Tigers' Riley Greene 'should be an All-Star.' Will anyone notice?

It's been eight years since the Tigers had a position player voted into the All-Star Game. Will anyone notice Riley Greene?

"He should be an All-Star," A.J. Hinch said Wednesday on 97.1 The Ticket. "If you look at his performance stacked up against other outfielders, big-name outfielders that everybody recognizes, he’s out-performing them in a lot of areas and keeping up with the Juan Sotos of the world. Guys in the American League who are deemed shoo-ins for the All-Star Game, Riley Greene’s doing it."

Greene entered play Wednesday sixth among AL outfielders in fWAR, but outside the top 20 in fan voting. Aaron Judge and Juan Soto of the Yankees, the two leaders among the group in fWAR, lead the vote by a wide margin, followed by the Astros' Kyle Tucker, who's fourth in fWAR.

In his third big-league season, Greene is also sixth among AL outfielders in homers and tied for fifth in RBI and runs. He's fifth in OPS and wRC+. On top of all that, he's tied for the lead among all AL position players in defensive runs saved.

"Riley has done his part playing on the field, he’s a tremendous guy to look up to for young people, he does everything right on and off the field and he has the performance to match," said Hinch. "So if we’re in the spirit of comparing players, take a look at the big leagues. You have Aaron Judge, you have Juan Soto, you have Kyle Tucker, who’s been out for most of the last month or so. Riley Greene’s name is right there with the best outfielders in baseball."

Judge and Soto have been on a level of their own this season, the only AL outfielders who are above 1.000 in OPS. This is not to say Greene, with an .850 OPS, is their equal. But after Tucker, who comes closest to matching the two superstars in the Bronx, Greene is proving he belongs in the conversation at the age of 23 -- and at Globe Life Field next month.

"And I think this year we should stand up as a community and get Riley Greene in the game," Hinch said. "Obviously they’re going to pick Tarik Skubal, they should pick Jack Flaherty, and that’s three Tigers. There’s probably going to be multiple this year for the first time certainly in my tenure."

The fan vote accounts for the three starting outfielders, with three reserves chosen via the player ballot. The commissioner's office then fills in the gaps of the rosters to ensure that every team is represented. Detroit's last position player voted into the All-Star Game was Miguel Cabrera in 2016.

The Tigers did send two players to the 2022 All-Star Game, but Cabrera was a Legend's Selection by the commissioner in his final season. And Justin Upton was a late injury replacement when he joined Michael Fulmer in 2017.