Making the case for (or against) potential Atlanta Braves All-Stars

Catcher: Brian McCann

Willson Contreras – Atlanta Braves catching prospect William’s older brother – leads the way, and it’s not close, with a nearly-800,000 vote gap between them. Contreras has produced to the tune of (.278-13-37.)

So, does Brian McCann have a chance to be the reserve catcher on the All-Star team in 2019?

Yasmani Grandal trails him by about 210,000 votes with a (.283-15-37) stat line. J.T. Realmuto (.277-10-36) dropped from third in the voting to fourth and Yadier Molina (.267-4-34) rounds out the top five.

Purely statistically, Grandal should have gotten more love, and his rise from fifth to third shows that fans have been paying attention.

At first glance, McCann doesn’t statistically stack up; however, he’s in a platoon situation where he’s gotten 119 at-bats and produced a (.286-6-27) mark. Everyone else on the list has at least eighty more at-bats than McCann, and in Realmuto’s case it’s 120 more at-bats.

If McCann produced at roughly the same rate for about 100 more at-bats, he’d be right in the thick of things statistically with about 12 home runs and around 40 runs batted in.

Determination: Brian McCann can’t help his platoon situation, but has produced at a similar or better rate than most of his counterparts. He’ll need a strong push in the fan vote and could be a reserve.

Does he deserve the all-star selection? It’s a coin flip with five players so close statistically, but he’s definitely in the mix for the Top-3.