Mancini on the "tremendous honor" he's trying to ignore

Voting is underway for the 2019 All-Star Game that's slated for July 9 at Progressive Field in Cleveland, and outfielder Trey Mancini appears to be a virtual lock to represent the Orioles, a perception that he tunes out like hostile crowd noise.

There isn't a more obvious choice than Mancini, who impresses with his average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, power and run production. It's hard to pick apart any aspect of his offensive game when lined up against his teammates.

So, it's got to be Mancini. Right?

"It would be a tremendous honor, but no, it's nothing that I've thought off too much," said Mancini, who's batting .300/.347/.536 with 17 doubles, a triple, 10 home runs and 26 RBIs. "It's still pretty early, so it's not anything I want to think of. I just want to go out there and keep playing hard for the team.

"It would be a dream come true to be an All-Star, but like I said, it's not for over a month away and I'm definitely not going to get ahead of myself or anything like that. I just want to keep playing hard and playing the game the right way and help us win games. That's all I'm really focused on, and I think everything else will take care of itself if that's your mindset."

Manager Brandon Hyde intends to keep campaigning for Mancini and will make it a daily topic if necessary. It's that important to him.

"I'm going to be leading the Trey Mancini bandwagon for the All-Star Game. There's no doubt about it," Hyde said.

"He's an All-Star in every sense of the word. He's just done everything for us and performed like an All-Star. He's hit, hit for power, played good defense, has led our club in everything. And a class act. Just somebody that we're really proud of and he's had an All-Star caliber start to this year, and I'm going to be promoting it big-time."

Leadership skills won't get you extra votes, but Mancini's emergence in the role hasn't gone unnoticed by Hyde.

"Yeah, he's done everything," Hyde said. "He is as professional as it gets. I didn't know he was like this. I knew he was an awesome guy and a class act, but he's exceeded my expectations. He's just a great person.

"He plays his butt off, plays hurt, wants to be in the lineup every day, hits against righties and lefties, has played multiple positions and has produced. He's had an All-Star year."

Major League Baseball has changed the All-Star voting process, implementing a 25-day event called "The Primary" that ends June 21 at 4 p.m. Finalists will advance to "The Starters Election," which lasts 28 hours starting June 26 at noon.

I've got Murray State going to the Final Four. I'm playing a hunch.

Voting can be done on MLB.com, all 30 club sites and the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps, as well as Google Search.

* The ballot also includes catcher Pedro Severino, representing the Orioles after they signed Jesús Sucre during the off-season and brought back Austin Wynns.

Severino was a late waiver claim, broke camp with the team and is getting the bulk of the work behind the plate. The Orioles outrighted Sucre to Triple-A Norfolk and Wynns is trying to hold onto his roster spot while Chance Sisco builds his case for a promotion.

Once a top prospect in the Nationals organization, Severino developed a reputation as a plus defender who couldn't hit, and his .187/.273/.287 slash line in 105 games didn't allow room for a counter-argument. But he was hitting .270/.353/.483 before last night, and his five home runs were three more than he totaled with the Nats over parts of four seasons.

Hyde likes to pair Wynns with Dylan Bundy, but Severino played last night because he was batting .353/.395/.676 against left-handers and the Tigers started Matthew Boyd.

"He's really swung the bat well, especially against left-handed pitching," Hyde said. "That's why he's hitting fifth. And four hits the other night in Colorado.

"When we got Pedro we saw a really talented guy that was a catch-and-throw guy with Washington who got to the big leagues quick, kind of bounced between Triple-A and the big leagues on a good club that was a defense-first guy. And now I think he's getting more consistent at-bats than he ever got in Washington, and with that has come some better at-bats and being a little more comfortable in the big leagues.

"Always had a nice swing, and now you're seeing a little bit of production with an opportunity, which is kind of the key word around here this year. He's taken advantage of it and swinging the bat really well."

* A scout from outside the organization watched Grayson Rodriguez work a career-high seven innings Monday afternoon at Single-A Delmarva, with only one run and two hits allowed and eight strikeouts, and called the 2018 first-round draft pick "really special" and "the best Orioles prospect I've seen in many, many, moons."

"He absolutely will be a top-of-the-rotation starter, and he's only a pup," the scout said.

Rodriguez was praised for having a plus changeup and curveball, and a fastball that touches 96 mph but usually sits in the 92-93 mph range. Rodriguez isn't playing to the radar gun. He's doing more than just throwing.

"His pitchability, you don't see many kids who really have a feel for pitching," the scout said. "I didn't need the radar gun to scout him. That kid can pitch. And he's a good athlete for a big guy. He was fun to watch.

"He wasn't the top pitcher I saw this year, but this kid is in that group. He's going to be one of the top four or five that I'll see all year. It's like watching (Dylan) Bundy pitch when he had his velocity."