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Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado is second among National League third basemen in rWAR, second in home runs and first in runs batted in. Perhaps more importantly, the two-time Gold Glove winner has a distant lead on his NL counterparts in both UZR and Defensive Runs Saved.
Despite all of that, Arenado sits in fourth place in the latest All-Star Game voting results, released on Tuesday by Major League Baseball. Matt Carpenter of the Cardinals, Kris Bryant of the Cubs and Todd Frazier of the Reds rank ahead of Arenado on the ballot. Only Frazier has a higher rWAR than Arenado, who is -- by talent and production -- probably the best all-around third baseman in the NL and isn't far behind Josh Donaldson, the junior circuit's best at the hot corner.
Basically, what I'm trying to say here is that we all need to do a better job of getting this guy into the All-Star Game. Do we really want to leave it up to the players and managers to select Arenado? He has a good-to-great shot of getting in that way, but he also deserves to start the game as a result of his overall play, which, again, is unrivaled at his position in the NL. Regardless of how the Rockies are doing as a team, it's always a blast to see one of their players in the starting lineup at the midsummer classic. We don't get to have a lot of fun; at least give us this.
So, go here to vote -- up to 35 times! -- for Arenado. You know he deserves to be there. The league knows he deserves to be there. So let's get him there -- for the first of what will likely be many times.
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