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Blue Jays by the numbers: Who will join Josh Donaldson at the All-Star game?
One of the Toronto Blue Jays' top players got some good news Sunday, as Josh Donaldson was confirmed as the starting third baseman for the American League All-Stars.
It took the fans awhile to get on board, but with some big names campaigning on his behalf, Donaldson made a late run and ended up with just over 14 million votes, breaking the record for most votes ever received by an individual player.
The honour is justified. Donaldson has been a force in the Blue Jays' powerful lineup all season and his 4.3 wins above replacement ranks third overall in the AL. One of the game's most well-rounded stars, Donaldson is hitting .296/.352/.527 with 19 home runs and has also proven his worth with his exceptional glove work at the hot corner.
The numbers show that Donaldson deserves to be joined by two teammates on July 14 in Cincinnati. Given Toronto's prowess at the plate, it's no surprise they're both position players.
When the All-Star reserves are announced Monday night at 7 p.m. ET, expect Jose Bautista and Russell Martin to be named to the AL squad.
Bautista and Martin finished one spot out of the starting lineup at their respective positions, with Martin finishing second in voting at catcher behind Kansas City's Salvador Perez while Bautista trailed fellow outfielders Mike Trout, Lorenzo Cain, and Alex Gordon.
Their popularity is backed up by their statistics. Martin is the top catcher in the AL in terms of WAR at 2.8 and Bautista's 3.1 WAR puts him in a tie for third among AL outfielders.
Here's how they stack up to the competition in other key offensive categories.
RUSSELL MARTIN, CATCHER
| 2015 | Positional Rank |
OBP | .345 | 2 |
SLG | .476 | 2 |
HR's | 12 | 4 |
JOSE BAUTISTA, OUTFIELD
| 2015 | Positional Rank |
OBP | .397 | 1 |
SLG | .520 | 4 |
HR's | 17 | 5 |
Martin has also been a huge upgrade behind the plate with his defence and pitch-framing skills. With three players as productive as Donaldson, Bautista, and Martin, no wonder the Blue Jays have MLB's best offence and are the only team in baseball averaging more than five runs per game.
One of them has already been minted an All-Star. It shouldn't be long before the other two get their due.
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Israel Fehr is a writer for Yahoo Canada Sports. Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr
