April All-Stars

This week I will post my April All-Stars. These are the players that I think would be deserving if the All-Star game were to happen today. All stats are as of Friday evening April 27^th.  

A couple weeks ago I had posted that I would be posting an interview with Mike Adams the next week. That interview will now be posted in two weeks, as I will be posting my April Awards next week.

American League: 

Starters: 

C: AJ Pierzynski, CWS (.339 AVG, 4 HR, 16 RBI) – AJ leads AL catchers in both batting average and RBIs, so I think this is a pretty obvious choice. 

1B: Paul Konerko, CWS (.365 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI) – Like AJ, first base was a pretty clear-cut decision, as Paul leads AL first basemen in batting average by a wide margin, and has some of the best power numbers. 

2B: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.304 AVG, 5 HR, 12 RBI) – With Cano struggling, second base has been a fairly weak position in the AL so far this year. Kinsler, however, has been fantastic, hitting over .300 with solid power numbers. 

SS: Derek Jeter, NYY (.420 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI) – Jeter leads the American League in batting. That pretty much locks him into a starting spot. But even on top of that, he has 4 homers and 13 RBIs, some of the best power numbers of any shortstop so far. 

3B: Evan Longoria, TB (.309 AVG, 4 HR, 14 RBI) – In a position that has been very strong by far, Longoria has been the best all-around player despite him not leading his position in any category. 

DH: David Ortiz, BOS (.420 AVG, 3 HR, 16 RBI) – Ortiz is tied with Jeter for AL batting average lead, and that coupled with the 1 home run and 3 RBI he has over Michael Young gives Big Papi the starting nod. 

OF: Josh Hamilton, TEX (.390 AVG, 8 HR, 19 RBI) – Hamilton has been the AL MVP so far this year, leading the league in homers and close to the lead in batting average and RBI. 

OF: Nolan Reimold, BAL (.353 AVG, 5 HR, 10 RBI) – Reimold is having a good bounce-back year so far, hitting over .350 with very solid power numbers. 

OF: Josh Willingham, MIN (.333 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI) – While he struggled against the Rangers (something he didn’t do last season with Oakland), Josh had lots of success against everyone else, giving him solid to great numbers in all three major categories. 

SP: Matt Harrison, TEX (3-0, 1.66 ERA, 13 K) – Matt is tied for second in the AL in wins (behind Robbie Ross) and leads the league in ERA. That no question makes him the All-Star starter. 

Reserves: 

C: Mike Napoli, TEX (.271 AVG, 7 HR, 14 RBI)

    Matt Weiters, BAL (.288 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI)

1B: Adrian Gonzalez, BOS (.300 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)

       Carlos Pena, TB (.284 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)

2B: Dustin Pedroia, BOS (.303 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI)

SS: Mike Aviles, BOS (.324 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)

      Alcides Escobar, KC (.286 AVG, 1 HR, 5 RBI)

      Asdrubal Cabrera, CLE (.294 AVG, 2 HR, 3 RBI)

3B: Adrian Beltre, TEX (.313 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)

       Miguel Cabrera, DET (.288 AVG, 6 HR, 15 RBI)

       Mark Trumbo, LAA (.342 AVG, 3 HR, 8 RBI)

DH: Michael Young, TEX (.356 AVG, 2 HR, 13 RBI)

OF: Adam Jones, BAL (.316 AVG, 6 HR, 10 RBI)

       Matt Joyce, TB (.322 AVG, 4 HR, 8 RBI)

       Nick Swisher, NYY (.264 AVG, 5 HR, 17 RBI) 

SP: Justin Verlander, DET (2-1, 1.72 ERA, 31 K)

       Jason Hammel, BAL (3-0, 1.73 ERA, 25 K)

       Jake Peavy, CWS (3-0, 1.88 ERA, 26 K)

       Tommy Millone, OAK (3-1, 2.00 ERA, 13 K)

       Colby Lewis, TEX (2-0, 2.03 ERA, 24 K)

       Yu Darvish, TEX (3-0, 2.42 ERA, 24 K)

       Kyle Drabek, TOR (2-1, 2.25 ERA, 18 K)

RP: Jim Johnson, BAL (7 SV, 0.00 ERA, 6 K)

       Brandon League, SEA (7 SV, 1.69 ERA, 5 K)

       Fernando Rodney, TB (6 SV, 1.08 ERA, 7 K)

       Grant Balfour, OAK (5 SV, 1.50 ERA, 7 K)

       Robbie Ross, TEX (4-0, 2.25 ERA, 7 K)

Players per Team:

Texas Rangers – 9 (3 starters)

Baltimore Orioles – 5 (1 starter)

Boston Red Sox – 4 (1 starter)

Tampa Bay Rays – 4 (1 starter)

Chicago White Sox – 3 (2 starters)

New York Yankees – 2 (1 starter)

Detroit Tigers – 2

Oakland Athletics – 2

Minnesota Twins – 1 (1 starter)

Cleveland Indians – 1

Kansas City Royals – 1

Los Angeles Angels – 1

Seattle Mariners – 1

Toronto Blue Jays – 1

National League: 

Starters: 

C: Buster Posey, SF (.362 AVG, 3 HR, 7 RBI) – While Buster only has 7 RBIs, the catching position in the NL has overall had very poor power numbers, which allows Buster’s stellar average to earn him the starting job. 

