The Major League Baseball voting process for the All-Star Game has been under heavy scrutiny recently, due in large part to the fact that if the game took place today, five of the nine starters for the American League would be members of the Kansas City Royals.

But while that is certainly a travesty, that fact is not the point of this column.

Let's start out by  laying out a hypothetical.

This unnamed National League player is fifth in all of baseball in weighted runs created plus (wRC+), fourth in weighted on-base average (wOBA) and 12th in wins above replacement (WAR), according to FanGraphs, and fifth in MLB in OPS+, per Baseball-Reference.

Think that person deserves to be in the All-Star Game?

Well, let’s see how he stacks up against players in his own league.

Okay, that same National League player ranks sixth in the NL in WAR, third in wRC+ and third in wOBA.

So obviously his numbers are among the best in the game.  Does it sound like that person deserves to be in the All-Star Game?  The numbers support that he does.

What if this writer told you that the aforementioned player is currently in fifth place in the latest ASG ballot at his own position in the National League?  He does not have the fifth-most votes in the entire National League – a place that he might deserve considering his terrific stat line – he has the fifth most votes among first basemen.

The player is Chicago Cubs first basemen Anthony Rizzo.

As unbelievable as it is, Rizzo trails Paul Goldschmidt, Adrian Gonzalez, Joey Votto and Matt Adams in the voting.

To be clear, Goldschmidt deserves to be the starter.  He is having a ridiculously spectacular season, even better than Rizzo to this point.

But the Cubs 25-year-old first baseman is not far behind, yet there is no guarantee that he will make the All-Star Game.  What does his manager think about it?

“The guy’s got to be on the All-Star team,” Joe Maddon said of Rizzo via Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.  “Let him play shortstop, I don’t care.  He’s got to be on the All-Star team, he’s had that kind of first half."

“It’s remarkable to watch [Rizzo] everyday.  I know there are other really good first basemen and it’s probably the most loaded position there is, but what he’s done is remarkable.”

Shortstop might be a bit out of reach – especially since Rizzo is left-handed – but Rizzo seems to have the right attitude about the whole situation.

“I don’t know about shortstop,” Rizzo said, per Muskat. “It’s somewhere I’d love to be, Cincinnati, at the All-Star Game.  Stuff like that is out of your control.  We have to focus on winning games here.”

That first half that Maddon referenced?  Yes, it has been outstanding.

Through June 28th, Rizzo is hitting .304 with 15 home runs, 44 RBI and 11 stolen bases.  He is a phenomenal all-around player, and if he does not get the opportunity to play in the All-Star Game – via the Final Vote or a managerial decision – it will be a tragedy.

Maybe not as tragic as the Royals – although Josh Donaldson and Nelson Cruz recently reduced Kansas City’s number to five – but still pretty wrong nonetheless.