All-Star Game Ballot

What's up baseball fans?  So the All-Star Game is a month away, July 12, and we're talking ballots.  Now as a Giants fan, I would love to see as many of my favorite players in the game as possible (and zero Dodgers).  As a baseball fan, however, I want to see the best, most deserving players in the game.  Unlike the Kansas City Royals fans, who were almost successful in voting in 8 starters.  For those of you counting, that's the ENTIRE TEAM, not counting the DH (and as a National League fan, I do not), and the pitcher which fans don't vote on anyway.  As it turned out, the Royals had 4 starters in the game, and probably 3 of them truly deserved to be there.  If you really believe that Alcides Escobar was the best Shortstop in the American League in 2015, I would like to ask you where one can obtain the drug that would make one so delusional.  But back to the point.  I wanted to share my (first) ballot with you and explain why I voted the way I did, while also opening the discussion as to why you might vote a different way.  With the game being played in San Diego, let's begin with the visiting American League team.

First Base - Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals (.321, 10 Home Runs, 35 RBI, 4 Stolen Bases): I could have gone a couple of ways here.  Miguel Cabrera (.304, 12, 36, 0) is having a pretty decent season, but Hosmer is the pick for me.  If you're looking for power, but little else, you could also consider Chris Davis from the Baltimore Orioles (.214, 12, 30, 0) or Mike Napoli from the Cleveland Indians (.234, 14, 42, 2).

Second Base - Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (.336, 10, 36, 18): This one was a little tough.  There are a lot of good Second Basemen in the AL.  Robinson Cano from the Seattle Mariners (.292, 16, 48, 0), Logan Forsythe from the Tampa Bay Rays (.308, 4, 12, 3), Ian Kinsler from the Detroit Tigers (.315, 11, 35, 7), and Dustin Pedroia from the Boston Red Sox (.314, 7, 26, 4) are all having All-Star worthy seasons.  I'm going with Altuve for the unparalleled combination of average, power, and speed.  Altuve should not only be starting, he should also be leading off for the AL team.

Shortstop - Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox (.340, 6, 36, 8): Carlos Correa from the Houston Astros (.254, 8, 32, 8) and Francisco Lindor from the Cleveland Indians (.304, 6, 29, 10) may be the best young Shortstops in the AL for the future, but Bogaerts is having the best 2016.  He also carried a 26 game hit streak through 6/3.  Marcus Semien of the Oakland A's (.227, 11, 25, 3) leads all AL Shortstops in Home Runs.

Third Base - Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles (.303, 15, 37, 0): I have a feeling that Machado will have this selection on lock for a long time.  A few other guys you could consider, Nick Castellanos from the Detroit Tigers (.316, 11, 35, 1), Evan Longoria from the Tampa Bay Rays (.279, 14, 35, 0), Kyle Seager from the Seattle Mariners (.279, 10, 40, 0), and Danny Valencia from the Oakland A's (.343, 9, 22, 0).  Todd Frazier from the Chicago White Sox (.217, 19, 42, 5) could see some votes due to his power numbers, and the fact that he won the Home Run Derby in 2015 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.

Catcher - Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals (.272, 7, 25, 0): The AL is pretty barren for Catchers.  Really there were only 3 guys who would warrant consideration for an All-Star selection, and none of the 3 is having a trule All-Star worthy season.  Stephen Vogt from the Oakland A's (.270, 4, 15, 0) and Matt Wieters from the Baltimore Orioles (.280, 5, 25, 1) are the other 2.

Designated Hitter (AL only) - David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (.338, 16, 55, 1): Ortiz would probably get voted in because he has announced that he will retire after the 2016 season.  But unlike some (Derek Jeter, 2014), Ortiz deserves to get the nod in his retirement year.  Nelson Cruz from the Seattle Mariners (.288, 15, 43, 0) and Victor Martinez from the Detroit Tigers (.341, 9, 34, 0) should also get some consideration.

Outfield (3) - Carlos Beltran, New York Yankees (.281, 16, 41, 0) - Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (.291, 14, 45, 11) - Mark Trumbo (.294, 20, 48, 1): Outfield is always difficult because you're trying to single out 3 guys from a pool of 45, and probably more than half of them deserve to be considered.  You might notice that I didn't vote for Mike Trout from the Los Angeles Angels (.309, 13, 43, 8).  Trout is having a good season, but not the MVP caliber season that we've seen from him in the past.  This probably means that we as fans have been spoiled.

