ARLINGTON, Texas — Corey Seager is now an all-star.
Under any other circumstances, such news -- which came down Sunday night in an announcement that Seager will replace an injured Carlos Correa in the Midsummer Classic -- would be met with unquestioned applause from Rangers fans. Seager is certainly deserving: Despite a quiet start to the season, the Texas star shortstop has racked up 18 homers and a well-above-average .834 on-base plus slugging percentage.
But the Seager all-star nod likely left Rangers fans with a nagging question.
What in the world does Josh Smith have to do to get on this all-star team???
Seager, Isaac Paredes, Willi Castro and Jordan Westburg are all infield all-stars now, and all with similar or lesser stats than Smith, who's enjoying a breakout season in his first chance at a full-time gig.
And that's not a knock on Seager, Paredes, Castro and Westburg. Smith has just been really, really good: In 90 games, the utility infielder, who's mostly played third base in Josh Jung's absence, is hitting .293 with a .392 on-base percentage and an .861 on-base plus slugging percentage. Smith also played a crucial role in the Rangers' weekend series win over the Astros, homering twice on Sunday.
Coupled with an above-average glove, Smith's offensive numbers have him sitting at 3.7 wins above replacement on the season, good for seventh in the American League. Also, his adjusted on-base percentage of 145 -- a fancy way of saying he's been 45% better than a league-average hitter this year -- is ranked 10th in the AL.
So, what gives?
Well, the voting process didn't exactly work in Smith's favor. The all-stars are initially (and mostly) decided on by fan voting, and Smith just doesn't have the name recognition yet to make a splash in that format. He finished well behind the pack, which was led by the Guardians' Jose Ramirez.
Ramirez, by comparison, has 23 homers on the season, plenty more than Smith's 10. But Smith still has him beat on batting average (.293 to .271) and OPS+ (145 to 134). Again, that's not a knock on Ramirez -- but that's just to show that Smith has been among the best at his position or any position.
But fan voting isn't the only way the all-stars get selected. Every team gets at least one all-star representative, so Isaac Paredes was an easy decision for the Tampa Bay Rays. Paredes has 15 homers and a .823 on-base plus slugging percentage, and that's coming off a breakout 2023 season.
The problem for Smith is that Paredes was another third baseman/utility infielder to take an all-star spot.
Then there were the injury replacements in Willi Castro, Jordan Westburg, and ultimately Seager.
Westburg has comparable stats to Smith -- .271/.318/496 with 15 homers and a .814 on-base plus slugging -- though Smith is having the better season. And Smith is comfortably clear of Castro, who's been solid, if not spectacular, for the Twins. Castro's .774 on-base plus slugging is above league average but well behind Smith's .861.
And there could even be the case made that Smith is having a better season than Seager, though Seager brings more power at the plate. Seager was likely an easy choice to replace a banged-up Carlos Correa as a third full-time shortstop on the roster. And fair or not, a more established player like Seager will likely get the nod when an all-star replacement is needed.
Smith's dilemma likely came down to positional limitations. While he certainly has the ability to play three infield positions (and the outfield), he's been an anchor at third base in Jung's absence. If Smith was having his current season in more of a utility role, he likely would have gotten the nod over players like Castro or Westburg. Is that fair? Probably not.
But none of which takes away from the season Smith is having: An all-star caliber year.
