My American League No Stars

Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 11 at T-Mobile Field in Seattle. We know that Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña Jr. will be there because fans did the right thing in the first round of voting. The second round of voting is underway now and will end tomorrow at noon EDT. Go here if you want to vote on the rest of the starting lineup.

Now, let’s talk about the American League No Stars. This isn’t as simple as seeing which players have accumulated the highest negative fWAR on their team so far. For my No Star List™️, I looked at the biggest flops, disappointments, and under-performers. And I had criteria, because this is not some fly-by-night sports blog. I’ll write about my National League No Stars in Monday’s newsletter.

The position players on my No Star List™️ have played in 75% of their team’s games. The starting pitchers have made at least 10 starts and the relief pitchers have thrown at least 25 innings. So there could’ve been one trip to the injured list for a minor ailment or just rest days. I stayed away from players who have been to the minors and back several times this season because those guys are, by definition, replacement level players and not expected to contribute all that much to their team. And I tried not to just point fingers at guys on the downslope of their careers.

In alphabetical order by team, here is my American League No Star List™️ for 2023.

Baltimore Orioles

There was a time when second baseman Adam Frazier was a dependable hit machine with solid defense. Those days appear to be over. Frazier was never much of a power threat—his season high in home runs is 10, which he did twice while with the Pirates in 2018 and 2019. So far this season, Frazier is one of two weak links in the Orioles’ lineup (the other is Jorge Matos). His slash line is .228/.297/.382. He’s not hitting much, walking much, or hitting for power. Not a great combination for an everyday infielder. His defense has also tailed off. According to Statcast, Frazier’s Outs Above Average is -8, the worst rating among qualified second baseman in the league.

Boston Red Sox

Enrique (Kike) Hernández had a bad season at the plate in 2022 and things have only gotten worse in 2023. But Hernández’s poor defense is what landed him on my list.

His slash this season is .230/.290/.345. He strikes out in nearly 20% of his at bats, which is the kind of number you’d expect to see for a power hitter. But Hernández has hit only 6 home runs and 11 doubles. Fenway Park is doubles heaven, so that number is even lower than you’d expect. Hernández’s defense has also fallen off this season. He moves around a bit but has played the vast majority of his innings at shortstop, where Statcast ranks him last by Outs Above Average at -10.

Chicago White Sox

The White Sox had a tough 2022. Injuries held the team back from meeting optimistic pre-season expectations. With a new manager this season (Pedro Grifol), folks on the South Side were hoping for a better and more competitive 2023. That hasn’t happened. At all. At 34-47, the White Sox are pretty much out of the postseason picture.

There’s a lot of blame to go around for Chicago’s poor season. For me, starter Michael Kopech has been the biggest disappointment. The 27-year-old right hander was once a top prospect in Chicago’s minor league system owing to the high velocity on his fastball. He projected as a strong bullpen arm, but was converted to a starter last season. I pronounce it a failed experiment.

In 16 starts, Kopech has give up 17 home runs—more than he gave up all last season. His teammate Lance Lynn has give up more, but Lynn is 39 years old and may be at the end of his solid career. Kopech also walks way way too many batters, leading to a 1.36 WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched).

Cleveland Guardians

The Guardians have scored 304 runs this season. Only the A’s, Tigers, and Royals have scored fewer runs among major league teams. Cleveland’s weak offense is keeping the team from repeating as AL Central champs. José Ramirez has been spectacular at the plate and everyone else—aside from maybe Josh Naylor—has been produced below league average.

My No Star goes to Amed Rosario, who will be a free agent for the first time at the end of this season. Cleveland’s shortstop has lost his power stroke. He’s hit just one home run so far this season after knocking 11 over the wall last year. He’s striking out too much for so little power. Quite simply, he’s not getting on base enough or knocking other runners in. His .255/.303/.339 is the worst of his career. And his -10 Outs Above Average ties him with Kike Hernández for worst among MLB shortstops.

Detroit Tigers

Spencer Torkelson was the top pick in the 2020 MLB draft and by 2021 was ranked third among all MLB prospects. The first baseman’s debut season in 2022 was underwhelming to say the least. Things have not improved this season either at the plate or in the field. He’s hitting .218/.297/.369 with 9 home runs. Only Vlad Guerrero Jr. of the Blue Jays and Spencer Steer of the Reds have lower Defensive Runs Saved ratings on FanGraphs among first basemen. I’m not ready to call Torkelson a complete bust, but he does get the No Star nod this season.

