Zach Wilt: Stumping for Schoop to go to All-Star Game

We are just over two months into the 2017 season, and while there have been some ups and downs for the Orioles, there's been one true consistent presence: second baseman Jonathan Schoop. The 25-year-old is off to an amazing start, posting career highs in all three slashline categories, batting average (.286), on-base percentage (.336) and slugging percentage (.519). He's also on pace to finish the season with career highs in home runs (28) and RBIs (87).

Schoop has been an important part in the Orioles success this season. He has played in 56 of the team's 58 games in 2017 after playing the full 162 a season ago. He leads the Orioles in batting average, OBP, slugging percentage and RBIs (31). The advanced stats really like him, too. Schoop in the club leader in weighted on base average (wOBA), a statistic that measures a batter's total offensive value based on the relative values of each offensive event. He's also atop the Orioles' leaderboard in weighted runs created plus (wRC+), which measures a player's offensive value in runs.

I bring all of this up because it's time for us to have the "Schoop should be an All-Star" discussion. Over his five years in the big leagues, we have seen the improvements, but 2017 has been a true turning point for Schoop. You could argue that he's been the Orioles' best position player through the first half and he's just a tick behind Manny Machado in wins above replacement (WAR). Perhaps only Dylan Bundy has made more of an impact for the O's this season, but you could easily make a case that Schoop has been the club's most consistent piece in 2017.

When you compare Schoop to other second baseman in the American League, his numbers stack up quite nicely in a deep talent pool. The Orioles second baseman currently ranks second in the AL in wOBA and wRC+ behind Jose Altuve, who finished third in MVP voting last season. Schoop is just a homer shy of Robinson Cano's lead (11) and tied for second in the RBIs column (31). He's the league leader in slugging percentage.

As a fan of the Orioles and of No. 6, I would love to see Schoop recognized for the improvements he's made at the plate in 2017. He's become a much more patient hitter this season and continues to improve his power. Schoop's on base percentage has climbed from .298 last season to .336 this year. He's on pace for 28 homers in 2017 after hitting 25 a year ago. He's also making hard contact 6.9 percent more than he did in 2016.

It should come as no surprise that these numbers are a result of drastically improved plate discipline. According to PitchF/X data, Schoop is swinging less overall than he did last year (50.1 percent in 2017, 60.2 percent in 2016). He's also laying off of pitches outside of the strike zone much more efficiently than he has over his career. A season ago, Schoop swung at 43.1 percent of the pitches he saw outside of the zone. He's cut that percentage down to a mere 34 percent this year. Schoop has always made good contact in his five years in the big leagues, and that hasn't changed; he's just adjusting to pitching better than he ever has before.

For all of these efforts and the impact that Schoop has made on the Orioles in the first half of this season, I would like to see him among the All-Stars in Miami. It would be his first trip to the Mid-Summer Classic and a roster spot that I feel is well-deserved. Time to stuff those virtual ballot boxes, O's fans.

Zach Wilt blogs about the Orioles at Baltimore Sports Report. Follow him on Twitter: @zach_wilt. His views appear here as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest bloggers to our pages. All opinions expressed are those of the guest bloggers, who are not employed by MASNsports.com but are just as passionate about their baseball as our roster of writers.