MLB All-Star Ballot V1.0: American League

Given the fact that nearly everyone has played at least game 41 of their season, we’re about halfway towards baseball’s Midsummer Classic. Since that is the case, I have crafted up my ballot for the 2012 MLB All-Star Game in this post. By the book there are players from each team that I felt were deserving based on who I think is the best at each position. Not just by notoriety, not just based on reputation, or who the most popular player is. Even though my vote, in a sense, stinks because fan voting has made an absolute mockery of this game and, to be quite honest, all All-Star games, I figure I might as well bring this to the table.

And don’t forget folks, this time, it counts.

American League All-Star Team

Catchers

A.J. Pierzynski, Carlos Santana, Matt Weiters 

Last year’s selections of Alex Avila and Russell Martin have not exactly done well in the 2012 season (Avila fell back down to earth with an abysmal .218 batting average and a .680 OPS. Cringe-worthy) and after his monstrous postseason, Mike Napoli has responded well in the power production with seven home runs, second amongst catchers but in my opinion has not done as well or been as well-rounded as these three. Pierzynski has been awesome this season, leading all AL catchers in batting average and OPS. Carlos Santana is putting together a sparkling season behind the plate for the Indians, though his strikeout numbers are vomit-inducing. And Wieters leads all catchers in home runs and plays for the best team in the American League at the moment.

Just Missed: Joe Mauer, who is very quietly putting together a solid campaign for an abysmal Twins team. If he winds up being the only Twinkie on this, he’ll be selected, most likely.

First Basemen

Paul Konerko, Prince Fielder, and Adrian Gonzalez 

When Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder went to the American League this offseason, everybody believed that the power had shifted suddenly and the AL was occupying the best first basemen in the league. Well, at least they were half right. Pujols has been too much of a disappointment to elect to the All-Star Game, and meanwhile Prince is putting together a very nice season. However Paul Konerko is playing out of his mind (once again) and the guy never seems to stop. Boasting a .367 average, a 1.058 OPS, and leading all first basemen in home runs, wOBA, wRC+, SLG and OBP, simply put Konerko is having a monstrous first quarter of the season, and if you ask me right now, is an MVP candidate. Went with the safe pick of saying Adrian Gonzalez will make his way onto the team, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a certain first baseman in New York made it there either based on reputation. Which, as a Yankee fan, would be terrible.

Just Missed: Chris Davis, and no this is not a typo. Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles first baseman, is putting up numbers that would be good enough for him to sniff the All-Star ballot. I wish I were joking, but go look at AL first basemen numbers. Seriously. Just do it.

Second Basemen

Dustin Pedroia, Robinson Cano, Ian Kinsler 

There are roughly six guys that could make their case to make the team but I went with these guys because they were above the rest. Pedroia is putting up the best numbers amongst second basemen overall, highlighted by an .840 OPS and a .364 wOBA. He also is tied amongst the top in batting average along with Robbie Cano, who has been on a tear as of late after a Mark Teixeira-like April. Had a tough time deciding who I want the third player to be, but Kinsler overall looked a lot better to me and his defense put him over the top of guys like Jason Kipnis, even though Kinsler does have four errors on the season already. Overall, the second baseman depth in the AL is fanatically good, and it is something that I once made reference to, if I recall correctly.

Just Missed: Jason Kipnis, a member of the first-place Cleveland Indians finds himself on the outside looking in. He had the worst numbers overall amongst the players that I was looking at but make no mistake he is having a solid season. His defense hindered him although, despite the fact that you often see him on Web Gems on Baseball Tonight his UZR is -2.3 which is below the average mark and was much lower than Ian Kinsler's. 

Shortstops

Derek Jeter, Asdrubal Cabrera, Elvis Andrus 

The incomparable Derek Jeter won’t get in based on reputation this year like he has in the past. Despite the fact that he is as overrated a fielder as they come (sporting a -6.94 UZR) he is having a monstrous renaissance year hitting an astounding .347 to this point and to this point has been absolutely unreal and Yankee fans will tell you that first-hand. Asdrubal Cabrera might be a bit of an overrated fielder, but offensively Cabrera for the second straight year has been a main reason that the Indians are in first place. Cabrera leads all AL shortstops in OPS with .907 and in wOBA with .392, as well as wRC+ with a 152, and is second amongst shortstops with 12 doubles. If Cabrera wasn’t just a Web Gem artist in the field, he’d be a complete player. I had a lot of trouble with my third pick, but I decided to go with Elvis Andrus primarily because of his OPS (.823) and his batting average (.325), and being a consistent table-setter for arguably the best offense in baseball helps his cause too.

