May All-Star Teams

This weekend I got to write the Rangers Farm Reports in place of Scott Lucas for the Newberg Report. It was a lot of fun, and I would like to thank both Jamey Newberg and Scott Lucas for letting me write those reports.

This week I will give my AL and NL All-Star teams. These are as if the All-Star game was today, and who I think it should be (which is completely hypothetical, since with the fan vote there will be about 8 Yankees starting, and possibly one player from a team outside the Bronx).

AL:

Starters:
C: Joe Mauer, MIN (.348 AVG, 2 HR, 21 RBI) – Joe has one of the top batting averages in the American League at almost .350, and also has plenty of RBIs, especially for his position.

1B: Justin Morneau, MIN (.377 AVG, 11 HR, 33 RBI) – Justin leads all balloted American League first basemen in batting average, is second in home runs, and is tied for second in RBIs. I think that pretty obviously makes him the starter.

2B: Robinson Cano, NYY (.337 AVG, 9 HR, 28 RBI) – Robinson leads all balloted American League second basemen in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. There is nothing else he could do to make himself more deserving of this spot.

SS: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.312 AVG, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 17 SB) – Elvis leads AL shortstops in batting average by a lot, as no one else is even above .290, and only one is above .280. He also leads shortstops in stolen bases by 11.

3B: Evan Longoria, TB (.319 AVG, 9 HR, 38 RBI) – Evan is second among AL third basemen in batting average, and nobody else’s power numbers are close to his, as he leads them in both home runs and RBIs.

DH: Vladimir Guerrero, TEX (.341 AVG, 10 HR, 37 RBI) – Vlad has obviously been the best DH in the American League this year, as nobody else with significant time is even hitting .280, none have as many RBIs as Guerrero, and Jose Guillen is the only other one with 10+ home runs.

OF: Vernon Wells, TOR (.302 AVG, 11 HR, 32 RBI) – Vernon has had a great year, hitting over .300 again, and is 2nd behind teammate Jose Batista among AL outfielders in home runs. He’s also third in RBIs.

OF: Nelson Cruz, TEX (.337 AVG, 9 HR, 33 RBI) – Nelson is second among AL outfielders in RBIs (even though he’s been on the DL for much of the year), is third in home runs, and is tied for first in batting average.

OF: Magglio Ordonez, DET (.312 AVG, 5 HR, 28 RBI) – Maggs has come back strong this year after a major down-year in 2009, hitting well over .300 with plenty of RBIs.

SP: David Price, TB (6-1, 1.81 ERA, 44 K) – David is leading the American League in both wins and ERA, so I don’t know what else he could do, and I don’t think anyone can possibly be more deserving than a person who leads those two categories.

Reserves:
C: John Buck, TOR (.269 AVG, 8 HR, 24 RBI)
1B: Miguel Cabrera, DET (.333 AVG, 9 HR, 38 RBI)
Kendry Morales, LAA (.294 AVG, 9 HR, 33 RBI)
2B: Orlando Hudson, MIN (.298 AVG, 2 HR, 12 RBI)
SS: Alex Gonzales, TOR (.275 AVG, 10 HR, 30 RBI)
3B: Adrian Beltre, BOS (.321 AVG, 3 HR, 24 RBI)
Michael Young, TEX (.315 AVG, 4 HR, 25 RBI)
Alberto Callaspo, KC (.308 AVG, 7 HR, 28 RBI)
OF: Carl Crawford, TB (.321 AVG, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 11 SB)
Shin-Soo Choo, CLE (.297 AVG, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 9 SB)
Josh Hamilton, TEX (.290 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI)
Austin Jackson, DET (.337 AVG, 1 HR, 11 RBI)
Alex Rios, CWS (.303 AVG, 8 HR, 21 RBI, 13 SB)
Nick Markakis, BAL (.305 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
SP: Doug Fister, SEA (3-2, 1.96 ERA, 25 K)
Jon Danks, CWS (3-3, 2.26 ERA, 45 K)
Matt Garza, TB (5-2, 2.37 ERA, 54 K)
CJ Wilson, TEX (3-1, 2.55 ERA, 39 K)
James Shields, TB (5-1, 3.08 ERA, 66 K)
Jered Weaver, LAA (4-2, 3.40 ERA, 60 K)
RP: Neftali Feliz, TEX (12 SV, 3.22 ERA, 23 K)
Kevin Gregg, TOR (12 SV, 3.26 ERA, 22 K)
Rafael Soriano, TB (12 SV, 1.42 ERA, 16 K)
Jose Valverde, DET (11 SV, 0.48 ERA, 13 K)
Andrew Bailey, OAK (7 SV, 1.08 ERA, 10 K)

Players by Team:
Texas Rangers – 7(3 starters)
Tampa Bay Rays – 6(2)
Detroit Tigers – 4(1)
Toronto Blue Jays – 4(1)
Minnesota Twins – 3(2)
Chicago White Sox – 2(0)
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – 2(0)
Baltimore Orioles – 1(0)
Boston Red Sox – 1(0)
Cleveland Indians – 1(0)
Kansas City Royals – 1(0)
New York Yankees – 1(1)
Oakland Athletics – 1(0)
Seattle Mariners – 1(0)

NL:

Starters:
C: Ivan Rodriguez, WAS (.325 AVG, 1 HR, 16 RBI) – Pudge leads all National League catchers in batting average at .325, and it’s not even that close, as Carlos Ruiz is the next closest at .300, at .025 points behind Pudge.

