The All-Star case for Mets' closer Jeurys Familia

When early results for the National League's All-Star Game Final Vote were released this morning, Mets' closer Jeurys Familia found himself in last place among the five players vying for the final spot on the NL roster. Johnny Cueto, Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Martinez, and Clayton Kershaw are all currently ahead of Familia in voting.

NL #FinalVote standings: 1. Johnny Cueto 2. Carlos Martinez 3. Troy Tulowitzki 4. Clayton Kershaw 5. Jeurys Familia pic.twitter.com/DBdp1Z0Kti

— All-Star Game (@AllStarGame) July 9, 2015

There is no question that all of these players are deserving of All-Star consideration, but none have dominated their position quite like Familia. His 1.12 ERA is second to the Cardinals' Trevor Rosenthal among all MLB closers, and his 24 saves are tied for fifth-most in all of baseball. Opponents are batting just .171 against him, the fourth-best NL mark, and he is also fourth in the league with a 0.89 WHIP. Based on this positional dominance, the case could be made that Familia is not only an All-Star, but the best closer in all of baseball as well. If he continues to record saves at his current pace he would break the Mets' single-season saves record of 43, which believe it or not was set by Armando Benitez in 2001. Saves aren't a great measure of pitching dominance, but they still carry plenty of currency among the sort of fans who vote for All-Star games.

Familia is the only player currently on this ballot that finds himself in the top five of just about every major statistical category tracking their position, making him arguably the most well-rounded statistical candidate on the ballot. Only Cueto and Tulowitzki can make a similar case, though neither is near the top of as many categories as Familia. Likewise, Kershaw is having a down year by his own lofty standards and Martinez statistically lags behind a dominant crop of National League pitchers. While a few of these players could eventually become All-Stars after injured players begin opting out of the game, final voting is the sole way to secure a spot before this weekend.

Voting for the final All-Star game spot ends tomorrow at 4 PM. Mets fans can vote for Familia online at this link. Voting can also be done via text message: by sending the word "VOTE" to 89269, a ballot will be sent to your phone. After getting this ballot, send N2 to 89269 to vote for Familia. Lastly, from 10 AM to 4 PM tomorrow (Friday), fans can vote on Twitter by using #VOTEFAMILIA in any tweet. There is no maximum amount of times one can vote, so if Mets fans chose to stuff the ballot box much like Royals fans did this season, there is nobody stopping them.