The MLB All-Star game will be held in San Diego on July 12 at 7 PM EST. Today is the deadline to vote for the teams, so I figured I would put together my ballot to give you a little guidance on who most deserves to be in the starting lineup for each league. While in most sports, the All-Star game doesn't matter beyond a quick (and deeply flawed) metric to measure a player's career achievements, in baseball the winning league gets home field advantage in the World Series, so the outcome of the game is actually very important. On to my picks. You can cast your own ballot by clicking on this link.
American League
First Base: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
Cabrera has been a mainstay on the team for 6 consecutive years, and he should be a shoe-in to make it 7 straight. He is one of the best hitters in the game, and is in the middle of another fantastic season. Among AL first basemen, he is 1st with 19 HR, 3rd with 51 RBI, 2nd in average at .301, and 1st in slugging percentage at .542. He has played in all 78 of the games Detroit has played. The only other contender here is Eric Hosmer, but he has hit 7 fewer bombs than Miggy and is slugging a full 50 points lower. It shouldn't be a contest, but Hosmer is backed by the insane Kansas City fan base which voted 8 Royals onto the team last year.
Second Base: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
This is a slightly tougher choice than 1B, but not by much. Altuve is hitting .357, leading the league by 15 points over Xander Bogaerts. He has 111 hits, which leads the league. He has 21 stolen bases, leading the league. He plays incredible defense, with outstanding range and only 3 errors on the season. Oh yeah, and he also hits for power, with 13 bombs and a slugging percentage of .572, 4th best in the AL. The only other plausible choice is Robinson Cano of the Mariners, who has 19 HR and more RBI's than Altuve, but his overall production is simply not close. Altuve should start for the 3rd straight season.
Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox
This is another extremely easy call. Bogaerts is hitting .342, 2nd in the AL and 36 points better than the second-best SS, Francisco Lindor of the Indians. He leads AL SS with 50 RBI, and he had a 26 game hit streak at one point this season. He also has a freaking awesome name, and I love him.
Third Base: Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
This is the first choice I had to think about for more than 5 seconds, but in the end it was still a clear choice for me. Machado has a legitimate claim to be the best player in all of baseball, and even my hate for all things Baltimore won't keep him off my ballot. He is hitting .338, leading all AL 3B's. He has 18 HR, which is 2nd at his position only to Todd Frazier, who has hit 22 bombs but is batting a meager .202. Machado is slugging .611, 2nd in the AL only to the Large Father David Ortiz, and Manny is leading the AL in total bases with a ridiculous 182. He is 1 of only 4 players in baseball with an OPS (on base% plus slugging%) above 1.000. Plus, Machado plays absolutely outstanding defense; he won the Gold Glove last year, and probably will win again this season. The only guy who can compete with him is last season's MVP, Josh Donaldson, who has 18 bombs, 52 RBI, and leads the league in walks, but he is hitting "only" .293 and his slugging% is a full 40 points lower than Machado's. Im going with the Oriole, as much as it pains me.
Catcher: Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
Perez is another mainstay on this team, having made it each of the past 3 seasons. He is an absolute workhorse, having caught and insane 68 of KC's 77 games, and he is the rare catcher who contributes both offensively and defensively. He has 3 consecutive Gold Glove awards, and has thrown out an outrageous, Ivan Rodriguez-esque 54% of runners who try to steal on him this year. He is hitting .294 with 12 HR and a .512 Slugging%, all of which lead AL catchers. Basically, he is the best fielder at his position, and the best hitter at his position. There's nobody else who is even close to his level in the American League.
DH: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
If you ask me if David Ortiz should start for the AL, I will answer faster than if you ask me if I want to have sex with Margot Roby. The answer is yes. Ortiz is completely redefining what is possible at the age of 40, and is having a career year despite achy feet that make him basically immobile. He is batting .336, with 18 HR and 63 RBI (2rd in AL). He is slugging .672, which is 61 points better than Manny Machado, who is 2nd in MLB. The gap between Ortiz and Machado is larger than the gap between Machado and Trevor Story, who is 23rd in slugging. Oh yeah, and Ortiz has hit 31 doubles, which puts him on pace for 64, which would be the second most ever. I'd say he's an All-Star.
The only other possible choice here is Edwin Encarnacion of the Toronto Blue Jays, who has 21 HR and leads the league with 70 RBI. It's a shame for him that he is listed on the ballot only as a DH, as he would probably have been my pick as at first. Despite his excellent power numbers, his overall production/awesomeness fails well short of Ortiz.
Outfield (Pick 3): Ian Desmond, Texas Rangers; Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels; Mark Trumbo, Baltimore Orioles
This was the only difficult choice on the AL ballot, and boy was it a tough one. In the end, I left off Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley Jr., which is causing me quite a bit of self-loathing right now. But honestly, there just wasn't a spot for either of them. Mark Trumbo leads the AL in HR with 23, and is 3rd in RBI (60) and 7th in slugging% (.562). He is a top 3 power hitter in the league this season, and ladies love the long ball. He needs to be on the team, even if his poor defense drives his WAR (Wins Above Replacement) down to 1.4.
Mike Trout is the Golden Boy of baseball, and has finished in the top 2 in MVP voting for the last 4 years in a row. He having another outstanding season, hitting .322 with 17 HR, 50 RBI, and a .574 slugging%. He has 11 stolen bases and plays excellent defense in centerfield, even if his fielding numbers have dropped a bit this season. Trout simply does it all, as his league leading 4.8 WAR (Wins Above Replacement) indicates. He is the face of baseball, and no All-Star team would be complete without him.
My final selection is Ian Desmond, probably the toughest to justify picking over my boy Mook. The argument for Betts is that he is a do it all player: he has a .287 average, 16 HR and 54 RBI out of the leadoff spot, 12 stolen bases, and a league leading 67 runs scored. He also plays outstanding defense in right field, and his production in every facet of the game have led to him wracking up a WAR of 3.0. He's certainly a worthy choice for the All-Star team. Unfortunately, the same arguments apply slightly better to Desmond. Ian is hitting .322, significantly better than Betts. He has 14 HR and 51 RBI, so he's providing almost as much power. What's more, Desmond is outslugging Betts .528 to .501. Desmond has 14 stolen bases, and 59 runs scored, so his baserunning is just as good. Desmond also plays an excellent outfield, and has a WAR of 3.4. I absolutely hate to do it, but I have to leave Betts out of my starting 9. It's ok though, Betts is only 23. There will be plenty more chances for me to vote for him.
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