All-Star Teams for April

I think that it is crazy that the All-Star ballots are already out there. There is no way to be able to choose the best players of the first half this early. I’ll vote, but I think that it’s just completely lame for the MLB to do this and to almost make sure that nobody that’s not a big name is starting.

Also, Michael Young is on pace to hit just over 50 home runs this year. I’m sure it won’t happen, but that’s a pretty good pace.

Since the All-Star ballots are available, this week I decided to determine who should be in the All-Star game, based purely on how they’re doing so far this season (they have to be on the ballot). The AL stats are as of April 25th and the NL stats are as of April 26th.

AL:

Starters:

1B: Carlos Pena, TB (.254 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI): Even though he is only batting .254, his power numbers make up for that, as he leads the majors in home runs with 8, and he also has 21 RBI’s.

2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.382 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI): Aaron Hill has 1 more RBI than Kinsler….But Kinsler has a higher batting average and 6 more stolen bases. They are probably the top two second basemen in the AL so far.

SS: Derek Jeter, NYY (.290 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI): He is tied for the lead in AL shortstops in both home runs and RBI’s, but has a higher batting average than Marco Scutaro, the one who he is tied with in both those categories.

3B: Evan Longoria, TB (.377 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI): Evan has a great batting average, a lot of home runs, and 16 RBI’s. He has the highest batting average of the AL third basemen, and he is tied for the most RBI’s of the AL third basemen.

C: Victor Martinez, CLE (.386 AVG, 5 HR, 9 RBI): Martinez is in the top 5 in the major leagues in batting average. He has the most home runs of AL catchers. And, he should be an All-Star starter, in my opinion.

OF: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.295 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI): Nelson is 3rd in AL outfielders in RBI’s, and he is tied for 2nd in AL outfielders in home runs. And out of the three people that are ahead of him in those categories, only one of them has a better batting average.

OF: Carlos Quentin, CWS (.250 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI): If it weren’t for his awful batting average, he would be a no-brainer to start, but with it, he just barely edges out Nick Markakis of the Orioles for that start.

OF: Grady Sizemore, CLE (.271 AVG, 6 HR, 18 RBI): Grady Sizemore has great power numbers, and even though his batting average is kind of low, his 6 home runs and 18 RBI’s more than make up for that.

SP: Zach Grienke, KC (4-0, 0.00 ERA, 36 K): He is tied for the major league lead in wins. He is 2nd in the major leagues in strikeouts. He leads the major leagues in ERA. He has not allowed an earned run the whole year, and that’s pretty amazing. He is the obvious choice here.

Reserves:
1B: Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.433 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
Miguel Cabrera, DET (.410 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
2B: Aaron Hill, TOR (.373 AVG, 5 HR, 18 RBI)
Robinson Cano, NYY (.354 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
SS: Jason Bartlett, TB (.390 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
3B: Brandon Inge, DET (.304 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.308 AVG, 5 HR, 11 RBI)
C: Jorge Posada, NYY (.283 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
OF: Nick Markakis, BAL (.385 AVG, 2 HR, 19 RBI)
Torii Hunter, LAA (.327 AVG, 6 HR, 11 RBI)
Adam Jones, BAL (.333 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI)
Jason Bay, BOS (.288 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)
P: Jon Danks, CWS (2-0, 0.95 ERA, 16 K)
Jarrod Washburn, SEA (3-0, 1.71 ERA, 17 K)
Glenn Perkins, MIN (1-1, 1.50 ERA, 12 K)
Armando Galarraga, DET (2-0, 1.96 ERA, 17 K)
Andrew Bailey, OAK (2-0, 0.79 ERA, 13 K)
Erik Bedard, SEA (2-1, 2.08 ERA, 29 K)
Joakim Soria, KC (1.80 ERA, 5 SV)
Brandon Morrow, SEA (4.05 ERA, 5 SV)
Jonathon Papelbon, BOS (1.23 ERA, 4 SV)
Frank Francisco, TEX (0.00 ERA, 3 SV)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (2.16 ERA, 4 SV)

Players per Team:
Texas Rangers – 4
New York Yankees – 4
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Boston Red Sox – 3
Detroit Tigers – 3
Seattle Mariners – 3
Cleveland Indians – 2
Chicago White Sox – 2
Kansas City Royals – 2
Baltimore Orioles – 2
Toronto Blue Jays – 1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 1
Minnesota Twins – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1

NL:

Starters:

1B: Albert Pujols, STL (.348 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI): Even with Albert leading all NL first basemen in both home runs and RBI’s, that’s still not it. He leads all NL first basemen in stolen bases also, with three. He has been dominant this year and should be a starter.

