Why Ryan McMahon Deserves to Make His First All-Star Game

Are the Colorado Rockies bad?

It’s pretty clear they are. Look, a 29-56 record don’t lie

But there are also a few players putting together a pretty fine 2024, and Ryan McMahon is one of them. The Rockies may not be good, but they have one of the best third basemen in MLB, and he should be going to the All-Star Game later this month.

Here’s why.

Improved Offense

Despite his Gold Glove finalist résumé (more on that in a minute), McMahon’s career has been marked by offensive inconsistency. He had yet to become the player the Rockies thought he could be.

As general manager Bill Schmidt told Patrick Saunders at the Winter Meetings, “If you look, he’s an average player right now, and I’ve told him that. . . . He’s an above-average defender, which makes him the average player. He can be better. There are a lot of people who believe that.”

McMahon spent the offseason addressing those shortcomings in his game.

“I worked on a two-strike approach,” McMahon said back in April. “I worked on that in the spring, and I realized I can take that swing more often, that it doesn’t have to be on two strikes.”

The change is paying dividends as McMahon is finding more offensive consistency. 

However, it’s worth comparing his 2024 season to that of his fellow National League third basemen. (All numbers are current as of July 3, 2024.)

When considering NL third basemen, McMahon ranks third as measured by fWAR. His 2.1 put him behind only Alex Bohm (2.5) and Joey Ortiz (2.5).

Now consider some additional offensive numbers. McMahon has hit 14 home runs, which puts him behind Christopher Morel’s 15 and ties him with Jeimer Candelario.

His 112 wRC+ is third only to Ortiz (134) and Bohm (133) and ties McMahon with Austin Riley (minimum of 200 PA). He has the third-highest OBP (.347), which is just short of Bohm’s NL-third-basemen-leading .349, and he’s third in SLG (.456) behind Bohm and Candelario.

Of course, this will inevitably leads to all those #COORS! chants, folks who would argue that McMahon benefits from playing half his games at Coors Field. However, examining his splits makes clear this is not the case. When hitting in Denver, McMahon has a wRC+ of 99; on the road, that number is 125.

In short, he’s having an excellent offensive season.

Elite Defense

None of those offensive improvements have come at the expense of McMahon’s defense. (He is, remember, a three-time Gold Glove finalist.)

His five DRS tie him with Matt Chapman and Austin Riley for the most by a NL third baseman. (Bohm’s total is -2.) He has the highest UZR (3.7) while Riley comes in second at 3.2. (Bohm is -0.8.) His three OAA tie him for second with Ke’Bryan Hayes. (Joey Ortiz has the most with five.) And McMahon is behind only Ortiz in FRV.

Look, then, at an old-school metric: errors. Bohm leads all third basemen with 11 followed by Chapman with 10. McMahon’s eight come in third — and that’s in 194 attempts. Bohm accrued more errors in only 151 attempts.

When considering the defense, a case can be made that McMahon is the best all-around third baseman in the National League.

Closing Thoughts

There’s lots of speculation on whether the Rockies will deal McMahon at the trade deadline. There is, after all, a New York Yankees team that could really use a good third baseman.

That’s probably not going to happen — the Rockies view McMahon as a key part of their future.

But while McMahon’s probably not headed to the Bronx, he should be going to Arlington later this month to represent the Colorado Rockies at the 2024 All-Star Game.

And this isn’t one of those “every-team-gets-to-send-a-player moves.”

Ryan McMahon has earned it.