Santiago Espinal Is Turning in an All-Star Worthy Campaign

Between is strong offensive start to the season, paired with his elite defense, Santiago Espinal could be in line to make the first All-Star appearance of his career.

Comparing Espinal to the rest of the AL

Compared to the rest of the American League second baseman, he sits just behind Jose Altuve for OPS (.787) and OBS (.344) but leads the league with his .292 batting average. The Dominican product also ranks third in terms of RBI (31) and SLG (.433). Looking at the statcast metrics, he currently sits in the 86th percentile when it comes to xBA and the 98th percentile in Out Above Average.

Keeping in mind the Midsummer Classic is right around the corner, Espinal is right in the mix when it comes to potentially finding a spot on the AL roster in Los Angeles. His biggest competition will be Altuve and Cleveland Guardians second baseman Andres Gimenez, who is right up there on the leaderboards as well, but Espinal stands a shot if he can continue to play with the same consistency.

From the start of the season to now, Santiago Espinal has been one of the biggest surprises on the Blue Jays roster. He has been an absolute force at second base to the point where the Jays can look to shore up other areas on the roster at the trade deadline and leave Espinal on the right side of second to do his thing. Espinal can be trusted to lead off the batting order or follow after the big guns, and he continues to find ways to put the ball in play.

Overall, the former Red Sox prospect has really turned into a key player for the Blue Jays roster this season and if he continues this trend, Santiago Espinal could be named to his first All-Star squad later next month.