2B: Chase Utley, PHI (.322 AVG, 5 HR, 14 RBI): Even though Dan Uggla has two more RBI’s than Utley, he is only hitting .213 compared to Chase Utley’s .322. That’s too big of a difference.

SS: Ryan Theriot, CHC (.344 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI): Ryan has a very good batting average, the highest among all NL shortstops (on the ballot) and even though his power numbers aren’t that good, nobody has good power numbers at that position in the NL, so that’s not a big problem.

3B: Aramis Ramirez, CHC (.358 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI): Ramirez leads NL third basemen in batting average and RBI’s and the only person who has hit more home runs than him has a .228 batting average. There is almost no competition, so he is the obvious choice.

C: Bengie Molina, SF (.328 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI): He has the best power numbers of all NL catchers, and he has one of the best batting averages, also. His brother, Yadier Molina, is the only one who gave him in competition, and, in my opinion, he isn’t playing as well as Bengie.

OF: Ryan Ludwick, STL (.356 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI): Ryan has good power numbers and a good batting average. He is one of the top players in the major leagues in home runs, and has a good amount of RBI’s. That should get you in.

OF: Andre Ethier, LAD (.308 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI): Andre is hitting over .300, and he has great power numbers. Even though the outfield has about 10 all-stars in it, he is one of the top ones.

OF: Ryan Braun, MIL (.359 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI): Ryan is hitting over .300, has 13 RBI’s, and 4 HR’s. The power numbers are decent, but his average is what got him a starting job on my NL All-Star team.

SP: Johan Santana, NYM (3-1, 0.70 ERA, 37 K): Even though Johan has a loss, he leads all of baseball in strikeouts, has an ERA under 1.00, and still has three wins. Even though Chad Billingsley is 4-0, he is 2nd to Santana.

Reserves:
1B: Joey Votto, CIN (.358 AVG, 3 HR, 16 RBI)
Adrian Gonzalez, SD (.306 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI)
2B: Orlando Hudson, LAD (.370 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (.292 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
3B: Chipper Jones, ATL (.298 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
C: Yadier Molina, STL (.333 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI)
Jeff Baker, FLA (.306 AVG, 1 HR, 9 RBI)
OF: Carlos Beltran, NYM (.415 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
Kosuke Fukudome, CHC (.345 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
Brad Hawpe, COL (.308 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI)
Adam Dunn, WSH (.302 AVG, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
P: Chad Billingsley, LAD (4-0, 2.05 ERA, 26 K)
Paul Maholm, PIT (3-0, 2.03 ERA, 10 K)
Wandy Rodriguez, HOU (1-2, 1.80 ERA, 22 K)
Jair Jurrjens, ATL (2-1, 1.42 ERA, 14 K)
Dan Haren, ARI (1-3, 1.38 ERA, 26 K)
Aaron Harang, CIN (2-2, 2.00 ERA, 19 K)
Heath Bell, SD (0.00 ERA, 7 SV)
Jonathon Broxton, LAD (0.96 ERA, 6 SV)
Francisco Cordero, CIN (1.29 ERA, 6 SV)
Matt Capps, PIT (1.42 ERA, 5 SV)
Ryan Franklin, STL (0.00 ERA, 5 SV)
Brian Wilson, SF (1.17 ERA, 3 SV)

Players per Team:
Los Angeles Dodgers – 4
St. Louis Cardinals – 4
Chicago Cubs – 3
Cincinnati Reds – 3
San Francisco Giants – 2
New York Mets – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
Florida Marlins – 2
Atlanta Braves – 2
Pittsburgh Pirates – 2
Philadelphia Phillies – 1
Milwaukee Brewers – 1
Washington Nationals – 1
Houston Astros – 1
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1
Colorado Rockies – 1

Results of last week’s poll:
Which of my playoff teams do you think has the best shot at winning the World Series?
Rangers – 35%
Rays – 21%
Cubs – 14%
Marlins – 10%
Yankees – 7%
Twins – 3%
Giants – 3%
Phillies – 3%

Come back next week for my April Awards.