St. Louis Cardinals: Molina, Arenado advance to ASG voting Phase 2

The St. Louis Cardinals are trying to have at least two All-Stars as Yadier Molina and Nolan Arenado have advanced to the next stage of ASG voting.

While the St. Louis Cardinals haven’t been winning many games on the field in June, Yadier Molina and Nolan Arenado have won spots to head to the 2021 All-Star Game at Coors Field in Colorado. Earlier this week, the final update for Phase 1 of the 2021 ballot came out, leaving both Arenado and Molina in the top three at their positions in voting.

Now, fans can vote to attempt to get the two into the starting lineup for the Midsummer Classic in mid-July. While it is easy to argue that Tyler O’Neill, who finished just outside of the top nine in NL outfielders should have advanced, only the two Cardinal position players have locked in spots.

After his hot start, Yadier Molina has cooled significantly at the plate, but still boasts a 1.1 bWAR and a 106 OPS+ from behind the plate just 14 days from his 39th birthday. At least in this fan’s eyes, anything over average from Molina at the plate right now is a welcome addition to the St. Louis Cardinals lineup.

Nolan Arenado had a rough start to the season defensively, but has gotten back to his Gold Glove-worthy ways in the field, and has been right around career average at the plate. While some (probably including himself) may point to his .827 OPS and argue that it isn’t Arenado-like, his 132 OPS+ is right in line with career numbers.

Arenado has been on one hot streak this season, but that has been mired between two awful cold streaks from the third baseman. Call me a homer, but I would venture to guess that he finishes the year better than his current OPS.

Tyler O’Neill’s snub is once again another reminder that All-Star voting is bogus and dumb because it’s decided by us fans, but there is no harm in rooting for Yadi and Arenado to be on the field in the top of the first inning representing the hometown Cardinals.