Elephant Rumblings: Wilson Leads AL Shortstops In All-Star Voting

MLB news roundup

Good morning A’s fans!

The first results of fan voting for the All-Star Game were released last night, and we A’s fans were treated to a huge piece of news. Our very own young star, Jacob Wilson, is currently leading all American League shortstops for the chance to start the All-Star Game for the American League:

It frankly shouldn’t come as a surprise considering he’s been one of the very best players in the entire game this season. Well on his way to the American League Rookie of the Year award already, Wilson now has a chance to do something that hasn’t been done since 1975: being a shortstop on the Athletics and starting the All-Star Game. The last person to do that was Bert Campaneris, who is a member of the Athletics’ Hall of Fame. Not bad company to be in.

Wilson has been far and away the team’s best hitter, slashing a video game-like .362/.396/.506 with eight long balls and five steals. He’s also been a master at avoiding the strikeout, going down on strikes just 17 times (but also just walking 14 times). He’s done all of that while playing one of the most difficult positions on the field and has generally been an iron man, playing in 68 of a possible 74 contests this year. And this is all the more impressive considering he’s still a rookie. The 22-year-old son of a former baseball player, it’s exciting to think about how the rest of his career is going to look like after this amazing start. He’ll be garnering some serious MVP consideration come the end of the year, too, but that might be a bit optimistic with Aaron Judge still around.

Wilson would easily be crushing his next-closest competition for the starting honors if he was playing on almost any other team in the league, but because he’s playing on the lowly A’s the fear was that his amazing season to date would go unnoticed by many national fans, instead seeing someone like fellow rising star Bobby Witt Jr. take advantage of his name recognition. Surprising in a good way, Wilson has a 42,712 voting lead over Witt Jr., another shortstop on a bad team that lacks national coverage like the Yankees or Red Sox get. If he can hold onto that, he’d be just the third Athletic ever to win the fan vote at a position, joining first baseman Jason Giambi (‘00) and third baseman Josh Donaldson (‘14). Will he be able to hold off Witt Jr. for another month? It doesn’t look like he’s slowing down anytime soon so odds are looking good for Wilson to start in his first All-Star Game.

Not to be forgotten, Designated Hitter Brent Rooker is also vying for an All-Star selection, which would be his second appearance at the Midsummer Classic. He’s hitting .275/.349/.491 with 15 home runs. Not at quite the pace as he was last year or the year before, but good enough for 7th among all DH’s in the AL. An uphill battle, to be sure, but not one he can’t overcome. It’ll be a bit harder for Tyler Soderstrom, who ranks 14th among all outfielders. Still, nice to be noticed!

And one last tidbit of news: Zack Gelof begins his rehab assignment today:

Have an excellent Tuesday everyone!

A’s Coverage:

• Jacob Wilson leads AL shortstops in first All-Star voting return
• A’s Walk Off Astros 3-1
• A’s roster moves: Ginn activated, Holman optioned
• 2025 A’s: “Bad” And “Boring” Are Not The Same Thing
• Gunnar Hoglund expected to miss rest of season with hip injury

MLB News & Interest:

• Shohei Ohtani hits triple digits in long-awaited return to the mound
• Yankees activate Giancarlo Stanton
• Yankees right-hander Jake Cousins to undergo Tommy John surgery
• Braves activate pitcher Stuart Fairchild
• #1 prospect Roman Anthony hits first career home run
• Astros place Lance McCullers Jr. on IL with foot sprain
• Ex-Ohtani interpreter reports to prison
• Rafael Devers trade grades: Giants get “B” for big swing, Red Sox escape drama
• No. 50 draft prospect throws 3rd no-hitter in Men’s College World Series
• One thing each team will be looking for before the Trade Deadline
• Today in Baseball History

Best of X:

Very cool stuff right here, and well deserved for his heroics in the outfield:

In case you missed it, old friend Tony Kemp is joining the broadcast crew!

Big week for one of the more intriguing arms in the Athletics’ farm system. Perhaps an option sooner than later?

Organizational roster moves: