Indians SS Francisco Lindor does not deserve All-Star Game invitation

Francisco Lindor was elected as a reserve to the 2017 MLB All-Star Game, which is surprising, because he doesn’t deserve the invitation.

Hopefully the 2017 MLB All-Star game serves as some sort of wake-up call for Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, because he doesn’t deserve to be playing in the mid-summer classic.

How does three days of being treated like Baseball royalty supposed to serve as a wakeup call.

I’m not a 100 percent sure about that, but hopefully being around the best of the best rubs off on the Indians’ 23-year-old star.

Indians’ beat writer told a story about former Tribe player Pat Tabler, who was the Indians lone representiave back in the 1980s. Hoynes recalled how excited he was to make the team, and how much pressure he felt to keep working hard to stay at the level of the peers surrounding him.

Lindor’s peers are the reason the 2016 Platinum Glove Award winner is in the game. Players voted and gave him the nod, even though Lindor is batting around .240.

Lindor had such a metric rise to superstardom that we forget how young and inexperienced he still is. Already, he’s been to the World Series, turned down a $100 million extension, became the face of a major shoe company, and been to two All-Star games, but for the first time in his short career, the former first-round pick is facing adversity in the majors.

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Some will blame the media for giving a guy a pass on reputation, but this time, the buck stops with the players, who have seemed to have done just that.

Boston shortstop Xander Bogarts, who is batting .314 with an .821 OPS and 2.0 WAR has been relegated to the fan vote, and he should already be on the squad.

To Lindor’s credit, he carried the Indians offense throughout the first month. He’s hit a surprising 14 home runs, seven of which came in April, which is unusual because he never showed this type of production in the minors.

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Perhaps that’s why his stats have declined. Maybe “Chicks dig the long ball” crosses his mind overtime he comes to the plate.

Lindor’s at his best when he’s making contract, driving the ball to gap and reading havoc on the base paths.

In April, Lindor slashed .309/.380/.638 with seven homers, eight doubles and 17 RBIs.

He regressed big time in May, slashing .245/.313/.451. He still showed power, hitting five homers and six doubles.

But June was the worst month of his big-league career, as Lindor slashed .214/.261/.339 with two homers and eight doubles. He only struck out eight times, so it makes you wonder about his approach at the plate.

There’s no other way to spin Lindor’s selection as anything other than a reputation pick.

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Now it’s on him to use this accolade as motivation, because eventually, if his production continues to slide, he won’t be able to rely on reputation any longer.

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