My All-Star Picks

Every year I take a somewhat serious stance on all-star voting for the mlb all-star game. Every year a great player is sure to get snubbed, while a fan favorite who is not doing well makes the team. I understand that people vote in players they know by name or are on their team. I always was a stat based guy, it is what I attribute my success in fantasy baseball too. So when making my picks a lot of it is based of stats, but I also looked at what I thought would make a great overall team as well as what players I feel should go...So without delay here are my picks for the all-star game rosters. All stats mentioned are through 6/27/10

American League Starting All-Star Roster

1B - Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers
Cabrera is off to a monster start so far. Batting .332/ 20HR/ 64 RBI. He leads all AL 1B in RBI and is tied for first in HR's with Paul Konerko, and is second in batting average. There are a lot of other good choices in this group of players but Cabrera stands out. Others who should make the team:Paul Konerko- White Sox, Justin Morneau- Twins, Kevin Youkilis - Red Sox


2B - Robinson Cano - New York Yankees
Cano is killing the ball this year and leads all AL 2B in Average (.359) , HR (15) and RBI (53). Not sure why there is any questions who else to vote for, it was probably the easiest choice I made this year. Others: Dustin Pedroia - Red Sox and Howie Kendrick- Angels


SS- Elvis Andrus - Texas Rangers
I am sure this pick is not most likely everyones choice, but hear me out. Andrus leads all AL SS (qualified) in Average (.291), Sb's (21), and Runs (51). I figure Jeter is a lock to make the team so why waste a vote on him, go for a guy who leads off for the best hitting team. He also has a great glove in field. Others: Alex Gonzales- Blue Jays and Derek Jeter - Yankees


3B - Adrian Beltre - Boston Red Sox
As much as I dislike this player this was an obvious choice. Beltre is having a monster year for the Red Sox. He is hitting .340/ 12 HR/ 52 RBI. Him and Evan Longoria have the same exact amount of HR and RBI, but Beltre is batting .340 and Longoria .297. Beltre also has one of the best gloves at 3b. Others: Evan Longoria -Rays, Michael Young- Rangers, Alex Rodriguez- Yankees.


C- Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins
He is a fan favorite and is also having a great season, so I can't see why not to vote for him. He is hitting .304/ 3HR/ 33 RBI, he is third in AL Catcher's in RBI's. He also has a great glove and like I said he is someone people want to see in the game (including this blogger). Others: John Buck - Blue Jays, Victor Martinez - Red Sox, Kurt Suzuki - Oakland.


OF (3) - Josh Hamilton - Texas Rangers
Hamilton in just killing the ball this year, and is another fan favorite. But he really deserves to be an all star starter. He leads all AL Outfielders in Average at .346 and also has 18 HR/ 57 RBI.


Carl Crawford -Tampa Bay Rays
Crawford makes the team because he is a great fielder, runner, and base stealer. He leads all AL OF's in runs (56) and tied for second in SB's. He also has 7 HR and 38 RBI. Sorry Ichiro but there is a new guy in town.


Vernon Wells - Blue Jays
Wells has had a resurgence this year with the Blue Jays and is batting .285/ 19 HR
second in AL OF)/ 47 RBI as well as 44 runs scored. Wells numbers are just all around good, and I belive a Blue Jay should be starting this game based off how good the team has been hitting the ball. Wells also has one of the best arms in the game in the field.



Others: Ichiro - Mariners, Alex Rios - White Sox, Torri Hunter - Angels, Shin-Soo Choo - Indians

DH - Vladimir Guerrero - Texas Rangers
I know this makes 3 Rangers starting in the game, but they lead the the universe in offense and seeing Vlad come back to play in Anaheim should be fun sight. Plus Vlad really is deserving of the spot, he is hitting .327/ 15 HR/ 60 RBI/ 48 Runs.
Others: David Ortiz - Red Sox, Jose Guillen - Royals, Jose Bastista - Blue Jays


Starting Pitcher - David Price - Tampa Bay Rays
Price is having a season that shows why he was taken #1 overall in the draft. He leads the AL in wins with 11 and is second in ERA (2.44). He also has 84 K's and plays on a good Rays team. It would be nice to see some new blood starting in the game this season.
National League
1B - Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals
This was the toughest choice I had to make, but its Pujols,,why shouldn't he make start? Well him, Joey Votto, and Adrian Gonzalez all have almost the exact same numbers, its almost scary how close they are. Pujols is batting .306, Votto .305, and Gonzalez .307. Pujols has 16 HR so does Votto and Gonzalez. Pujols has 51 RBI, Votto has 50, and Gonzalez has 49. Votto and Pujols also have the same exact number of SB, while Gonzalez and Pujols have the same amount of Runs (41)but Votto trumps them with (47). I give the nod to Pujols because he is a fan favorite, perennial MVP candidate, and leads in OBP. Others: Joey Votto - Reds, Adrian Gonzalez - Padres, Ryan Howard - Phillies.



