O’s Mullins advances in voting
Center fielder will have a chance to start in AL outfield thanks to fans
By virtue of advancing to the second phase of fan voting, Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins will have a chance to start the All-Star Game.
Mullins received 729,543 votes to finish seventh among American League outfielders in the first round, with the top nine outfielders and top three at each other position moving on. Voting in the second phase begins Monday and will determine the starters at each position, with player voting and the league determining pitchers and reserves. Second-round voting is not cumulative, meaning the finalists’ totals from the initial round do not count toward their pursuit of a starting spot.
Even if Mullins does not finish as a starter, he is well-positioned to make the team as a reserve. Each team is required to have at least one All-Star. Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini is reportedly participating in the Home Run Derby, also part of next month’s All-Star festivities at the Colorado Rockies’ Coors Field.
Mullins, 26, entered Sunday ranking among the best AL outfielders in most significant metrics. Mullins leads all qualified AL outfielders in OPS, hits, steals and extra-base hits while ranking second in batting average and slugging percentage.
He’s also been a defensive star, putting together a reel of highlight catches. He’s tied for third among all outfielders in Statcast’s outs above average, which is calculated using plays made and the difficulty of them.
Mullins began the 2019 season as the Orioles’ starting center fielder but struggled mightily, batting .094 before a demotion to Triple-A. Later in the summer, he feel to Double-A, and when September rolled around, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said a late-season return to the majors wasn’t a consideration.
He spent most of the shortened 2020 season with Baltimore, but as a switch-hitter, he hit .305 left-handed and .171 from the right side. This offseason, Mullins made the uncommon move to abandon switch-hitting and began exclusively hitting as a lefty. Despite having faced left-handed pitchers as a left-handed batter since he was a teenager, Mullins has batted .313 against them. He’s hitting .311 against righties.
The other AL outfield finalists, in order of votes received in the first round, are
Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels, Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Michael Brantley of the Houston Astros, Adolis García of the Texas Rangers, Teoscar
Hernández of the Toronto Blue Jays, Alex Verdugo of the Boston Red Sox and Toronto’s Randal Grichuk. No other Orioles finished in the top five at their respective positions.