Catcher: Geovany Soto, Miguel Olivo and Brian McCann. While in the American League we have Jorge Posada, Joe Mauer and Victor Martinez (not to mention John Buck and Mike Napoli), in the National League, the pickings look a little different. But these three are definitely worthy (although all but maybe McCann will be beaten out by Yadier Molina it seems). Olivo has revived his career in Colorado and is hitting .301/.365/.523 with 9 HR, 30 RBI, 4 SB and a .380 wOBA. Olivo's OPS is first among NL Catchers and his wOBA is second to Soto. Speaking of Soto, he has enjoyed a very nice bounce-back year in Chicago. While the rest of his team is underperforming, he's been quite good. His .408 OBP is tops (by far) among NL catchers and actually leads all Major League catchers. Meanwhile, McCann benefits from needing a third catcher here, though his .377 OBP, 8 HR, 30 RBI and .357 wOBA for the first-place Braves is nothing to sneeze at. McCann ranks ahead of Soto on WAR (2.0 to 1.6) mostly due to defensive adjustments, but Olivo's fielding puts him in the lead in that category (2.6). "Counting" Stats: Soto .268 avg, 8 HR, 18 RBI; Olivo .301 avg, 9 HR, 30 RBI, 4 SB; McCann .258, 8 HR, 30 RBI, 3 SB. Honorable Mentions: George Kottaras (.822 OPS and .364 wOBA both third among NL catchers) and Nick Hundley (.822 OPS and .347 wOBA for first-place Padres). Picture from the Denver Post.
First Base: Adrian Gonzalez, Joey Votto, Aubrey Huff, and Albert Pujols. The first place I'll take an extra hitter is at first where there's a ton of legit players. "Gonzo" leads the National League 1st basemen in WAR with 3.3 which is certainly a combination of his bat (.313/.411/.559 with 15 HR, 47 RBI, and a .407 wOBA) and his glove (league-leading at 1st) for the surprise first-place Pads. Votto leads all NL 1B in wOBA with .415 mark in a breakout year for him where he's matched offensive numbers with Gonzalez (15 HR and 47 RBI as well). Huff has been the biggest surprise of this group, in my opinion since I thought it was an awful move for the Giants to sign him. Huff's .311/.401/.549 line is excellent but his .411 wOBA puts him second to Votto among NL 1B, and his extremely low 11.5% strikeout percentage to go along with solid power numbers and at least average defensive should earn him a trip to Anaheim. And Sir Albert isn't having his best year but still leads the NL 1B in RBI and is tied for the lead in HR and has 6 SB to go along with that. He will be voted in as the starter at 1st as the NL's leading vote getter and even in a "down year" for Pujols, you know he will be there among NL MVP candidates at the end of the year. Counting Stats: Gonzalez .313 avg, 15 HR, 47 RBI; Votto .310 avg, 15 HR, 47 RBI, 7 SB; Huff .311 avg, 12 HR, 37 RBI, 3 SB; Pujols .302 avg, 15 HR, 50 RBI, 6 SB. Honorable Mentions: Adam Dunn (17 HR leads NL 1B), Troy Glaus (.860 OPS as offensive prowess for Braves), Prince Fielder (numbers slightly down but still a force with a .378 wOBA), and Ryan Howard (coming on late with a .294 avg, 14 HR, and 52 RBI). Picture from Bleacher Report
Second Base: Chase Utley, Kelly Johnson, and Martin Prado. I really just wanted to take two guys here but it was impossible to separate two out between these three. Utley is going to be starting in Anaheim and according to WAR (3.0) he deserves it. But no one will deny that this has been a bit of a down year for Utley and you wonder if his hip or another injury is bothering him. If you take defense out of the equation, I think you give it to Prado or Johnson. Prado has been fantastic with a .340/.380/.485 line, 7 HR, 31 RBI, and a .375 wOBA. Only two other NL 2B who qualify for the batting title have an average of .300 and neither of those guys are over .305. And Johnson has rode his fast start to this point. He leads NL 2B in OPS (.877) and wOBA (.381). But this was not an easy choice as you'll see by the guys who make the honorable mention below. Counting Stats: Utley .264 avg, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 4 SB; Johnson .267 avg, 13 HR, 35 RBI, 5 SB; Prado .340 avg, 7 HR, 31 RBI, 2 SB. Honorable Mentions: Brandon Phillips (.305/.365/.481 with 9 HR, 24 RBI, 10 SB, and 3rd in NL 2B in WAR with 2.4) and Dan Uggla (14 HR and 38 RBI lead all NL 2B).
Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki and Hanley Ramirez. I know, I know; Tulowitzki is injured. But while I mostly would just forget about him on this ballot, after reading this Denver Post piece on Tulo and saw he said this: “"I can't raise my heart rate right away, so I will probably walk the dog 100 times," Tulo-witzki said. "I will take my chances that I will make some All-Star Games in my career. I don't know why this happened. But anything I do, I try to look at the positives.”" How can you not root for that guy to get elected even if he can’t play? The guy deserves it based on his stats and even if the manager has to pick the replacement, isn’t it worth it for him to get recognized? Tulowitzki is the top NL shortstop based on WAR (2.6 to Ramirez's 2.4), he has the top wOBA (.386) and his SLG% of .502 is also tops. Ramirez is no slouch himself with a .878 OPS, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 13 SB, and a .382 wOBA. Who is the next best SS to replace Tulo? Check out the honorable mentions below for a few candidates. Counting Stats: Tulowitzki .306 avg, 9 HR, 34 RBI, 7 SB; Ramirez .293 avg, 11 HR, 43 RBI, 13 SB. Honorable Mentions: Juan Uribe (his 11 HR and 43 RBI is tied with Hanley for most among NL SS and his 1.9 WAR is 3rd) and Rafael Furcal (.305 avg, and 9 SB in 182 PAs with a 1.6 WAR). Picture from the Denver Post.
