Third baseman – Anthony Rendon
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Anthony Rendon is having another All-Star season for the Washington Nationals but isn’t getting wider recognition.
Once again the Nationals underrated stud is near the top in every major category for his position. He’s fourth among NL third baseman in WAR and wRC+ behind Nolan Arenado, Eugenio Suarez, and Kris Bryant. All of whom he has fewer plate appearances than Rendon so that standing could improve.
And he’s particularly locked in of late. In his last 18 games, he has a .353 batting average, nine doubles, 14 RBI and a stellar 1.012 OPS. A .382 BABIP isn’t as high as you might think either, so it’s not just exceptional luck. But you all knew that, didn’t you.
He’s also first in Defensive Rating, according to FanGraphs, at his position in the NL too. Yes, ahead of Arenado, which is particularly impressive.
Despite this fantastic season he’s having, he doesn’t even appear in the top five third baseman in the All-Star voting. He has a tough order every year to make it, with a stacked group, but at some point he deserves it.
Even if Anthony Rendon isn’t an All-Star officially, it doesn’t mean it’s not an All-Star worthy season. Right now, he’s the hottest bat on the team and a model of consistency in a team that’s struggling for it. A+