1B: Bryan LaHair, CHC (.364 AVG, 4 HR, 11 RBI) – LaHair has been a big surprise early on in the year, and he leads NL first basemen in batting average. Bryan also has very good power numbers. 

2B: Jose Altuve, HOU (.377 AVG, 1 HR, 8 RBI) – As surprising as LaHair is, Altuve is probably a bigger one through the first month of the year, and has a very rare batting average at higher than .370. 

SS: Starlin Castro, CHC (.333 AVG, 0 HR, 9 RBI) – Starlin has no homers, yet still has the most RBI of any of my National League All-Star shortstops with a very mediocre nine. This weak competition combined with Castro’s good batting average allow Starlin to be my starting shortstop. 

3B: David Freese, STL (339 AVG, 4 HR, 18 RBI) – Despite the pain that goes into even seeing this name, He Who Shall Not Be Named has had a great start to the year and is very deserving to be the starter. 

OF: Matt Kemp, LAD (.449 AVG, 10 HR, 23 RBI) – Kemp has been far and away the best player in baseball through the first month, as he leads all of baseball in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. 

OF: Chris Young, ARI (.410 AVG, 5 HR, 13 RBI) – Chris is second to Kemp in the NL in batting average, hitting over .400 and displaying very good power. 

OF: JD Martinez, HOU (.313 AVG, 3 HR, 18 RBI) – JD is another Astro who is off to a surprisingly good start, hitting over .300 and being in the top 5 in the NL in RBI. 

SP: Ted Lilly, LAD (2-0, 0.90 ERA, 11 K) – While Lilly lacks the third win that many other pitchers have, he also lacks the loss, but, most importantly, lacks even the 3-digit ERA which is incredible, especially for a pitcher that’s getting close to 40. 

Reserves: 

C: Josh Thole, NYM (.362 AVG, 0 HR, 4 RBI)

    Carlos Ruiz, PHI (.302 AVG, 2 HR, 5 RBI)

1B: Adam LaRoche, WAS (.324 AVG, 2 HR, 14 RBI)

       Freddie Freeman, ATL (.288 AVG, 3 HR, 15 RBI)

2B: Omar Infante, MIA (.314 AVG, 5 HR, 7 RBI)

       Darwin Barney, CHC (.294 AVG, 1 HR, 7 RBI)

SS: Rafael Furcal, STL (.338 AVG, 0 HR, 8 RBI)

       Ian Desmond, WAS (.278 AVG, 2 HR, 7 RBI)

3B: Pablo Sandoval, SF (.333 AVG, 3 HR, 13 RBI)

       David Wright, NYM (.362 AVG, 3 HR, 10 RBI)

       Chase Headley, SD (.275 AVG, 4 HR, 13 RBI)

OF: Corey Hart, MIL (.305 AVG, 6 HR, 13 RBI

       Andre Ethier, LAD (.288 AVG, 4 HR, 22 RBI)

       Michael Cuddyer, COL (.303 AVG, 2 HR, 11 RBI)

       Andrew McCutchen, PIT (.329 AVG, 0 HR, 6 RBI) 

SP: Kyle Lohse, STL (3-0, 0.99 ERA, 16 K)

       Brandon Beachy, ATL (2-1, 1.05 ERA, 20 K)

       Stephen Strasburg, WAS (2-0, 1.08 ERA, 25 K)

       Joe Saunders, ARI (1-1, 1.29 ERA, 14 K)

       Jake Westbrook, STL (2-1, 1.31 ERA, 10 K)

       Lance Lynn, STL (4-0, 1.33 ERA, 24 K)

       Gio Gonzalez, WAS (2-0, 1.52, 27 K)

       Jordan Zimmerman, WAS (1-1, 1.33 ERA, 16 K)

RP: Craig Kimbrel, ATL (7 SV, 1.13 ERA, 14 K)

       Rafael Betancourt, COL (6 SV, 1.13 ERA, 6 K)

       Jonathon Papelbon, PHI (6 SV, 1.13 ERA, 7 K)

       Henry Rodriguez, WAS (5 SV, 0.00 ERA, 10 K)

       Aroldis Chapman, CIN (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 20 K)

Players per Team:

St. Louis Cardinals – 5 (1 starter)

Washington Nationals – 5

Chicago Cubs – 3 (2 starters)

Los Angeles Dodgers – 3 (2 starter)

Atlanta Braves – 3

Houston Astros – 2 (2 starters)

Arizona Diamondbacks – 2 (1 starter)

San Francisco Giants – 2 (1 starter)

New York Mets – 2

Philadelphia Phillies – 2

Cincinnati Reds – 1

Colorado Rockies – 1

Miami Marlins – 1

Milwaukee Brewers – 1

Pittsburgh Pirates – 1

San Diego Padres – 1

Come back next week for my April Awards.