Brock Holt: All-Star
I’m in the Red Sox clubhouse for the vast majority of their home games, so I could easily write about the team on a regular basis. I choose not to. They get plenty of coverage as it is, and there are 29 other clubs. For the most part, I keep my Boston content to a minimum.
Brock Holt being named to the American League All-Star team is something I can’t refrain from penning (to use an archaic term) a few words on. After all, I’ve been banging the Holt drum since early in the current campaign.
Holt is a throwback, the type of player who provides value beyond his raw numbers. And his numbers aren’t chicken soup. Playing every position on the field besides pitcher and catcher, Holt is hitting .295/.383/.424. On a team of underachievers, he’s anything but.
This past weekend, I asked A.J. Hinch about Holt. The Houston Astros manager described him perfectly, saying Holt “does everything pretty well, maybe without dominating any one particular part of the game.” He called Holt “a tough out” and “a very impressive player.” As you might expect, he lauded his versatility.
A few weeks earlier, another manager expressed even more admiration. Holt hit for the cycle against the Atlanta Braves at Fenway Park, and after the game I spoke to Fredi Gonzalez. As I was exiting his office, he stopped me with a tongue-in-cheek request.
“Can you do me a favor?” asked Gonzalez. “Go over there and tell (Holt), ‘If they don’t want him, we’ll take him.’ I’ve always loved that (expletive). He’s a nice player to have, because he can play all over the field and he gives you a helluva an at bat.”
Brock Holt – essentially a throw-in in the December 2012 Joel Hanrahan–Mark Melancon deal – is the lone All-Star representative for a team with a payroll pushing $200 million. That’s a story well worth writing about.
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Addendum per Red Sox media relations: Holt is the first player ever to be named an All-Star after appearing at 1B, 2B, 3B, SS, LF, CF, and RF prior to the All-Star break.
David Laurila grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now writes about baseball from his home in Cambridge, Mass. He authored the Prospectus Q&A series at Baseball Prospectus from December 2006-May 2011 before being claimed off waivers by FanGraphs. He can be followed on Twitter @DavidLaurilaQA.
RICE FIGHT NEVER DIE
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I’m assuming Brock Holt went to Rice? Also, that you did as well?
You have assumed correctly twice!
In my dorm, it was two students to a mailbox. The other student who was assigned my mail slot was Anthony Rendon.
That’s pretty awesome, especially considering you’re a Nats fan.
I have a more fact based article about Brock Holt’s All Star selection:
“The Red Sox needed a representative and Brock Holt is the best bad player on the roster.
Holt is expected to be in Cincinnati for the All Star game on the American League’s bench.”
I have another fact based article in response to you:
“Brock Holt’s current 2.3 WAR ranks 21st among all AL position players, ahead of fellow AL All-Star position players Prince Fielder, Jose Iglesias, Adam Jones, Mark Teixeira, and (candidates for the AL Final Vote) Xander Bogaerts and Mike Moustakas.
He is at a minimum a non-bad choice for the roster, and at best, completely worthy of his spot. Certainly, he has been good enough that only the uninformed would think his selection was egregious enough to complain about it.”
Holt is 40th in the majors in position player WAR (although without enough PAs to qualify yet), which is definitely All-star level. He’s riding an unsustainable BABiP, but the component numbers are pretty decent and it’s not like he is getting a huge bump from his defensive stats.
The Red Sox also have Mookie Betts, Clay Buchholz, and Xander Bogaerts on the roster, all of whom would be entirely defensible all star selections.
Holt’s BABIP is .376, his xBABIP based on hit type and velocity is .367. He doesn’t hit flyballs or pop ups. He’s going to have huge BABIPs. Stop spreading lazy lies.
LD% doesn’t stabilize in 900 PA.
Also, he was even better in the first half last year than he was this year, over an identical amount of PA. He then proceeded to produce a 53 wRC+ for the rest of the season with almost identical components (and even fewer popups!).
He’s a very useful player, and he’s a fine All-Star selection, but don’t be silly and pretend that he’s something more than he is.
Yeah, it pissed me off too when I heard they changed the rule and decided every team has to have a player. Just so the Red Sox crybaby fans would have someone to cheer for. I blame Obama.
He’s an All Star … He’s a Brock Star
Nice.
I, for one, believe it is an excellent choice.
P.S. Two players in the Hanrahan-Melancon deal are in the All-Star game. That in itself is interesting enough.
I’m under the belief Brock Holt was less deserving than teammate Clay Buchholz
Ned Yost is going with six starting pitchers on the AL roster as opposed to the more traditional eight, choosing instead to add an extra utility player and a seventh reliever.
(Start Vent/Rant)
Darren O’Day (0.7 WAR on the season) will make his first All-Star appearance, Corey Kluber (3.5 WAR) will not. Kluber has a 3-9 W/L record this year (bad) so maybe you prefer Michael Pineda (3.0 WAR)
Kluber, Buchholz, and Pineda are currently ranked 3rd, 5th, and 7th respectively in WAR among ALL pitchers, both leagues.
From Fangraphs:
Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is an attempt by the sabermetric baseball community to summarize a player’s total contributions to their team in one statistic.
MLB pitchers with the highest WAR since the beginning of last season:
Corey Kluber 10.7
Clayton Kershaw 10.7
Max Scherzer 9.8
David Price 9.1
Chris Sale 8.8
Felix Hernandez 8.0
Vote Kershaw NL (seriously) and 5 out of 6 of those guys are back to back all-stars, just not the one tied for first in WAR, alone in first in strikeouts, second in xFIP, and second in innings pitched over that same timeframe.
luck/sequencing I guess.
Herreras WAR is even worse! Maybe Yost thinks hes good because he sees him more than we do!!
Brock Holt: At least he’s not Omar Infante.
I love Holt as much as the next guy, but how is he an All-Star when Mookie Betts has 4.1 WAR through half the season?
Because Yost would rather have a 1B/2B/3B/SS/LF/CF/RF on the bench than an OF, especially when the first guy has been more productive offensively.
Betts was a MI not so long ago.
That’s a true statement.
Here’s another true statement:
Mookie Betts has never played in the infield at the major league level.
That would be a true statement if you were to ignore Betts’ 122 innings at 2B last year.
Hah, shit. I didn’t realize he had.
I see that Betts has a 3.0 WAR. Where did the other 1.1 come from?
B-Ref
Yes, sorry I’m quoting B-Ref WAR on Fangraphs. Both numbers are damn good though.
Mookie will make a dozen ASG’s before he’s through. He deserves to be there, but he’ll make up for it.
Still woulda gone with Vogt if I was trying to win the game.
Ha! never mind. he was picked too.
BROCK HOLT
Okay all those who just hated on Brock Holt listen up. I could just throw a bunch of numbers into your faces, and trust me, I wouldn’t mind doing just that, but this guy brings an element to an overpaid Red Sox team that I have been a fan of for a while now. Name 3 other guys in the league who can play every position on the diamond and make exceptional plays day in and day out. Also if you break down his swing it looks scarily similar to that of Wade Boggs (a .300 lifetime hitter and Hall Of Famer). So not bad Brock, in fact tremendous and deserving of All-Star repetition.