MLB All-Star selections are a very interesting data point.
Folks often use them to evaluate a player’s career, but All-Star selections don’t always tell the whole story.
In fact, they tell just half of the story.
If a player has a strong first half of a season, that player is likely to be named an All-Star.
From that point forward, we typically refer to that player’s season as a success—or as an “All-Star-caliber season.”
But what about the second half of the year?
All-Star selections neglect to account for the way a player performs in the second half.
This season, several players who had strong first halves are having poor second halves.
And today, we’re going to take a look at a few of those players.
There are a lot to choose from, so there might be some notable omissions.
Let’s get started.
3. Joey Gallo
Joey Gallo made the All-Star team as a Texas Ranger, but he was dealt to the New York Yankees shortly after the Midsummer Classic.
The 27-year-old posted an OPS of .869, OPS+ of 141, and 25 home runs during his first-half stint with the Rangers.
He was one of the most desirable power-hitting bats on the trade market.
The Yankees pulled the trigger on a deal for him and hoped that his production would carry over.
It has not.
As a Yankee, he’s batting just .144 with a .656 OPS and 83 OPS+.
He is striking out at an extremely high rate, which you’d be able to live with if he were hitting home runs, but he’s not.
He has gone deep just five times in a Yankees uniform.
Despite Gallo’s performance, New York is having a very strong second half of the season.
2. Matt Barnes
The Matt Barnes hype was sizable in the first half.
He started the season with an insane stretch, posting seven consecutive scoreless innings and striking out 14 batters.
After his hot start, he came back to earth slightly, but he still had some outstanding numbers at the All-Star break, like a 2.61 ERA and .174 opponent average.
Unfortunately, everything changed for Barnes once the calendar turned to August.
He has a disgusting 15.88 ERA over his last 10 appearances, and opponents have a 1.355 OPS against him over that span.
The righty hasn’t been able to catch a break.
Even worse, he’s currently on the shelf due to COVID-19, so it will be a week or so before the Boston Red Sox see him again.
Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes is headed onto the COVID IL, sources tell ESPN. He’s the fourth player in the last few days to join, alongside Kiké Hernandez, Christian Arroyo and Martin Perez. Boston’s depth will be tested over the next week or so as those on the IL recover.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 30, 2021
1. Adam Frazier
Adam Frazier was dealt to the San Diego Padres just before the trade deadline.
Folks in San Diego thought they were getting a star player, but instead, Frazier’s stint with the team has been a disaster.
Over 29 games, he’s batting .223 with a .541 OPS and 54 OPS+ (i.e. 46 percent below league average).
He hasn’t hit a home run, and his playing time has started to dwindle of late.
The Padres are engaged in an intense playoff race, and they can’t afford to have unproductive hitters in their lineup right now.
Adam Frazier seemed like a pretty safe trade-deadline pickup for the Padres, at the very least. He's batting .223/.279/.262 with zero home runs and one stolen base through 29 games.
— Drew Silva (@drewsilv) September 1, 2021
No one could have seen this coming from Frazier, who batted .324 with an OPS of .836 before being traded.
NEXT: Blue Jays Cut Reliever Brad Hand And Admit Mistake