An early look at how the Blue Jays could be represented at the 2023 All-Star Game

First base – Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has represented the Jays at the All-Star game the past two years after being voted in as the starter in both instances. However, his streak as a starter may be somewhat in jeopardy this year, with stiff competition coming potentially from Yandy Díaz of the Tampa Bay Rays and Anthony Rizzo of the New York Yankees.

Diaz currently leads all AL first baseman in batting average (.325), walks (26), home runs (12), on-base percentage (.429), slugging percentage (.619), and OPS (1.048). After somewhat disappointing years the past three years, Rizzo appears to have regained his All-Star form prior to 2019 this year and has helped lead the Yankees to an impressive record so far this season. In doing so, he currently leads AL first baseman in hits (61) and total bases (102), and is second only to Diaz in home runs, batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. Guerrero has cooled down a bit since his hot start to the season, but is still hitting a respectable .289 with eight home runs and 34 RBI and is currently ranked third behind both Diaz and Rizzo in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS.

Third Base – Matt Chapman

Matt Chapman began the 2023 season on a torrid streak, capturing both AL Player of the Week and AL Player of the Month honours in April, as he ranked 1st in all of MLB in multiple hitting categories at the time. However, after encountering some struggles in the month of May, it has lowered his “Superman”-type numbers back to more human-like in the past few weeks, allowing his competition to slowly catch up to him, with some even surpassing him in various categories.

In particular, Rafael Devers is once again having a strong season with the Boston Red Sox, and currently leads all AL third baseman in home runs (13), RBI (44), and slugging percentage (.513). Rookie Josh Jung of the Texas Rangers is also having a fantastic season currently, with 36 runs scored (leads all AL third baseman), 11 home runs and 35 RBI, helping to guide the Rangers to first place in the AL West. Chapman stills leads all AL third baseman in hits (56), doubles (19), on-base percentage (.359) and OPS (.844), but the gaps have closed up considerably. In addition, the notable José Ramirez is still doing José Ramírez-type things, so he will always be part of the conversation no matter what year it is.