by Tommy Gimler
Matt Wieters continues to lead American League catchers in All-Star voting despite the fact that he hasn’t played in a game since May 10, and he won’t see any action until sometime in 2015 after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Looks like that incurable strand of syphilis in Baltimore has finally corroded the last few remaining brain cells of the Orioles faithful.
Now that all teams have completed at least half of their season, we decided to finally take a look at the MLB All-Star ballot and make our selections. You can do so as well until 11:59pm ET tomorrow night by clicking here.
American League
It’s tough voting against the top hitter at his position in Cabrera, but Jose Abreu’s rookie campaign has been one for the ages. Abreu became the first rookie in baseball history to hit 23 home runs in his first 65 games, and he’s still on pace to hit 50 home runs this year, which would break Mark McGwire’s rookie record. Cabrera has the better average, but Abreu has more home runs and RBI.
Robinson Cano has had a solid 2014 season so far for the Mariners, but Houston’s Jose Altuve leads the American League in batting average, hits, and stolen bases, and that was good enough for us. Voting for the legendary Derek Jeter and his genital herpes at shortstop was a no-brainer, as nobody in the league has the stats outside of Chicago’s Alexei Ramirez that would warrant an All-Star nod anyway.
Third base was a tough one, as Oakland’s Josh Donaldson has the power numbers (18 HR, 61 RBI). But he’s been colder than a witch’s tit lately (19 for 109 since June 1, .174 average). So, we took Seattle’s Kyle Seager, whose 13 HR and 58 RBI are the second-most for an AL third baseman, and his .279 batting average is 34 points higher than Donaldson’s .245 mark.
To be honest, every AL catcher has been pure dog shit offensively, so we took the top of the shit heap in Oakland’s Derek Norris. Maybe the AL could have one of their designated hitters suit up for one game behind the dish (eh hem, Victor Martinez) instead. Nelson Cruz, Edwin Encarnacion, and Martinez are all worthy of an All-Star nod, yet they’re all competing for a vote at the DH position. Cruz has 26 home runs and 67 RBI and Encarnacion has 26 home runs and 69 RBI. Meanwhile, Martinez has hit 20 bombs (4th-most in the AL) and driven in 52 (11th-most) while hitting .323 (3rd-best). Even more impressive, the slugging Martinez has only struck out 23 times. He got our vote, but all three of these guys will find their way onto the squad.
The American League outfield is just like Kate Upton: stacked. Trout is a no-brainer and will make the trip to Target Field after hopefully stopping in Wisconsin first to plow my sister. Bautista was also a no-brainer, as he is getting on base at a .431 clip. He’s on pace to hit .304 with 32 home runs and 96 RBI this year. Selecting the third outfielder was more difficult, however, as you could make an argument for Adam Jones, Michael Brantley, or Yoenis Cespedes. We chose Cleveland’s Brantley, who has better numbers than Jones across the board, and while he’s two home runs and one RBI shy of Cespedes, his .313 batting average is 40 points higher…
National League
Paul Goldschmidt at first base, Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop, and Jonathan Lucroy at catcher were the no-brainers on the senior circuit’s side of the ballot. If you’re trying to make an argument for anybody else at those respective positions, you’re wrong. Yes, even if you have a University of Phoenix degree, you’re wrong.
The voting public seems to think Chase Utley should be the NL starter at second base even though his .292 average is the 4th-best among NL second basemen, his 6 home runs are 5th-most, and his 38 RBI are the 2nd-most. However, he does have the highest OPS and WAR among NL second basemen, so it’s not like it’s a travesty that he’s going to be starting. We had him third on our ballot behind New York’s Daniel Murphy and Los Angeles’s Dee Gordon. In the end, Gordon’s 40 stolen bases and 51.7 runs created were the numbers that won our vote.
Aramis Ramirez has had a decent 2014 campaign, but he’s not an All-Star. Neither is New York’s David Wright. Cincinnati’s Todd Frazier has had by far the best season so far for a National League third baseman. His .287 average is the 2nd-best at the position, and his 47 RBI are one behind Miami’s McGehee and Washington’s Rendon. But his 17 home runs, 13 stolen bases, .857 OPS, 3.3 WAR, and 56.1 runs created are all tops. The fact that he’s fifth in NL third base voting is embarrassing for Reds fans foremost but baseball fans everywhere, really.
Much like last year, Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen has been solid across the board. His 68.6 runs created and 3.6 WAR are both second among NL outfielders. In fact, the only guy who has created more runs and has a higher WAR at the position is our other pick: Giancarlo Stanton (73.7 RC). Stanton’s 21 home runs are five more than the next NL outfielder. Our final pick came down to either Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez or Los Angeles’s Yasiel Puig. Puig’s batting average jumped to .315 after getting a pinch hit in today’s game against the Indians while Gomez’s dropped to .306 in Milwaukee’s loss to Toronto, but Gomez has more home runs, steals, and a higher WAR. Puig has created more runs and has a higher OPS. Both are defensive studs. We literally flipped a coin, it landed on heads, and we chose Gomez. Hey, as long as B.J. Upton doesn’t make it, we’ll be happy…