Roundtable: This year’s biggest All-Star frauds

Sometimes you get frauds. This is the kind of thing that happens when you let the public decide. It’s the downside of any popularity contest. Because getting the most votes doesn’t actually mean you’re the best.

And that’s especially true in Major League Baseball the past couple years, where the shift to online-only voting has led to some serious ballot-box-stuffing.

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Remember Omar Infante nearly becoming the starting second baseman last season even though he was one of the worst hitters in the AL? Fun fact: Infante was released by the Kansas City Royals recently, but he’s still No. 4 at his position this season.

Of course, most of the ballot is made up of deserving players. You can see that from the most recent tallies above. The frauds are few and far between, but make no mistake, they are there. And not just at the top of the standings either. Some are in the middle of the pack, receiving far more votes than they ought to. So for this week’s Big League Stew roundtable, we’re calling them out.

ADDISON RUSSELL
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Of all the amazing talents the Cubs have brought to the big leagues under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, I believe Addison Russell will make the greatest long term impact. At 22, though, he hasn’t yet turned that corner, which makes the likelihood that he’ll be voted as an All-Star starter a disappointment.

The numbers tell the story. Russell only hit .242 in 142 games last season and he’s right at that same level this season. He’s also on pace to match last season’s home run total of 13. That’s fine for the Cubs. He’s still playing elite defense and they’re getting offense from other sources, but it’s not worthy of All-Star consideration.

Trevor Story of the Rockies and Corey Seager of the Dodgers both have better resumes and will hopefully get the call to be there regardless. (Mark Townsend)

YADIER MOLINA
There’s no debating that Yadier Molina has earned his stripes as one of the National League’s top catchers the past 13 seasons. He’s the backbone of the Cardinals, a fan favorite and if we were talking about an all-decade team, he might warrant all the love he’s getting as an All-Star this season. Molina leads the vote among NL catchers, mostly because Cardinals fans adore him and he has a recognizable name. But in terms of value, Fangraphs puts him sixth among the six qualified catchers in the NL right now.

So this isn’t a matter of a position that has two worthwhile candidates and the No. 2 guy getting more fan support — this is just flat-out wrong. Wilson Ramos and Buster Posey lead all NL catchers in Wins Above Replacement (at 2.3) with Jonathan Lucroy not fair behind (2.1). Yadi? He’s at 0.5.

If there’s justice in the All-Star voting, Molina loses the 5,000-vote lead he has on Posey by the time the rosters are announced. (Mike Oz)

JASON HEYWARD
With the Cubs doing so well this year, it makes sense that a number of them are getting All-Star love. Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant make a lot of sense. But Jason Heyward does not.

He’s received the fourth most votes of any outfielder in the National League despite batting .237/.327/.328 with four homers. That’s not really All-Star caliber, is it? I’m not sure why he’s getting so many All-Star votes. Maybe it’s because he’s on the Cubs, who have a definite team-of-destiny feel about them. Or maybe fans are remembering his performance last year, and in previous years.

Unfortunately, that Jason Heyward hasn’t shown up yet for the Cubs, even though that’s the one fans might be voting for. (Liz Roscher)

MANY OF THE BLUE JAYS
Last season, Royals fans got a hard time for stuffing the ballot boxes. And earlier this season it looked like maybe the Cubs were doing the same. The Blue Jays haven’t been as successful as those two franchises, but they deserve some scorn for their voting process.

Outside of Edwin Encarnacion, Josh Donaldson and Jose Bautista, every single Blue Jays is too high in the voting. Justin Smoak is hitting .242 and is fourth at first base. Russell Martin has been awful, but still ranks third at catcher. Ryan Goins is on the leaderboard! Somehow, the one guy who really deserves recognition, Michael Saunders, is ranked 12th in the outfield.

It’s one thing to be proud of your team, but many of those players aren’t producing anywhere near All-Star level. (Chris Cwik)

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz