St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina is Not an All-Star

The beloved St. Louis Cardinals catcher is currently second among the leading All-Star Game vote-getters for catchers in the National League. But achieving first place is not an accolade he deserves.

Speaking negatively on Yadier Molina isn’t generally something that makes you friends among Cardinals fans. So naturally, it’s time to make the statement that Yadier Molina does not deserve the starting spot on the All-Star Game roster this year, a place that he’s currently competing to claim for himself.

Firstly, a quick glance at Yadi’s offensive line for the year. Some highlights:

• 280 plate appearances
• .266/.336/.345 AVG/OBP/SLG
• 1 HR, 25 RBIs
• 25 walks, 34 strikeouts
• 87 wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created – a stat that quantifies a player’s total offensive value – 100 is league average)
• 0.5 WAR (Wins Above Replacement – Fangraphs’ version)

Altogether, a slightly below-average season, even for Yadi. His power is negligible at this point, and despite a hot start, his bat has cooled down, with his average falling a few points below its norm the last two seasons.

The fact of the matter is, Yadi hasn’t been tremendously productive offensively. Let’s take a quick look at the other 4 candidates on the All-Star ballot, starting with their WAR.

WAR is sometimes used as a catch-all stat for determining a player’s value, which is a misuse. However, it is good for a summary on who has been the most valuable in a given time period without getting lost in a sea of statistics. Compared to Yadi’s 0.5 WAR so far in 2016:

• Buster Posey: 2.3 WAR
• Wilson Ramos: 2.3 WAR
• Miguel Montero: -.05 WAR
• Jonathon Lucroy: 2.1 WAR

The WAR of these guys is all about the same, except for a guy who’s only there thanks to Cubs fans’ overzealous voting. The guy is literally worth negative wins!

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Anyways, Posey, Ramos, and Lucory have all been several steps ahead of Molina. The offensive side of this is indisputable… but what about defense?

This is where Cardinals fans generally step in to say, “Hold on. Yadi is the best defensive catcher in the game. His hitting may be lacking, but that cannon for an arm and incredible awareness should get him that starting spot.”

Most years, that would be the case, but let’s take a look at two key defensive stats for Yadi and his contenders (minus that joker Montero) so far in 2016, starting with caught-stealing percentage.

Yadi has gunned down 30% of 30 guys running on him, quite a bit lower than his career stat of 44%.

Posey is nearly double that at 59% through 29 attempts, Ramos 35% in 23, and Lucroy 39% out of 64.

So even defensively, Molina has been sub-par, at least in the aspect that many consider to be his domain (throwing out runners).

Some may argue the mental aspect of Molina’s presence on the field, his value to keeping his pitching staff calm and collected, while calling great games from behind the plate. While this is entirely true and a big part of Yadi’s value to the Cardinals, it’s certainly not something most fans, especially those of other fandoms, will take into consideration.

Next: Yadier Molina’s Mysterious Instagram Post, Lineup Absence

The All-Star Game’s deciding home field advantage, a controversial topic in its own right, means that the very best players should be on the field. Unfortunately, the St. Louis Cardinals’ beloved catcher is not among them.