Houston Astros

After winning the World Series in October 2022, the Astros moved quickly to beef up their offense for the 2023 campaign by signing first baseman José Abreu to a 3-year/$58.5 million contract. That deal made sense; Abreu had been a major offensive force since he debuted in the majors in 2014.

Abreu has not produced anywhere near the level he had in his first 9 seasons, all with the White Sox. His lack of power is most startling (and concerning, if you’re an Astros fan). Abreu had never posted a slugging percentage below .446. This year, he’s slugging .325 with just 5 home runs. Blergh.

Kansas City Royals

When a team is playing as poorly as the Royals, it’s not easy identifying who the most disappointing player has been. But when you are a starting pitcher and you lose your first 11 decisions with your new team, you stick out of the muck.

That’s Jordan Lyles. The journeyman starter is now pitching for his eighth team in 13 seasons. For some reason, the Royals signed him to a 2-year/$17 million dollar contract before this season. He has rewarded his new team with a 6.68 ERA, the highest among qualified starters. Yikes.

Los Angeles Angels

If I ignore my own criteria, the No Star slot on the Angels would clearly go to Anthony Rendon. But Rendon has only played 38 games due to injury. In fact, Rendon’s been injured and missed more than half the Angels’ games in every season with Los Angeles, save for the COVID-shortened 2020 season.

I’m going with Patrick Sandoval because he’s not pitching like a number two starter and has regressed from 2022. His strikeout rate is way down from 2022 (16.9% v. 23.7%),he’s giving up nearly double the home runs per 9 innings, and his ERA, while still slightly better than league average, is 4.16. That’s just not good enough for the guy who’s supposed to be the second best starter after Ohtani.

Minnesota Twins

Boy oh boy did Carlos Correa’s bum ankle save the Giants and Mets from doling out way way too much money for him. And even with that health history, the Twins still ponied up $200 million over six seasons.

Correa’s 11 home runs are the only thing keeping him from being the worst offensive short stop in the AL. Worse than Kike Hernández. Worse than Javy Baez. Correa is hitting .212/.287/.403. He’s grounded into a team-leading 14 double plays. Only the Twins stellar pitching is keeping them atop the AL Central.

New York Yankees

I’m breaking my rule for this one and picking Josh Donaldson even though he’s only played in 22 games and missed a lot of time with injuries. In fact, the Yankees have dealt with so many injuries that only Anthony Rizzo, Gleyber Torres, and rookie Anthony Volpe have played more than 70 games for the Bronx Bombers. Of those three players, only Rizzo and Torres have a better than league average OPS+. Just a miserable year all around offensively for the Yankees, now that Aaron Judge is out for the foreseeable future.

I’m giving Donaldson the No Star because I follow a lot of Yankees fans on Twitter and they uniformly are begging for manager to Aaron Boone to never play Donaldson again. Going with the popular vote on this one.

Oakland Athletics

The A’s are having such an historically awful season on and off the field that I am passing on naming a No Star for Oakland.

Seattle Mariners

The Mariners have stellar pitching in the rotation and the bullpen. Which means their No Star has to be a position player. But their two worst hitters—Kolten Wong and AJ Pollock—haven’t played in 75% of the Mariners games and everybody else is kinda good. So the default is Eugenio Suárez who is slashing .225/.315/.354. Like a bunch of other players on this list, Suárez is hitting with little power.

Tampa Bay Rays

How do you find a weak link on the best team in the league? The Rays have had a lot of problems with their bullpen, but a lot of those guys have been injured or sent to the minors and therefore haven’t thrown at least 25 innings. Tyler Glasnow is finally back from injury and not pitching particularly well in the rotation, but he’s only started six games. Starter Taj Bradley is just 22 years old. Hard to tag him with being a No Star. Brandon Lowe was having a so-so season before he was injured but he hasn’t played since early June. So, Christian Betancourt? Okay. I’ll break my games-played rule and pick catcher Christian Betancourt.

Texas Rangers

Jonathan Hernández is a weak link in a shaky Texas bullpen. The 26-year-old right hander is walking 4.57 batters per nine innings—an abysmal rate for a relief pitcher. He’s also given up nearly 2 home runs per nine. Again, you can’t succeed as a reliever with those kinds of numbers.

Toronto Blue Jays

In his second season in Toronto’s bullpen, Yimi Garcia is not the trusty right hander he was last year. Hitters have posted a .398 BABIP (batting average on balls in play) against Garcia, which could be some bad luck. But he’s also given up nearly 1.5 home runs per nine innings.