As you’ve probably noticed, the voting for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game has recently opened on both MLB.com and Google. While many perennial All-Stars are, naturally, receiving the bulk of the votes and attention around this event, one National League player who is often overshadowed by his teammates has been making a strong case for an appearance.
This player is, of course, the man, the myth, the legend, Chris Taylor.
While known to many Dodger fans as the team’s mild-mannered utilityman, best known for his home run in Game 1 of the 2017 World Series, CT3 has hardly been regarded as an All-Star caliber player during his time in Los Angeles.
However, in 2020, Taylor had the best offensive season of his career, slashing .270/.366/.476, posting an OPS+ 128 and WRC+ of 132 (meaning that his offense was 28 percent and 32 percent better than average according to these respective metrics), both career highs by significant margins. finally earning himself an everyday role in the Dodgers’ star-studded lineup, something he had not done since his breakout 2017 season.
In following up his strong 2020 campaign, Taylor has put those numbers to shame. He’s playing to a .281/.403/.480 slashline, a 147 OPS+, and a 149 WRC+ and has been a tremendous asset to a Dodgers squad that has been ravaged by injuries and inconsistency, to which Taylor has proved impervious. It’s clear from the increase in Taylor’s on-base-percentage (the middle metric in his slashline) that he’s become a more selective hitter, taking more walks than 91 percent of the league. Additionally, his strikeout rate has continued to decrease, although marginally, since he led the National League in strikeouts in 2018, and Taylor now chases fewer pitches than 94 percent of the league.
While, clearly, Taylor is having a monster season in 2021, he obviously needs to be one of the best players in the National League to make the All-Star team. Regardless of how good he’s been, what matters is how good he’s been relative to the competition. And, well, Taylor certainly hasn’t disappointed. Taylor is 4th in the NL in OBP, 7th in OPS, 2nd in runs (yes, I know it’s more of a team stat, but it’s still impressive), 6th in WRC+, and 9th in fWAR.
So, yeah, he’s been one of the best players in the National League thus far in 2021. However when you try to measure a player’s offensive value, you’re likely to find Chris Taylor as one of the best players according to that metric.
How can you, a faithful Dodger fan, ensure that Chris Taylor receives the All-Star nomination that he so indisputably deserves?
Vote!
You can vote up to 5 times a day on MLB.com and once daily by googling “MLB All Star Vote” (Taylor is listed as an outfielder). While it’s likely that Taylor could get named to the roster by NL manager Dave Roberts, who gets to see nightly how good a player he is, voting for him is the best way to earn him the spot on the team that he’s earned. Chris Taylor is no longer a role-player, no longer a utilityman, no longer somebody solely valued for his versatility and defensive flexibility.
Chris Taylor is an All-Star.
Mandatory Credit: Kelvin Kuo – USA TODAY
