St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt Deserves to be an All-Star

The All-Star starters were announced on June 29th here from ESPN. The reserves and pitchers were announced on July 2nd. There was one notable name missing from the reserves list: St. Louis Cardinals' first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Each position in the All-Star Game has two players, one starter and one reserve. Freddie Freeman, deservedly so, was named the NL starter and Pete Alonso was named the reserve for the National League.

Freddie Freeman is having a career year; he has racked up 3.3 WAR already in the season. His slash line of .318/.398/.538 is tops in the league, and his 150 OPS+ is very strong. Freeman also leads all first basemen with 11 stolen bases on the season. He deserved to be named the starter for the National League.

Paul Goldschmidt has clearly outplayed Pete Alonso

Pete Alonso, on the other hand, isn't having as great of a season statistically. While his 24 home runs are eye-popping, the rest of his numbers aren't. His slash line of .217/.311/.505 is good for a 127 OPS+. His hard-hit percentages have dropped significantly along with his fly-ball numbers. He is lining out and grounding out more frequently than ever. His 1.5 WAR total is good, but middling.

While it is exciting to have a player from the Big Apple and a player who can mash home runs with the best of them, that skillset is more apt for the Home Run Derby, in which he is participating. However, if the All-Star Game is a testament to first-half success, Alonso doesn't deserve to be a reserve player. That distinction, instead, belongs to Paul Goldschmidt.

Goldy has accumulated 2.9 WAR on the season and is slashing .289/.379/.498 for an OPS+ of 139. He has been a leader on a poor Cardinals team, and he is having a fantastic year for any player, let alone a 35-year-old. He deserves an All-Star spot. Sorry, Pete, but Paul Goldschmidt deserved that reserve spot.