Considering the possible Rays all-stars

by Gary Shelton on May 18, 2017 · 2 comments

in general

Thursday, 4 a.m.

By now, you know who they are. By now, you know what they do.

The baseball season is at the quarter pole. You look at your Tampa Bay Rays, and you know they strike out too much. You know the bullpen can spring leaks. You know the team hits a lot of home runs, and it walks a lot. You know the defense can make the sensational play, but not enough routine plays.

Across the league, it is the same thing. A fourth of the season serves as hello; you pretty much know who is going to be good this year and who isn't.

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Archer  needs another strong start or two./.ANDREW J. KRAMER

Archer needs another strong start or two./.ANDREW J. KRAMER

But who's an all-star? And how many (a .500 record should get a team two picks, maybe three if they have good enough numbers).The conversation is just now getting started, but here are your top candidates.

1. Corey Dickerson, outfielder: Dickerson is hitting .335 after his most recent tear with nine homers. Consider that he hit only .245 (and was at .227 as late as Sept. 6), that's a nice turnaround. Dickerson also plays in the outfield, and more outfielders make the all-star game than anywhere else.

2. Alex Colome, relief pitcher: Pretty much, is having the same season that got him to last year's all-star game. Last year, he picked up his 10th save (with a 1.56 ERA) on May 18. This year, he has 10 (2.37 ERA). Colome didn't get into last year's game. Might he this time?

3. Logan Morrison, first base: A year ago, it seemed as if Morrison's season was just beginning. He hit his first homer on May 18 (he has 11 this year). It was also his first RBI (he has 27 this year). He was hitting a robust .170 (.246 this year). Are his numbers good enough to make the all-star team? It'll be tough. There are a lot of good first basemen around.

4. Chris Archer, pitcher: Archer is coming off his worst outing of the year, so there are better times to bring it up. But Archer (3-2) is fifth in the majors with 65 strikeouts. He's 38th in ERA, however. He needs a few more good outings to be considered.

5. Tim Beckham, shortstop: I know. This would have sounded silly a few weeks ago. But Beckham improved his average to .279 Wednesday, and his seven home runs are second in the league for a shortstop. He's worth a thought.

6. Kevin Kiermaier, centerfield: Kiermaier doesn't have enough average (.232) to make it with his bat. His golden gloves could give him a boost, especially when the networks show highlights such as Wednesday's. But Kiermaier's recent spate of errors and the conversation about it probably doomed him.

7. Evan Longoria, third base: It has always been Longoria's challenge to overcome one of the best eras of third basemen in the league. This year, his .232 average won't help.

At this point, both Alex Cobb and Jake Odorizzi need a couple of more wins. Steven Souza needs to get back on a tear like he was on in April. Brad Miller needs the clock to move back to 2016.

Still, if the Rays can continue to play around .500, they should get a couple of players in.

Let's say Dickerson and Archer.

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