Just Missed: Alcides Escobar and Mike Aviles. Here are two guys that are not notoriously known for being quality players, but both have played very well for the first quarter of the season. Escobar might find a way onto the team given how bad the Royals have been this season and he deservingly would, swiping 7 bags and hitting just under .300. 12 doubles on the year helps his cause too. Mike Avlies has been a very bright spot on the Red Sox who still somehow have not been able to have a consistent shortstop. At this point it’s reaching Chicago Bears quarterback level with how much of a revolving door it is at that position for that team but Aviles has been very good this season and just missed the cut by a hair.

Third Basemen

Adrian Beltre, Mike Moustakas, Miguel Cabrera 

There might not be a player in baseball that plays a better third base than Adrian Beltre. After a terrible, terrible set of seasons in Seattle, Beltre revived his career in Boston and has torn it up since coming to Texas, and 2012 has been kind to him as well. Beltre leads all third basemen in SLG, home runs, OPS, ISO, and runs. The second man on this list may surprise you a bit, but it is true: Mike Moustakas is playing exceptionally well for the Kansas City Royals. If his first base compadre Eric Hosmer would be better, then perhaps the Royals wouldn’t be in such bad shape. But Moustakas has been awesome so far, second in OPS among his peers, belting six homers, driving in 17, scoring 19 and hitting just south of .300. His .375 wOBA and 138 wRC+ leads all AL third basemen and defensively he has been fantastic, with a 6.0 UZR and a 25.4 UZR/150, and his .975 fielding percentage is tops in the AL. Miguel Cabrera’s transition to third base has left a lot to be desired as he has made six errors, with four of them being egregious throwing errors, but he has managed to stay afloat thanks to the thing he does best: hit the damn baseball. He leads all AL third basemen in batting average, tied for home runs with Beltre and his 51 hits leads amongst his peers. But what else would you expect from him, really?

Just Missed: Brett Lawrie, in a pool amongst the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Michael Young, and startling surprise Kyle Seager for the Seattle Mariners, Brett Lawrie has the edge in the “feels so close but yet so far” department. He’s hitting a crisp .281 and while his power numbers have not been great, only slugging .384 with three home runs and four doubles, his fielding is absolutely tremendous and that is why I gave him the edge. Nobody by the metrics has been better all year than Lawrie who boasts an incredibly good UZR at 7.4 and a 27.5 UZR/150, even though he’s made six errors on the season. His temper may be heated, but he stands out to me as the guy who JUST misses the cut, if not only for the fact that his offensive numbers aren’t better than the other players. 

Outfielders:

Josh Hamilton, Adam Jones, Josh Willingham, Austin Jackson, Curtis Granderson, Ryan Sweeney 

It’s been one hell of a year for outfielders in Major League Baseball as it seems that the best players are out near the fences. Josh Hamilton is having an absurd year and is one of the biggest no-brainers on this ballot. Adam Jones is more or less the same and is breaking out just like Matt Kemp last season, only with less than similar numbers but make no mistake he is the best player on the best team in the AL right now record-wise. Josh Willingham is making people in Minnesota forget about Michael Cuddyer (and, we can hope, that their team is terrible), and leads all American League outfielders with a 1.003 OPS, a .431 wOBA and a 179 wRC+. Austin Jackson is turning himself into a very good ball player in Detroit, even though his strikeout numbers are still an eyesore. His 3.7 UZR is only second to Ben Zobrist among American League outfielders. Curtis Granderson isn’t putting up MVP-type numbers but 13 home runs is tough to ignore as well as an .899 OPS which is fourth among AL outfielders. Ryan Sweeney has been the brightest of stars for a mediocre Red Sox team through the first quarter mark of the season, although he might jostle around with a former Red Sox OF for this spot.

