Yesterday we got our first look at the voting for the MLB All-Star Game, and the Astros have...nobody. After releasing the Top 5 catchers and infielders, and Top 15 outfielders, not a single Astro is on either list. Former Astro Lance Berkman is in third place among NL outfielders, so I guess there's that.
↵The Astros don't seem to have a really obvious All-Star, so it's hard to fault the voters too much. Hunter Pence ranks highly among NL qualifiers in WAR, but he's seventh place amongst NL outfielders by the same stat. The guy right behind him, Jay Bruce, leads the league in homers and plays for a contending team. So...there's that.
↵You can make a pretty fair argument that Pence has been overlooked so far, especially given how hot he was in May, and Brian McTaggart tries to do that in this piece. But when you've got a fanbase that is showing their displeasure at the gate, a team that is basically an afterthought on the national scene, and the worst record in the National League to boot, it's not really surprising in the slightest that the Astros are where they are.
↵Heck, as good as Pence has been, you can formulate many All-Star teams with the NL's outfield that don't include him. And it's not like he makes up for it by being a nationally recognized player or anything, so he's probably behind a few more still.