Dodgers Team News

Dodgers News: Don Mattingly Doesn’t Think Yasiel Puig Is An All-Star

Much has been made about Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig and his incredible start for good reason, but the bigger question now is will he be an All-Star.

Since Puig came up, he’s hit six home runs and given the Dodgers a spark, which hasn’t necessarily translated into wins as the team is still in last place.

However, the All-Star game is less than a month away and Dodgers manager Don Mattingly was asked if Puig should make the team by Bill Shaikin of the LA Times:

“Right now, no,” Mattingly said. “Are his numbers better than anybody else’s? If he gets to the point where he’s putting up huge numbers, he should be considered. Right now, you’re asking if he should be above guys with 40 RBIs.”

Puig does have six home runs, but he only has 12 RBIs as Mattingly is using him exclusively at the top of the lineup. Unlike Mike Trout and Bryce Harper from last season, Puig came up later in the season and won’t have the luxury of having as many games to put up similar numbers.

Still, Matt Kemp can’t help but be amazed at the incredible start Puig is having to his major league career:

“I think he has a better chance to win rookie of the year than to be an All-Star.”

Mattingly recently said Puig will stay with the team the rest of the season and once Kemp and Carl Crawford come back, he’ll have four outfielders for three spots.

All the All-Star talk started when the Dodgers were in New York and Puig visited the MLB Fan Cave and stated that he hoped the fans would write him in to the game.

Giants manager Bruce Bochy is the NL All-Star manager and told Jim Bowden of ESPN.com and SiriusXM that it’d be hard for him to let Puig play in the game.

Regardless, if Puig doesn’t make the All-Star team he’ll have more opportunities and has bigger problems in getting the Dodgers out of the cellar.

Ross Gasmer

Ross Gasmer is a Social Media Producer for @TheHerd and was a contributing writer and editor for Dodger Nation. Follow him on Twitter @Ross_Gasmer12

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