Thirdbase: Scott Rolen, Ryan Zimmerman and David Wright. Placido Polanco may beat out David Wright to start at third but he doesn't hold a candle to these three. Role leads NL hotcorner guarders in OPS at .936 and wOBA at .394. Zimmerman comes in first on WAR at 3.0 due to his NL-best defense at 3rd. Wright leads NL 3B in RBI (55) and SB (12), is second in OBP (.382 to Chipper Jones' .389) and fits in second in WAR at 2.7. These three lead the NL 3rd OPS list for NL 3B and the next highest (Mark Reynolds) is 75 points behind. This is a position that continues to spout out good players every year with Aramis Ramirez, Chipper Jones, Placido Polanco, David Freese and Pablo Sandoval not even sniffing an honorable mention. Counting Stats: Rolen .303 avg, 15 HR, 46 RBI; Zimmerman .287 avg, 13 HR, 37 RBI; Wright .291 avg, 12 HR, 55 RBI, 12 SB. Honorable Mentions: Mark Reynolds (leads NL 3B in HR, but is hitting .218 and has struck out 101 times) and Casey McGehee (hot start but has cooled off since, still 2nd with 50 RBI to go along with 12 HR).
Leftfield: Josh Willingham, Matt Holliday, Eric Hinske and Ryan Braun. Again, I separated the outfield positions even though the actual All-Star Game doesn't do that. The biggest stretch on this list was probably Braun, though he makes it solely on his bat (he leads NL LF with a .310 avg and 46 RBI). While his bat is definitely All-Star-worthy, his NL-worst glove in left drops his WAR below Eric Hinske and Jason Bay. Hinske makes this list at the expense of a CF, but it's well-deserved as Joe from FanGraphs describes. Hinske has played in the World Series the past three seasons for three different teams (all the AL East) and while that invitation to the Fall Classic was earned from the bench, this invitation to the Mid-Summer Classic has been earned on the field. Hinske has been a tremendously important player for the Braves with a .311/.377/.548 line, a .397 wOBA and a .237 ISO making him a very dangerous player. Although he's moved around a lot on the field, I'm putting him here. Holliday has really come along for the Cards and leads NL LF in WAR with 3.3 (Willingham is next with 2.5). Willingham is a huge surprise here as well, leading the NL LF in OPS (.915), HR (13), OBP (.409) and wOBA (.404). This leaves out the power-hitting trio of Jason Bay, Manny Ramirez and Alfonso Soriano, but I think the 4 people listed above are well-deserved. Counting Stats: Willingham .274 avg, 13 HR, 41 RBI, 5 SB; Holliday .308 avg, 11 HR, 35 RBI, 6 SB; Hinske .311 avg, 5 HR, 27 RBI; Braun .310 avg, 10 HR, 46 RBI, 11 SB. Honorable Mentions: Manny Ramirez (.900 OPS, 8 HR, 34 RBI, .384 wOBA in 190 PAs), Alfonso Soriano (.879 OPS, 10 HR, .383 wOBA), and Tyler Colvin (.406 wOBA and .299 ISO but only 131 PA). Picture from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Rightfield: Andre Ethier, Corey Hart, and Jason Heyward. It was painful to leave Jayson Werth and Ryan Ludwick off this list, but I'm going to. Ethier deserves it just on his bat. Despite missing a few weeks, he still has put up a tremendous .320/.383/.583, 12 HR, 44 RBI, and a .412 wOBA. But according to UZR, he's the worst RF in Major League Baseball (by far) which moves his WAR behind names like Will Venable and Jim Edmonds. Hart was a tough choice to leave off with a league-leading 18 HR to go along with 54 RBI, a .918 OPS, and a .388 wOBA, though his defense leaves his WAR behind Cody Ross. And Jason Heyward I took over Ludwick despite Ludwick's lead in WAR. Heyward's slightly superior bat and the excitment he brings to this exhibition game get him the nod. It was very close, though. Counting stats: Ethier .320 avg, 12 HR, 44 RBI; Hart .268 avg, 18 HR, 54 RBI, 3 SB; Heyward .259 avg, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 5 SB. Honorable Mentions: Ludwick (top WAR but mostly because of his glove since his bat ranks him below the top 5 of NL RF), Werth (3rd in OPS and wOBA but loses out to Heyward on glove in a close race), and Justin Upton (not as good a year with the bat, but his overall play ranks him 4th in WAR at 1.8).
So what do you think? Agree with my picks or disagree? Are you OK with naming Tulowitzki to the team or do you think it's just a waste to do so if he's going to have to be replaced? Let us know in the comments below
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A lot of good first basemen and Glaus in particular gets lost (hard to believe that Ryan Howard would be borderline). He's been mashing the ball and is probably the best offensive first baseman the Braves have had in a long time.
ReplyDeleteMartin Prado gets my vote at second.
I would add Polanco and Freese to honorable mention (although neither of them is better than the other three).
McCutchen will probably make the All Start Team anyways because of the one player per team rule.
I know that Werth will be disappointed to not make the team. An All Star appearance doesn't hurt one's chances during free agency.
I think it would be nice for Pagan to make the team. He has quietly done a really great job filling in for Beltran and will probably continue to get substantial playing time in RF once Beltran returns.
Ben, I wanted to put Glaus and Howard on, but who do you take off? Pagan may make the team though I doubt it. His stats aren't as eye popping as some other candidates in the OF (since the OF is done on an overall basis, they'll probably take guys like Werth over Pagan, especially with Manuel as the manager)
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