All-star voting is right around the corner and it's that time of the season to start a propaganda campaign to get those players of your favorite team voted in. Portland GM Chris Wilson announced today "We are efforting a massive ballot campaign here at the stadium to get the Lumberjacks in the All-Star game. We know we are a new franchise, but the fans are flocking now to the stadium so we need to capitalize and get the votes in." After making the comments Wilson was informed the General Managers of the League vote for the All-Stars and having the fans vote won't help any. Wilson then stated "Well, we probably won't have anyone voted in that way. But someone has to represent us so these are the guys who have a shot.
| Pitcher | Record | ERA | WHIP | WAR |
|---|
| Eduardo Reyes | 3-4 | 3.01 | 1.05 | 1.5 |
| Manuel Soliz | 4-7 | 3.99 | 1.32 | 1.3 |
| Ghi-cheng Kum | 9-6 | 5.18 | 1.61 | 0.9 |
On the pitching side,
Eduardo Reyes is the front-runner despite a losing record. Reyes began the season as a reliever but shifted to the rotation mid season. He's made 19 appearances with 10 starts. Since he leads the team in WAR as a pitcher, he'll likely be the choice if the selection is a pitcher from Portland.
Manuel Soliz, a rule 5 pick-up from Charm City, is also a possibility and has been the most consistent starter over the course of the season, starting all 17 appearances this season for the Lumberjacks.
Ghi-cheng Kum started the season 7-0 and looked destined to be a possible GM Selection to the squad. But Kum has fallen on hard times, losing 5 of his last 7 starts as his ERA and WHIP have ballooned and his WAR has declined.
If a pitcher is selected, then Reyes would likely be the choice for obvious reasons like the ERA, WHIP, and WAR. What hurts Reyes's chances is 10 pitchers are a lock as they are voted in by the GMs. It doesn't leave a lot of room to be an extra selection. But again, someone has to make it, and if it's a pitcher from Portland, Reyes is the best choice.
| Player | Position | Average | On-Base | Slugging | HR | RBI | WAR |
|---|
| Hedde Veenman | C | .208 | .353 | .449 | 17 | 34 | 1.4 |
| Jon Mick | 1B | .276 | .338 | .527 | 17 | 50 | 1.1 |
It stays pretty interesting when you move over the offense guys as well.
Hedde Veenman leads the team in WAR and is having a solid run for Portland.
Jon Mick is having a solid bounce back season after his terrible 2039 season with the Wolves in Madison.
Veenman, despite a very poor batting average, can actually find his name on some of the top 5 leaderboards for catchers. His .353 on-base percentage leads all Frick catchers at the moment. He's 3rd in OPS but ranks in 6th in OPS among Frick back stops. For Mick, he also sees his name on some of the leaderboards at 1B. He is 6th in Homeruns, OPS, and OPS+ among 1B in the Frick and is 5th in RBI.
Veenman may be the more likely option here. Stone from YS has distanced himself as the likely All-Star but then a whole host of guys fall between 1.4 and 2.0 WAR so justifying taking one over the other may be easier, especially when a team needs a rep. While Mick is having a solid bounce back season, he's not ranked in the top 8 in WAR among 1B and the fact that 1B is typically a loaded position, it would be hard to get in unless you stand out in some category and Mick just does not do that.
So.... Who represents Portland?
