April All-Star Teams

I think it’s crazy that three weeks into the season, the All-Star ballot is already online, but since it is I will do my first monthly All-Star team. I will say who I think the All-Star team should be if the game was today.

AL: stats as of April 24th

Starters:
C: Joe Mauer, MIN (.333 AVG, 1 HR, 10 RBI) – Joe leads all Al catchers on the ballot in RBIs and batting average. He is hitting .333, and even though he has just one home run so far this year, he is still the best of the catchers.

1B: Miguel Cabrera, DET (.353 AVG, 4 HR, 21 RBI) – Miguel is hitting .353 so far this year, which is 2nd among AL first basemen, and he is also second in home runs with four. But Miguel’s best stat this season is RBIs, as he leads all of major league baseball with 21.

2B: Robinson Cano, NYY (.333 AVG, 4 HR, 12 RBI) – Robinson leads all AL second basemen on the ballot with a sufficient number of at-bats in batting average by a lot, as no one else is even hitting .300. He also is second in both home runs and RBIs.

SS: Derek Jeter, NYY (.328 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI) – Derek has a great batting average, and, like Cano, he is leading AL shortstops in batting average at .328. His power numbers aren’t too shabby, either, with 3 homers and 10 RBIs.

3B: Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.322 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI) – Alex has had a great year so far this April, leading AL third basemen in batting average, and is tied for second in RBIs. Alex rounds out the 75% Yankee starting infield, which was painful to make, since it’s the Yankees.

DH: Jose Guillen, KC (.354 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI) – Jose leads the American League DHs in batting average, home runs, and RBIs, so I really don’t think there’s much to argue about in this spot in the lineup, although Vlad is the closest to catching him.

OF: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.327 AVG, 7 HR, 17 RBI, 5 SB) – Nelson is tied for the major league lead in home runs, leads AL outfielders in RBIs, and is hitting well over .300, with is batting average at .327. That doesn’t even mention his 5 stolen bases, 6th among balloted AL outfielders.

OF: Vernon Wells, TOR (.344 AVG, 7 HR, 13 RBI) – Vernon is tied with Nelson for the major league lead in home runs, and also has a batting average way above .300, at .344. The only thing that he has going against him is that he’s driven in himself more than he has his teammates.

OF: Scott Podsednik, KC (.415 AVG, 0 HR, 7 RBI, 7 SB) – Scott leads the American League in batting average at .415, so he obviously leads the outfielders. Even though he has poor power numbers, anybody hitting .400 or above with 7 stolen bases deserves to start.

SP: Jon Danks, CWS (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 21 K) – Jon leads the American League in ERA, and has a plethora of strikeouts (that’s a good vocab word). At 2-0, he is tied for 3rd in the AL in wins, so he is toward the top of all three major categories.

Reserves:
C: Jorge Posada, NYY (.320 AVG, 3 HR, 9 RBI)
Matt Wieters, BAL (.311 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI)
1B: Kendry Morales, LAA (.303 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
Justin Morneau, MIN (.356 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI)
2B: Dustin Pedroia, BOS (.271 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
SS: Alex Gonzalez, TOR (.292 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI)
Elvis Andrus, TEX (.286 AVG, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 5 SB)
3B: Alberto Callaspo, KC (.302 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI)
Evan Longoria, TB (.297 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI)
DH: Vladimir Guerrero, TEX (.345 AVG, 2 HR, 8 RBI)
OF: Michael Cuddyer, MIN (.324 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI)
Carl Crawford, TB (.328 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI, 7 SB)
Shin-Soo Choo, CLE (.286 AVG, 4 HR, 12 RBI)
Franklin Gutierrez, SEA (.391 AVG, 0 HR, 10 RBI)
SP: Matt Garza, TB (3-1, 2.17 ERA, 25 K)
Justin Duchscherer, OAK (2-0, 1.82 ERA, 15 K)
Doug Fister, SEA (2-1, 1.42 ERA, 9 K)
Francisco Liriano, MIN (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 17 K)
Andy Pettite, NYY (2-0, 1.35 ERA, 14 K)
CJ Wilson, TEX (1-1, 1.37 ERA, 16 K)
Ricky Romero, TOR (1-1, 1.57 ERA, 22 K)
RP: David Aardsma, SEA (6 SV, 0.00 ERA, 7 K)
Jon Rauch, MIN (6 SV, 1.29 ERA, 5 K)
Mariano Rivera, NYY (6 SV, 0.00 ERA, 6 K)
Kevin Gregg, TOR (5 SV, 1.17 ERA, 9 K)
Jose Valverde, DET (5 SV, 1.29 ERA, 4 K)

Players by Team:
New York Yankees – 6
Minnesota Twins – 5
Toronto Blue Jays – 4
Texas Rangers – 4
Tampa Bay Rays – 3
Kansas City Royals – 3
Seattle Mariners – 3
Detroit Tigers – 2
Boston Red Sox – 1
Baltimore Orioles – 1
Chicago White Sox – 1
Cleveland Indians – 1
Oakland Athletics – 1
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 1

NL: stats as of April 25th

Starters:
C: Ivan Rodriguez, WAS (.434 AVG, 0 HR, 8 RBI) – Pudge leads the major leagues in batting average at .434, and I really wish he was still a Ranger, especially with our catching struggles this year. He is also tied second among National League balloted catchers in RBIs.

