Colorado Rockies: C.J. Cron faces uphill battle in quest for All-Star Game

Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron is making his case to be a part of the National League roster when the 2022 Major League Baseball All-Star Game gets underway at Dodger Stadium. However, it’s going to be an uphill battle for Cron to appear in his first-ever Midsummer Classic.

Why Colorado Rockies first baseman C.J. Cron may be on the outside looking in at this year’s All-Star Game

Now in his second season with the Colorado Rockies, Cron has become one of the offensive leaders in Denver, slashing .282/.364/.530 with 42 home runs and 133 RBI in his first 200 games in purple pinstripes. However, this season, while Cron leads the team with 14 homers and 41 RBI, he is also playing in the midst of a flurry of National League first basemen who are having very solid seasons themselves.

Chief among those is Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals, who currently leads the National League in both batting average (.333), on base percentage (.418), hits (72), and OPS+ (190). Heading into Saturday, he’s also reached base in 46 consecutive games, the longest for the Cardinals since former Rockie Matt Holliday reached in 47 straight spanning the 2014-15 campaigns).

Don’t be surprised if Goldschmidt is the starter at first base for the National League.

As productive as Goldschmidt has been, Pete Alonso of the New York Mets is the National League leader in RBI with 54, the only NL player with more than 50 heading into Saturday’s action. He also paces the National League with 16 and will likely be back to defend his second consecutive Home Run Derby crown that he won last season at Coors Field.

There is also Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers at first base as well, and he finishes off the trifecta that includes Goldschmidt and Alonso along the top of the NL WAR leaderboard (Goldschmidt with 2.9 fWAR, followed by Freeman’s 2.0 and 1.7). When looking at fWAR, Cron at 1.0 is tied for seventh with Washington’s Josh Bell.

Critics will also point to Cron’s home-road splits (.358/.412/.667 in 137 home plate appearances versus .198/.248/.366 in 109 plate appearances) as a deterrent for the All-Star Game as well.

However, with All-Star Game rules dictating that every team gets at least one representative on the team, Cron has the best current case for any position player on the Rockies. But does he have the best overall case? Would MLB shun Alonso or Freeman in favor of Cron? It seems unlikely, but not impossible.

Could Tyler Kinley or another Rockies pitcher earn the team’s automatic placement? If Kinley keeps pitching as he is, don’t be surprised if he earns his first All-Star Game berth.

You can vote for Cron or any other Rockies position player up to five times in a 24-hour period by clicking here. Voting ends on June 30, 2022, at 1:59 p.m. (Eastern)