Just Missed: Josh Reddick, who might get in by default because I’m not sure if Oakland will have any other representatives on the team. Much like his former Red Sock outfielder Ryan Sweeney, Reddick has been a bright spot for a team that at this point is mediocre, but as an A’s fan, can you really only wish for anything else? The A’s were expected to finish near the bottom of the division and yet they are sitting in second place, thanks in part to a hyped Angels team playing below their potential. Reddick is hitting .270 with an OPS of .860 and is slugging .534, hitting 11 home runs and sports a 139 wRC+, the same as Curtis Granderson.

Designated Hitter:

David Ortiz, Edwin Encarnacion 

Remember when Big Papi was pronounced “done?” Well, since those days, Ortiz has been nothing but laugh at the critics and play tremendous baseball at the designated hitter position. Ortiz’s numbers have been off the charts, .335 average with a 1.009 OPS, slugging an incredible .606 (leads all DH) and sporting a .271 ISO, .424 wOBA, a 167 wRC+, 15 doubles, 9 homers and 29 runs scored and batted in, respectively. Ortiz is the definitive DH. As for Edwin Encarnacion, I’m not sure many people believed that he would do as well as he had this year and he might jostle around with Adam Dunn for this second spot until the All-Star rosters are announced, but make no mistake about it E5 is having an awesome year. 13 home runs and slugging .569 will get you noticed, as well as an absurd .306 ISO, leading all regular designated hitters.

Just Missed: Adam Dunn, who has a definite chance of making the All-Star team. I just think that Encarnacion’s numbers will get him over, also the fact that he plays for the Blue Jays and they may not get any representatives so Dunn could be penalized, unjustifiably so some may say, but Dunn’s comeback season may find himself on the team if someone obliges to not go. Dunn sports a .986 OPS and a ridiculous .349 ISO along with 14 home runs. If the All-Star Game did not have the “at least one person per team rule” which I personally am not a fan of, then he would make it for sure. 

Starting Pitchers

Justin Verlander, Jake Peavy, Yu Darvish, Jered Weaver, Brandon McCarthy, Felix Hernandez, James Shields 

The defending MVP and Cy Young Award winner gets the starting nod for me and I’m not sure there would be any debate to that. Jake Peavy has been a pleasant surprise for the White Sox as he’s back, he’s healthy, and he’s doing what he does best again at an elite level. Yu Darvish has matched the hype coming in and has fanned 58 batters in 52 innings for a staggering 10.04 K/9. Jered Weaver has been his usual self and is the lonesome Angel on this team, and the same goes for Brandon McCarthy, James Shields, and Felix Hernandez who are all putting up the right numbers and, for me, get in on personal preference and by the “at least one player per team” rule. Which stinks, if I haven’t already mentioned that before. It isn’t so much that they aren’t performing at a high level, it’s just there are some guys who might get left out in the cold that are pitching at a high level too.

Just Missed: CC Sabathia, Brandon Morrow, Colby Lewis, David Price, Ricky Romero, Jeremy Hellickson and Derek Lowe are all names that could eventually replace some of these folks if their pitching schedule invalidates them from playing, or if they choose not to play. Put it simply: there are so many good pitchers in the league currently that 7 spots doesn’t do it justice. 

Relief Pitchers

Fernando Rodney, Jim Johnson, David Robertson, Joe Nathan 

I will be honest with this one: there are probably a lot of guys that I am leaving out right now that may deserve it and I apologize for that. But these guys all seemed to stick out to me. Fernando Rodney has been lights out for the Tampa Bay Rays with his miniscule 0.46 ERA in 20 games, with his 13-for-13 save opportunities. His K/9 is 8.69 at this moment and his WHIP is under 1, and hitters are only hitting 1.81, so he has been absolutely lockdown for the Rays. Jim Johnson has helped the Orioles be the best team in the AL when called upon, saving 15 games on 15 opportunities and he’s sporting a 0.92 ERA in 19.2 innings pitched. David Robertson’s staggering 15.07 K/9 is way too difficult to ignore, and Joe Nathan has made his comeback a marvelous one with nine saves in 10 opportunities, and a 10.70 K/9 in 17.2 IP.