That's the American League.  Now the National League team.

First Base - Brandon Belt, San Francisco Giants (.298, 7, 29, 0): I originally didn't want to pick Belt because I don't want to come off like a Giants homer.  But the truth is, out of the NL First Basemen, Belt should be right up there when picking the NL All-Stars based on his 2016 numbers.  He's tied for the lead in Batting Average and while his power numbers are in the middle of the pack, you have to wonder how many more Home Runs he would hit if he were playing in say Arizona or Chicago.  I would have been perfectly fine voting for Will Myers from the San Diego Padres (.294, 12, 33, 7) as well.  Paul Goldschmidt from the Arizona Diamondbacks (.270, 11, 37, 7) and Anthony Rizzo from the Chicago Cubs (.259, 13, 43, 2) will probably end up leading the voting.  Whether they truly deserve to be there remains in question.

Second Base - Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals (.376, 10, 38, 2): This one shouldn't be close.  Murphy currently leads all NL Second Basemen in Batting Average and RBI, and is 2nd in Home Runs behing Neil Walker while hitting 97 points higher.  Josh Harrison from the Pittsburgh Pirates (.322, 2, 28, 11), D.J. LeMahieu from the Colorado Rockies (.303, 3, 18, 6), Jean Segura from the Arizona Diamondbacks (.290, 5, 27, 6), Neil Walker from the New York Mets (.279, 13, 25, 1), and Ben Zobrist from the Chicago Cubs (.325, 8, 36, 2) are all having fine seasons too.

Shortstop - Jonathan Villar, Milwaukee Bresers (.306, 5, 25, 22): This was a tough call.  You have no idea how badly I wanted to vote for Brandon Crawford from the San Francisco Giants (.260, 6, 32, 3).  Really this was a 2-man race for me between Villar and Zack Cozart from the Cincinnati Reds (.303, 9, 25, 1).  Both had very similar stat lines and I almost swayed to Cozart as he missed most of the 2015 season following a knee injury.  But there is no room for feel-good stories here!!!!  Villar gets the nod.  Corey Seager from the Los Angeles Dodgers (.283, 14, 35, 1) and Trevor Story from the Colorado Rockies (.258, 16, 42, 3) should see some votes, but not from me.  I have a strict no Dodgers policy, and an almost as strict no Rockies policy.  You'll see why the no Rockies policy is not as strict as the no Dodgers policy in just a second.

Third Base - Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies (.289, 18, 49, 1): See?  I told you that no Rockies policy was not as strict.  Pretty sure Arenado should be getting MVP consideration, and would definitely win it if he played every game against the Giants.  He absolutely kills San Francisco.  I'd better stop talking about it or I might change my pick....to....Kris Bryant from the Chicago Cubs (.284, 14, 43, 2)????  Yeah, I'll stick with Arenado.  Choosing between those 2 is like choosing between Trump and Hillary for most of the rest of the country.  Which is the least bad.  Not that it's Bryant's fault.  I think Bryant gets vilified some because he was anointed the next superstar before ever playing a game in the Majors.  He's having a good season too.  I feel dirty, I don't want to talk about this pick anymore.....

Catcher - Wilson Ramos, Washington Nationals (.345, 8, 33, 0): No, we're supposed to vote for Buster Posey (.257, 8, 26, 2).  The truth is Posey is not having a good year and probably doesn't deserve to be there.  So we have to pick the best from the rest.  Ramos is my pick.  Jonathan Lucroy from the Milwaukee Brewers (.310, 9, 28, 2), Wellington Castillo from the Arizona Diamondbacks (.271, 7, 22, 2), and J.P. Realmuto from the Miami Marlins (.297, 2, 15, 3) are having good seasons also.

Outfield (3) - Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers (.328, 9, 33,5) - Marcell Ozuna, Miami Marlins (.314, 11, 31, 0) - Gregory Polanco, Pittsburgh Pirates (.308, 9, 39, 8): Again, difficult to pick just 3 guys out of 45.  Note, no Bryce Harper.  Again, not having a season on par with his 2015 MVP season.

So that's it folks.  There's my ballot.  What do you think?  Do you agree?  Disagree?  Who would you vote in?  Do you vote for your hometown players whether they're the best players at their positions or not?  Get out there and vote.  You can vote using a single email address up to 35 times (5 times per 24 hour period).  Thanks for reading.