Kansas City Royals: What are Hunter Dozier’s All-Star voting chances?
What’s holding Dozier back?
Offensively, there are not a lot of flaws in Dozier’s game. While I know Bregman defenders will say “his OBP and BB/K ratio are top-tier, so who cares about batting average”, I think hitting .300 is still a special number that isn’t easy to do and carries weight in the baseball fan community.
Furthermore, for Dozier to excel in all three categories like he is currently is a testament to the kind of special breakout season he is having, and bandwagon Royals fans who have ignored this season due to the poor record need to step up and appreciate what he is doing at the hot corner here in Kansas City.
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However, making a difference of 1.5 million votes is tough, and there are a few factors that are going to go against Dozier over this two-day voting period.
First off, Dozier pales a bit defensively in comparison to Bregman and Urshela. According to Fangraphs, of third-basemen with 220 or more plate appearances, Dozier ranks 14th out of 17 in Def (Defensive Runs above average). In comparison, Bregman ranks fifth and Urshela ranks tenth.
While Dozier isn’t a BAD defender by any means, he is pretty much the epitome of average, as his Def is 0.0, which means he has ZERO runs above average (hence, the definition of average). Dozier’s injury history has held him back, and once he gets fully healthy, he can display his true potential at third (remember, he was drafted as a shortstop out of college). However, naysays will point to defense as a critical point against Dozier’s candidacy.
The next two reasons are unfair, but still valid reasons: he missed some time due to injury (he has played in 21 fewer games than Bregman and seven fewer than Urshela) and he plays on a team that has the second-worst record in baseball (only the Orioles are worse).
To retort, I don’t think the game difference is that big an issue, for if it were a competitive Royals season, he may have returned sooner. (Why risk anything when you have over 30 more losses than wins?)
And in terms of the second point, Dozier is a big reason WHY they are not the worst team in the baseball (just imagine if he missed more time), and the Royals problems go beyond him and the hitting as well. Pitching is the main culprit of their struggles in 2019.
If Dozier were in Houston or New York, his stats would be just as good, if not better, especially since those ballparks tend to be more hitter-friendly.