1B: Adrian Gonzalez, SD (.322 AVG, 5 HR, 12 RBI) – Adrian leads NL first basemen in batting average, is 2nd in home runs, and is 3rd in RBIs. He in the top three in all three categories, and is the only NL first baseman to do that.

2B/DH: Kelly Johnson, ARI (.327 AVG, 6 HR, 10 RBI) – Kelly is tied with Chase Utley among balloted second basemen in home runs, but he has a 30-point edge in batting average on him. Kelly has made a very good first impression with his new team.

2B/DH: Martin Prado, ATL (.409 AVG, 1 HR, 4 RBI) – Martin is hitting over .400 this year, which obviously leads NL second basemen, but with the strength at the NL second base position, he needed a DH spot to be a starter.

SS: Rafael Furcal, LAD (.329 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI, 8 SB) – Rafael leads all NL shortstops in batting average and stolen bases, which makes up for his lack of power numbers, especially with how weak the shortstops have been in the National League.

3B: Casey McGehee, MIL (.338 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI) – Casey has been incredible for the Brewers this year, as he is 4th among NL 3B in batting average, is tied for 2nd in home runs, and is tied for 3rd in RBIs. Those are some pretty good stats.

OF: Ryan Braun, MIL (.382 AVG, 5 HR, 20 RBI, 4 SB) – Ryan has been incredible this year, and is much deserving of the number one starting outfield spot in the NL. He is 1st among NL outfielders with at least 45 at-bats in batting average, is tied 2nd in home runs, and is tied 1st in RBIs, and he also has four stolen bases. If that’s not an All-Star starter, I don’t know what is.

OF: Andre Ethier, LAD (.362 AVG, 5 HR, 16 RBI) – Andre is 2nd in batting average among outfielders with 45 or more at-bats, behind only Ryan Braun. He is also tied with Ryan in home runs with 5, and is tied 3rd in RBIs in the NL outfield.

OF: Matt Kemp, LAD (.319 AVG, 7 HR, 20 RBI) – Matt is tied for the major league lead in home runs with 7, and even though his batting average doesn’t quite match up with Braun’s or Ethier’s, it’s still very good, and he leads the NL outfield in RBIs along with Ryan Braun.

SP: Roy Halladay, PHI (4-0, 0.82 ERA, 28 K) – Roy is tied for the major league lead with Tim Lincecum and Ubaldo Jimenez in wins with four, is 2nd in the majors in ERA behind Livan Hernandez, and is towards the top in the MLB in strikeouts, too.

Reserves:
C: Bengie Molina, SF (.313 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI)
1B: Albert Pujols, STL (.275 AVG, 6 HR, 16 RBI)
Joey Votto, CIN (.290 AVG, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SB)
2B: Rickie Weeks, MIL (.324 AVG, 3 HR, 12 RBI)
Dan Uggla, FLA (.333 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI)
SS: Orlando Cabrera, CIN (.254 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI)
3B: Jorge Cantu, FLA (.278 AVG, 4 HR, 20 RBI)
Ian Stewart, COL (.322 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI)
Ryan Zimmerman, WAS (.341 AVG, 2 HR, 10 RBI)
Chase Headley, SD (.379 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 5 SB)
OF: Jayson Werth, PHI (.333 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)
Josh Willingham, WAS (.321 AVG, 3 HR, 11 RBI, 4 SB)
Marlon Byrd, CHC (.338 AVG, 3 HR, 14 RBI)
Brad Hawpe, COL (.357 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI)
SP: Livan Hernandez, WAS (2-1, 0.75 ERA, 9 K)
Mike Pelfrey, NYM (3-0, 0.86 ERA, 16 K)
Ubaldo Jimenez, COL (4-0, 0.95 ERA, 25 K)
Carlos Silva, CHC (2-0, 0.95 ERA, 12 K)
Tim Lincecum, SF (4-0, 1.00 ERA, 32 K)
Barry Zito, SF (3-0, 1.32 ERA, 19 K)
Brad Penny, STL (2-0, 1.29 ERA, 13 K)
RP: Matt Capps, WAS (7 SV, 0.87 ERA, 12 K)
Francisco Cordero, CIN (6 SV, 3.12 ERA, 10 K)
Matt Lindstrom, HOU (6 SV, 3.00 ERA, 10 K)
Leo Nunez, FLA (4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 10 K)
Brendan Donnelly, PIT (1-0, 0 SV, 2.25 ERA, 9 K)

Players by Team:
Washington Nationals – 5
Cincinnati Reds – 3
Colorado Rockies – 3
Florida Marlins – 3
Los Angeles Dodgers – 3
Milwaukee Brewers – 3
San Francisco Giants – 3
Chicago Cubs – 2
Philadelphia Phillies – 2
San Diego Padres – 2
St. Louis Cardinals – 2
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1
Atlanta Braves – 1
Houston Astros – 1
New York Mets – 1
Pittsburgh Pirates – 1

Come back next week for my April Awards.