April All-Star Team: Johnny Giavotella
- Updated: May 9, 2015
Image via Twitter
It seems like it gets earlier every year, but Major League Baseball has already released their All-Star Game ballots, and you can start voting now for your favorite player. Here’s more information on how to do that. In the meantime, let’s make the case for just one deserving member of the Los Angeles Angels… Johnny Giavotella.
Ok, obviously, Mike Trout could win MVP, let alone rep the Angels in the 2015 All-Star Game, but, wait, where the hell did Johnny Giavotella come from?!
Giavotella finished April hitting .317/.380/.413 with nine runs and ten RBIs in 21 games. He’s second on the team in hitting behind Trout, and he’s pretty much captured the everyday job at second base, after fighting like a dog throughout Spring Training to even have a shot to crack a big league roster in the first place.
Giavotella has never been a hot hitter, coming into the year having hit .247 for his career high in just a partial rookie year with the Kansas City Royals in 2011. Now, all of a sudden, the 27-year old looks like the Angels were ridiculous for even holding a second base competition, considering how thoroughly he’s captured the job.
If I were to guess, I’d compare 2015 Giavotella to 2014 Charlie Blackmon, the Colorado Rockies outfielder who started April on an incredible hot streak only to cool off significantly across the rest of the year.
Blackmon was still able to ride his numbers (to an All-Star game!) for a starting job the rest of the summer. I don’t actually believe Giavotella will hit .317 all year (and neither should you), but his trajectory may be similar to Blackmon’s as he inevitably begins to cool down.
But, what do I believe is that Giavotella has been a spark plug for a very slump-tastic Angels offense who, with the exception of Trout, hasn’t done much of anything to opposing pitchers thus far this season.
Hey, more power to Giavotella if he can keep it up (and to Trout, and Kole Calhoun, who are both having very nice seasons thus far in the Angels outfield), but call me skeptical that Johnny G can hit above .300 all year.
Nevertheless, that’s not the point of this post. If the All-Star game were today, you’d have to seriously consider Giavotella for an infield spot on the American League All-Star team.
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