As All-Star voting enters its second week, Willson Contreras and Ian Happ have risen above the woeful state of the Cubs.
By the numbers, both are All-Star candidates. Beyond them, fans would have to search high and low for ballot-worthy Cubs. Christopher Morel and Patrick Wisdom might be in the picture if only games since May 17 counted, but no such luck.
Let’s check out the candidates, with numbers through Sunday:
Contreras
Contreras leads major-league catchers with 2.2 wins above replacement, as listed at Fangraphs.com. He also leads major-league catchers at 154 weighted runs created plus unless you reduce the required number of plate appearances to 101, the number Braves catcher William Contreras — Willson’s brother — has.