With basketball and hockey seasons complete, the end of June means that the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is right around the corner and we are nearly exactly at the midpoint of the season.
I posted my first ballot a month ago and there are some changes as streaks and slumps have taken their turn and real All-Stars have have established their resumes. Earlier this week I posted my All-Scrubs team; you may notice some of those "scrubs" are turning into stars.
Along with your traditional home runs and batting average, my favorite baseball statistics are:
- On-base percentage (hits plus walks plus hit-by-pitches)
- Extra-bases (homers, doubles, triples, stolen bases)
- Runs produced (runs scored plus runs batted in minus home runs)
American League
Designated hitter: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers. Miggy will start at third base and will likely set the record for most votes, but I prefer him as the DH. If Davis continues to kill the baseball Cabrera won't win another Triple Crown, but as we stand he's on pace for .370 average (.462 OBP), 40 home runs, 150 RBI and 115 runs.
First base: Chris Davis, Orioles. One of my favorite players to watch. Crush is hitting .333 and on pace for 54 homers and 140 RBI.
Second base: Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox. Pedroia may be the toughest guy in baseball to get out. He has an on-base percentage of .394 and is one of only two players to have more walks than strikeouts.
Third base: Manny Machado, Orioles. Still 20 years old, the New Manny may be the best of baseball's new stars. Machado is two hits short of Miguel Cabrera for the league lead, and with 34 has nine more doubles than anyone else. He's also on his way to a Gold Glove at the hot corner.
Shortstop: J.J. Hardy, Orioles. It's been a tale of two seasons for Hardy-
-- Before May 2 (29 games): .188, 3 HR, 15 RBI
-- After May 2 (48 games): .315, 12 HR, 29 RBI
Hardy has played shortstop every game (all but three innings) for the Orioles. He doesn't look very big, but he's his way to hitting the most homers among AL shortstops for the third year in a row.
Catcher: Joe Mauer, Twins. Superior slash line .330/.413/.594 (AVG/OBP/SLG), Mauer leads all AL catchers in hits, doubles, on-base percentage and runs produced.
Center field: Mike Trout, Angels. Leads AL in extra bases (58), is second in runs, and fourth in hits.
Left field: Adam Jones, Orioles. Yes, the fourth O's player on the ballot (and another center fielder). Jones leads AL outfielders in runs produced (93), hits, and tied with Trout with 22 doubles Most amazing, Jones has not taken a walk since May 18.
Right field: Nelson Cruz, Rangers. Jose Bautista is one of my favorite players, but Rangers fans would probably kill me if I don't include anybody from their first place team. Cruz is fifth in the AL in homers (19) and RBI (55).Pitcher: Max Scherzer, Tigers. Could go with Yu Darvish here, but he hasn't won a game in over a month due to no run support, while Scherzer hasn't needed any (2.02 ERA, 6-0 since May 21). Scherzer is 11-0 and is second in WHIP and strikeouts.
National League
First base: Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks. Votto still has a sizeable lead in on-base percentage, but Goldy has a significant edge in runs produced and extra bases, including home runs. Goldy has been better defensively too, while Votto has more errors than any other first baseman. At this point, Goldschmidt is the MVP.
Second base: Matt Carpenter, Cardinals. Ah, the first of the scrubs to make an appearance. It isn't much of a debate though; Carpenter leads all NL second basemen in on-base percentage, runs, hits and doubles, and his team has baseball's best record.
Third base: David Wright, Mets. The Captain has taken off in the last three weeks (which conveniently corresponds with when my fantasy team acquired him). Wright leads all NL third basemen in all three of my favorite categories: on-base percentage, extra bases and runs produced. Easy pick, especially with the game at Citi Field.
Shortstop: Jean Segura, Brewers. Troy Tulowitzki was on his way to another All-Star game start easily until he unfortunately got hurt. But Segura is certainly deserving, and as mentioned previously, he's hitting .336 with speed and power.
Catcher: Yadier Molina, Cardinals. He may be the greatest defensive catcher and manager of a pitching staff of our generation, and then notice that he's leading the NL in batting average. Like Wright he leads his position in on-base percentage, extra bases and runs produced.
Center field: Carlos Gomez, Brewers. In his sixth season Gomez looks like a star. He's got a great balance of speed, power, average, and Gold Glove defense.
Left field: Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies. CarGo has been the best run-producing machine this side of Cabrera and Davis, and leads the league in extra bases. CarGo is batting around .300 and on pace for 44 home runs, 40 doubles, 27 stolen bases, 120 RBI and 128 runs. Smells like an All-Star to me.
Right field: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. Power numbers are down but McCutchen is still getting on base, hitting doubles, stealing bases and scoring runs. McCutchen is one of the most exciting players in baseball.
Designated hitter: Joey Votto, Reds. Hitting .326 and leading the league in walks means that Votto is an on-base machine. The strange thing is that while playing with another on-base percentage machine in front of him, he has just 37 RBI. But again, that has a lot to do with having nobody scary behind him in the lineup and getting tons of walks.
Pitcher: Matt Harvey, Mets. There will be a riot in New York if Matt Harvey is not starting the All-Star Game at Citi Field. The new Mr. Met has been the most dominant pitcher in baseball and according to ESPN's Tim Kurkjian, Harvey's on-base percentage plus slugging (OPS) against, one of the best indicator stats for pitchers, is better than anything the league has seen since Pedro Martinez in his heyday. That means no one gets on base and no one drives the ball off him.
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