Tigers’ A.J. Hinch Makes a Bold All-Star Case for His Catcher. Like, Cancel-the-Game Bold.

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch is tired of his team being overlooked. So tired, in fact, that he floated a pretty extreme hypothetical. If catcher Dillon Dingler doesn’t make the All-Star team, Hinch said, maybe the whole game should just be called off.

He said it on MLB Network Radio this week. Not as a joke, either. Hinch doubled down.

“I think if Dillon Dingler is not an All-Star, then we probably shouldn’t have the game,” Hinch said. “I rarely would make that bold a statement, but he is by far the most deserving candidate on our team, and he’s going to be there, I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”

That’s a lot of weight to put on a guy who’s playing for a 36-49 team sitting fourth in the AL Central. But the numbers back up the hype.

Why Dingler Deserves the Nod

Dingler leads all American League catchers in home runs (19), RBIs (59), and OPS (.854). He’s hitting .262. For a position that tends to be defense-first these days, those are legitimately standout offensive numbers. No other AL catcher is even close in power production.

Hinch didn’t stop with Dingler, though. He rattled off a few more Tigers who could end up in Philadelphia for the Midsummer Classic.

Kevin McGonigal, the 21-year-old rookie playing two positions and posting elite WAR numbers, is getting more attention around the league by the week. Casey Mize, according to Hinch, is the guy who isn’t getting enough love. And Tarik Skubal is always in the conversation.

“It’s funny, you know, our season has been frustrating on a lot of levels,” Hinch said. “It’s also promising on other levels, and yet we’re still going to rattle off four, potentially five All-Stars that are going to be in Philadelphia to represent our club, so that better times are ahead.”

Four or five All-Stars from a team that’s 13 games under .500? That would be unusual. But All-Star selection has never been purely about team record. Individual production matters, and the Tigers have some bright spots worth recognizing.

Dingler is the headliner. Whether the selection committee agrees with Hinch’s doomsday scenario remains to be seen. But the manager made his position clear. Either Dingler is an All-Star, or the game itself is in question. That’s a pretty simple ultimatum.