1B: Joey Votto, CIN (.313 AVG, 10 HR, 32 RBI) – Joey leads balloted NL first basemen in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. That’s all three categories, and Votto is also the leader in stolen bases with six.

2B: Chase Utley, PHI (.299 AVG, 10 HR, 23 RBI) – Chase is second behind Martin Prado in NL 2B batting average, and is second behind Dan Uggla in both NL 2B power numbers, but has the most balanced numbers of the three, and is very solid in all three categories.

SS: Stephen Drew, ARI (.301 AVG, 4 HR, 19 RBI) – Stephen is one of the National League shortstops in batting average, and has the best power numbers out of the three NL SS with at least 100 at-bats and are hitting .300 or above.

3B: Casey McGehee, MIL (.317 AVG, 9 HR, 38 RBI) – Casey is one of the leaders in batting average among NL 3B, and has the most RBIs out of that group of players.

DH: Alfonso Soriano, CHC (.319 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI) – Alfonso definitely isn’t on the team for his defense (note that he’s in the DH spot), but he has been one of the better-hitting outfielders in the National League, and earned a starting spot on my team.

OF: Ryan Braun, MIL (.325 AVG, 7 HR, 30 RBI) – Ryan has had a great year, and surprisingly hasn’t gotten all that much help from Prince Fielder in the middle of that Brewers lineup, and has had to produce much of Milwaukee’s offense.

OF: Andre Ethier, LAD (.392 AVG, 11 HR, 38 RBI) – Andre Ethier is a triple crown contender, with a batting average just below .400, 11 home runs, and 38 RBIs. Anybody that is way up there in all three major categories deserves to be an All-Star starter.

OF: Jayson Werth, PHI (.322 AVG, 9 HR, 33 RBI) – Jayson is hitting way over .300, at .322, with very good power numbers (2nd among NL outfielders in home runs, 2nd in RBIs). Those are very solid numbers, and deserving of an All-Star starts.

SP: Ubaldo Jimenez, COL (8-1, 0.99 ERA, 58 K) – Ubaldo leads all of the major leagues with 8 wins and a 0.99 ERA, which is miniscule, at less than a run a game. He also has plenty of strikeouts at 58.

Reserves:
C: Rod Barajas, NYM (.260 AVG, 10 HR, 24 RBI)
1B: Albert Pujols, STL (.309 AVG, 8 HR, 29 RBI)
Ryan Howard, PHI (.305 AVG, 8 HR, 32 RBI)
James Loney, LAD (.300 AVG, 4 HR, 28 RBI)
2B: Dan Uggla, FLA (.280 AVG, 11 HR, 28 RBI)
Martin Prado, ATL (.315 AVG, 4 HR, 20 RBI)
SS: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (.296 AVG, 7 HR, 22 RBI)
Troy Tulowitzki, COL (.304 AVG, 3 HR, 20 RBI)
3B: Ryan Zimmerman, WAS (.318 AVG, 8 HR, 25 RBI)
Scott Rolen, CIN (.287 AVG, 10 HR, 27 RBI)
OF: Marlon Byrd, CHC (.315 AVG, 7 HR, 25 RBI)
Johnny Gomes, CIN (.292 AVG, 6 HR, 27 RBI)
Jason Heyward, ATL (.290 AVG, 9 HR, 33 RBI)
Andrew McCutchen, PIT (.319 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 12 SB)
SP: Jaime Garcia, STL (4-2, 1.28 ERA, 42 K)
Livan Hernandez, WAS (4-2, 1.62 ERA, 19 K)
Roy Halladay, PHI (6-2, 1.64 ERA, 58 K)
Tim Hudson, ATL (5-1, 2.09 ERA, 26 K)
Tim Lincecum, SF (5-0, 2.35 ERA, 75 K)
Roy Oswalt, HOU (2-6, 2.66 ERA, 60 K)
RP: Matt Capps, WAS (16 SV, 2.01 ERA, 20 K)
Francisco Cordero, CIN (14 SV, 4.09 ERA, 18 K)
Heath Bell, SD (12 SV, 0.95 ERA, 24 K)
Jonathon Broxton, LAD (10 SV, 1.45 ERA, 29 K)
Matt Lindstrom, HOU (10 SV, 1.40 ERA, 15 K)

Players by Team:
Cincinnati Reds – 4(1 starter)
Philadelphia Phillies – 4(2)
Washington Nationals – 4(1)
Atlanta Braves – 3(0)
Los Angeles Dodgers – 3(1)
Chicago Cubs – 2(1)
Colorado Rockies – 2(1)
Florida Marlins – 2(0)
Houston Astros – 2(0)
Milwaukee Brewers – 2(0)
St. Louis Cardinals – 2(0)
Arizona Diamondbacks – 1(1)
New York Mets – 1(0)
Pittsburgh Pirates – 1(0)
San Diego – 1(0)
San Francisco – 1(0)

Come back next week for my May Awards.