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Zack Cozart overtakes Corey Seager in All-Star voting, could get a donkey

Mike Oz

Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart zoomed past Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the latest tally of National League All-Star votes released on Monday by Major League Baseball. And that could be good news for one lucky donkey out there.

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You see, Reds first baseman Joey Votto promised to buy Cozart a donkey if he makes the All-Star team. This latest tally puts Cozart in a good position to do so:

Zack Cozart will get a donkey from Joey Votto if he makes the All-Star team. (AP)
Zack Cozart will get a donkey from Joey Votto if he makes the All-Star team. (AP)

The rest of this week’s update is pretty ho-hum: Bryce Harper continues to be the top vote-getter in the NL. His Washington Nationals teammates Daniel Murphy and Ryan Zimmerman lead their positions. Kris Bryant, Buster Posey and Charlie Blackmon are all still doing well too.

So let’s talk about Cozart and the donkey reward: Cozart is having a career year at age 31. He’s hitting .329 with a .416 on-base percentage, 38 runs scored and 33 RBIs. This isn’t a case of fan-voting gone awry — Cozart really has been the most productive shortstop in the National League.

Here he is talking about the donkey:

Cozart’s 3.0 Wins Above Replacement according to FanGraphs are actually second-best in the NL overall, ahead of Harper and Blackmon and everybody else not named Paul Goldschmidt. That 3.0 WAR is also higher (already!) than any other season of Cozart’s career. Last year his 2.5 WAR was a career high — and he’s surpassed that in June.

It appears Cozart deserves both the All-Star nod and the donkey that comes with it.

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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!