2B - Brandon Phillips - Cincinnati Reds
Phillips leads all NL 2B in runs (57)and is batting .311/ 9HR/ 25 RBI/ 10 SB and unless you haven't watched the highlight he is always make some amazing catch or play in the field. The Reds are another surprise team who I would like to see get a starter in the game. Others:Martin Prado - Braves, Chase Utley - Phillies, Rickie Weeks - Brewers.


SS - Hanley Ramirez - Florida Marlins
Ramirez is my pick because he is having a great season once again, batting .296/ 11 HR/ 44 RBI/ 14 SB/ 41 Runs. Among qualified SS he is 3rd in batting, 2nd in HRs and 2nd in RBI (Juan Uribe leads in both those categories) . So why did I chose Ramirez over a player on my own team? Well as much as it pains me to say no one wants to see Juan Uribe start the All-Star game and Ramirez has a better average, stolen bases, and scores a tad more. Others: Juan Uribe - Giants,
Troy Tulowitzki - Rockies, Jose Reyes - Mets.


3B - David Wright - New York Mets
Wright is having a monster first half, much to my surprise. I looked at the stats and did not know he was doing so well this year. He is hitting .300/ 14 HR/ 61 RBI/ 13 SB/ 42 Runs. He is also the best 3B fielder in the NL and is another fan favorite and all around good player. Others: Scott Rolen - Reds, Casey McGehee - Brewers, Ryan Zimmerman - Nationals.



C- Miguel Olivo - Colorado Rockies
I bet no one else saw this pick coming. Catcher is a cateogry where most people pick players who they have picked every year before but I do not see why. Olivo is having a great season for the Rockies hitting .295/ 10 HR/ 34 RBI/ 31 Runs and even 4 SB. Among NL C's he is 3rd in runs scored, 2nd in HR, and leads all in RBI's, OPS, and SLG. He has the same Fielding % as Yadier Molina so he can field as well. Others: Brian McCann - Braves and Rod Barajas - Mets.


OF (3) - Andre Ethier - Los Angeles Dodgers
Ethier has had a big season for the Dodgers, a season where he missed a few weeks with an injury. But he is still batting .317/12HR/ 46 RBI. His numbers would probably lead the league if he wasn't out.


Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
Braun is becoming one of the most consistent players in the majors. He is having another great season batting .301/ 10 HR/ 47 RBI/ 11 SB/ and 47 Runs. I like seeing him play the game and would love seeing him start in the all-star game.


Andrew McCutchen - Pittsburgh Pirates
A Pirate starting??! Yep, I was looking at stats and he leads the NL OF in SB (19) and is second in Runs (48, Matt Kemp has 52), and he is on a terrible team! Plus he can play CF and is batting .301/ 7 HR/ 23 RBI.

Others: Colby Rasmus - Cardinals, Jayson Werth - Phillies, Corey Hart - Brewes, Chris Young - Diamondbacks, Shane Victorino - Phillies, Carlos Gonzalez - Rockies.

DH - Adrian Gonzalez - San Diego Padres
Again this could just as easily gone to Joey Votto, but the Padres have been the most surprising team in the majors this season. They do deserve to have a starter in the game and I am sure they will have a lot more pitchers represent them. Others: Joey Votto - Reds, Ryan Howard - Phillies, Corey Hart - Brewers, Troy Glaus - Braves, Adam Dunn- Nationals, Jayson Werth - Phillies,



Starting Pitcher - Ubaldo Jimenez - Colorado Rockies
I want my NL to win this year, having Ubaldo starting with his own catcher Olivo calling the signs would be nice. Plus let's face it this is one of the easiest choices I could make. Jimenez is having a season for the history books. He is 13-1 with an era of 1.60! Thats all I need to say.