McCann Allstar?

Let me start off by saying that I'm just as guilty as the next guy: I just now submitted my first all-star ballot, though not my last. While the fans don't vote for the one true bright spot of this Braves season, starting pitching, they do get to vote in the starters at each position. I was motivated to vote last night while watching Tim Lincecum dominate a Gwinnett Braves lineup that featured Francouer hitting 5th, a scary thought. Anyways, Joe and Boo got to talking about the other bright spot in Atlanta this year: Brian McCann. Amazingly, he ranks only fifth in all-star balloting as of May 26th.

Apart from the Twin's Joe Mauer, McCann is the best hitting catcher in the game. His combination of power and contact is rarely seen at his position. So how is it that he is fifth in vote getting at catcher? Let's compare his season to the players in front of him (in order): Yadier Molina, Jason Kendall, Pudge Rodriguez, and Russell Martin. Maybe these guys are blowing him out of the water. And being who I am, I of course wanted to do this comparison in chart form:

Mac is the only one of the five hitting over .270 (.313), the only one with an OBP over .380 (.402), he is out slugging his four competitors, and is blowing away the others in OPS. Homers? Mac is tied with Rodrizguez for the lead at 5, despite playing in only 29 games compared to 41 for the others. RBIs? He trails Rodrizuez's 21 by only 3. By nearly any measure, McCann stands out above the other NL catchers. So, in the words of P. Diddy: Vote or Die!