Red Sox’s Connor Wong Continues To Build Impressive All-Star Campaign

A key goal for the Red Sox this season was to see which young players would continue their development, and Connor Wong has been one of the faces of that effort.

Of course, Jarren Duran’s lightning-quick athleticism flies off the TV screen, but Wong also has been making a case as one of Boston’s cornerstone players. His career season could earn him his first career MLB All-Star appearance.

After Friday’s loss to the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park, Wong leads qualified American League catchers with a 1.9 fWAR and a .360 batting average. The 28-year-old also is second in MLB in on-base percentage (.422), and he’s third among major league catchers in wOBA (.403) and wRC+ (159).

However, after he extended his hitting streak to 11 games, the All-Star Game at Globe Life Field wasn’t on Wong’s mind.

“You can’t really control that,” Wong told reporters, per MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “You’ve got to go out there and try to win every game and do your best every night.”

Wong’s offensive output came thanks in large part to a key mechanic fix when it came to his toe tap at the plate. He’s combined that with solid defense, and the fourth-year catcher has helped Boston’s pitching staff become fifth-best in the majors with a 3.44 ERA.

Despite an All-Star appearance not being at the front of his mind, he did acknowledge the significance of the achievement.

“It definitely would be special,” Wong said. “It would be a great honor. There’s a lot of really good players in this league. Yeah, it would be a great honor.”

Wong continues to work on his craft, and the progressing development of Kyle Teel in Double-A Portland will create even more intrigue at catcher for the Red Sox, but if Wong’s production doesn’t slow down, it will be hard to deny him a spot on the AL All-Star team this year.