deserving than him.

After picking up another win on Wednesday German now leads baseball with 8 on the season and is fourth in OPP BA and eighth in WHIP. German has always had the stuff to be a successful big league starter but this year’s he’s put it all together on a consistent basis. The key for Domingo has been his ability to pound the strike zone with three plus pitches (fastball, curveball, changeup). It’s allowed him to have a lot of quick innings and pitch deeper into games.

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Wednesday night he was able to finish seven innings for the first time in his career and in six of his eight starts he’s pitched at least six innings. Another key for German has been getting off to a fast start by putting up a zero in the first inning. Last season his ERA in the first inning was 8.36 and so far in 2019, it’s 1.13.

In the absence of Luis Severino, German has been a breakout star and has emerged as the ace of the staff after he wasn’t even supposed to begin the season in the starting rotation. It will be interesting to see if he can continue to pitch at this level as his inning total mounts because if he can the Yankees will be in a great position to win the AL East.

Numbers: 2.16 ERA, 11/12 SVO, 16.2 IP, 25 K’s, .206 OPP BA, 0.96 WHIP, 13.5 K/9

Since taking over as the Reds closer in 2012 Chapman has made five All-Star teams. This year will be number six. After picking up the save in both games of Wednesday’s doubleheader Chapman looks like he’s rounding into mid-season form. His fastball of late has been clocked at 101 mph pretty consistently and over his last three outings, he’s struck out six in 3 IP.

The Yankees bullpen as a whole is starting to dominate as we all expected and as they continue to do so Chapman’s AL lead for saves will continue to increase. Chapman is as healthy as he’s been since becoming a Yankee and as long as he can stay on the field there’s no doubt we’ll see him representing New York in the ASG for the second season in a row.

Honorable Mentions:

Gio Urshela: .330, 2 HR, 15 RBI, 31 H, .874 OPS, 9 2B, .407 W/RISP

Urshela has been the Yankees biggest unsung hero so far and if not for all the talented third basemen in the AL he would have a shot at making his first ASG. His defense at third base has been gold glove caliber as advertised while his knack for getting big hits has been constant. It’s unlikely he’ll continue to hit .330 from here on out but he’s definitely earned the right to be the Yankees everyday third basemen moving forward.

Gleyber Torres: .290, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 45 H, 10 2B, .510 SLG%

Torres got off to a slow start but he’s picked it up of late hitting .341 in May with three home runs (all during Wednesday’s DH). With Jose Altuve injured and not posting his usual All-Star type numbers so far Torres could be the favorite to win the fan vote at second base even though he’s played mostly at shortstop with Didi out. As we get closer to July his numbers figure to be All-Star worthy.

Tommy Kahnle: 1-0, 1.08 ERA, 16.2 IP, 23 K’s, .121 OPP BA, 0.78 WHIP

It’s hard to make the ASG as a reliever who’s not a closer but Kahnle has definitely put his name in the mix. This season’s been a total turnaround for Kahnle after he really struggled during an injury-plagued 2018 campaign. He’s been the Yanks most reliable reliever thus far and Aaron Boone has taken notice by putting him in more high leverage situations with each passing game.

By the time selection day rolls around a handful of other Yankee relievers could be All-Star worthy but right now Kahnle is the most.