The MLB All-Star Game is right around the corner.
On July 19th, the best players from their respective leagues will battle for the ultimate bragging rights. The American League has won the last eight All-Star games. They also hold the record over the National League, with 46 wins going to the American League and 43 to the National League, while there have also been two ties.
The All-Star game has always been closely contested. In the 91 games that have been played, the run differential is just six runs, with the American League leading in that category as well.
Since we are on the topic of fan voting, here are the players I believe should start in the MLB All-Star Game. All players that make the MLB All-Star Game are voted in by the fans. Fernando Tatis Jr. of the San Diego Padres has not played a single game this year, but he still has over 165,000 votes, ranking him fifth amongst the National League shortstops. Even if Tatis were voted into the All-Star game, he would be replaced because he cannot play, but it is always interesting to see the fan vote.
First Baseman
AL – Ty France (SEA)
Ty France has been an excellent bat in the Mariners lineup all year. He is batting over .300 with a .319 average while driving in 45 RBIs and sending ten homers over the fence. France currently sits in second place behind Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by 351,015 votes, but France leads Guerrero in batting average, RBIs, and OPS.
NL – Paul Goldschmidt (STL)
Paul Goldschmidt has been on an absolute tear this year. Goldschmidt has the second-best batting average in the entire league at .341 and currently has the third-most RBIs with 61. Goldschmidt also has an OPS above 1.000 with a 1.048 OPS, which puts him second in the MLB. Goldschmidt now sits first in the NL first baseman voting for a good reason.
Second Baseman
AL – Jose Altuve (HOU)
Jose Altuve has always been a guy the Astros could rely on. This year Altuve ranks second in batting average among AL second basemen with a .269 average. He also ranks first among AL second basemen in home runs with 13 and sits at the top with a .855 OPS. Cleveland’s Andres Gimenez, who was a close second, is having a breakout year at the dish for the Guardians.
NL – Jazz Chisholm Jr. (MIA)
Jazz Chisholm has checked all the boxes this year for the Marlins. Being a part of the sub .500 Marlins has not slowed down Chisholm this year. He leads all NL second basemen in home runs, RBIs, and OPS. He has sent 14 balls over the wall while driving in 45 runs and currently holds a .864 OPS. Chisholm has always been a fan favorite with his style and intensity and is the clear favorite to start at second base for the National League.
Third Baseman
AL – José Ramírez (CLE)
Ramirez currently sits second place in voting behind Boston’s Rafael Devers. Both players have had an outstanding season, but Ramírez ultimately gets the edge. Both Devers and Ramírez are batting over .300, Devers at .328 and Ramírez at .304. Both players have cranked 16 homers, but Ramírez has 19 more RBIs than Devers and just a bit of a higher OPS, with a .041 OPS advantage. Ramírez currently sits only about 16,000 votes behind Devers.
NL – Manny Machado (SD)
Manny Machado currently ranks first in voting among the third baseman for the NL. Machado ranks in the top three in batting average, RBIs, home runs, and OPS. Nolan Arenado also is in the top three in all those categories. Machado has a higher batting average at .328 and higher OPS at .945. Arenado has two more RBIs and two more homeruns than Machado so far. This one could go either way, but Machado gets the nod.
Shortstop
AL – Tim Anderson (CWS)
Tim Anderson ranks second among AL shortstops. Anderson has played fewer games than any other shortstops, but he is still putting up great numbers. Anderson has the highest batting average among the AL shortstops with a .358 average and the highest OPS at .894. He has also cranked five homers over the wall and driven in 19 RBIs. If Anderson had played the entire year, he would be right up there with the others in homers and RBIs.
NL – Trea Turner (LAD)
Trea Turner has always been one of the best in the MLB in batting average. He has continued with a .313 batting average this year and leads all NL shortstops. Turner has stolen 14 bases during the season and has only been caught stealing twice. Trea has also added nine home runs along with 51 RBIs and a .852 OPS. Turner’s defensive side of the game has always been pretty good. He’s got quick hands and can get the ball out fast two throw runners out.
Catcher
AL – Alejandro Kirk (TOR)
Kirk has had a breakout year for himself so far. Kirk has blasted eight home runs to go along with 26 RBIs. Kirk ranks first amongst AL catchers, with Jose Trevino of the Yankees second. Kirk is one of six players who have received over 1,000,000 votes, with 1,057,008 votes received. Kirk leads all AL catchers in average with a .307 batting average and is a close second in OPS with a .882 OPS, only .012 points behind Tom Murphy of Seattle.
NL – Travis d’Arnaud (ATL)
d’Arnaud currently ranks second in voting behind the Cubs, Willson Contreras. Contreras and d’Arnaud have almost similar stat lines so far this season. d’Arnaud has a batting average of .266 while Contreras has an average of .265. Contreras has cranked 12 home runs with 28 RBIs, and d’Arnaud has cranked ten home runs with 34 RBIs. d’Arnaud has also gunned down nine runners while Contreras has only thrown out six. d’Arnaud has also recorded 435 putouts, while Contreras has only recorded 327 putouts.
Outfield
AL – Aaron Judge (NYY), Mike Trout (LAA), Giancarlo Stanton (NYY)
Stanton would start in left, Trout in center, and Judge would begin the game in right field. Judge leads the league in home runs with 27 big flies, and Trout sits second in the MLB with 21 home runs, tied with Houston’s Yordan Alvarez. Stanton ranks fourth among AL outfields in home runs with 14. Judge, Trout, and Stanton are all among AL outfielders’ top five in RBIs. Judge leads with 52 RBIs, Trout is fourth with 43 RBIs, and Stanton is fifth with 42 RBIs.
NL – Mookie Betts (LAD), Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), Joc Pederson (SF)
Betts ranks first among NL outfielders in RBIs with 40 runs driven in. He also ranks second in home runs with 17 and OPS with a .884 OPS. Acuña ranks fourth among NL outfielders in batting average with a .275 batting average. Acuña has also muscled seven home runs outs of the yard and driven in 18 RBIs in his shortened season due to recovering from the torn ACL he suffered last year. Pederson ranks third in home runs with 15 homers. He also leads NL outfielders with a .901 OPS.
Designated Hitter
AL – Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
Alvarez has always been a dangerous bat from the left side who has always had big pop in his bat and continues to show that year in and year out. Alvarez ranks in the top three in batting average, home runs, RBIs and OPS. Alvarez is third in average with a .315 batting average, first in homers with 21, first in RBIs with 51 runs driven home, and first in OPS with a 1.064 OPS.
NL – Bryce Harper (PHI)
Bryce Harper would generally be an All-Star starter in the outfield. But he cannot throw due to a strain in his flexor mass near his right elbow. However, Harper has continued to shine with his bat, launching 15 home runs and driving in 48 runs. Harper also has an OPS of above 1.000, sitting at a 1.010 OPS.
