Rayhawk Review All Star Game Selections

Home » MLB » Rayhawk Review All Star Game Selections

Editors Note – This piece was put together entirely by my great friend and ex season ticket partner (ex to the Rays, still have season tix with him to the Bucs) Daniel Edwards.

As I pondered which Rays would be in St. Louis on July 14, I decided to make my own projections according to the actual selection rules. I must admit, this proved to be more difficult than I originally anticipated. I now have a much greater appreciation for each Manger’s responsibility to fill the roster. Having only 7 selections to fulfill an obligation to ensure each team is represented as well filling up a roster to be effective in a potentially long game is easier said than done. With that being said, the selections have to be made and some deserving players will always be watching from home. My selections below deviate a bit from years past, lacking superstar veterans such as ARod, Chipper, Griffey Jr., Manny etc. But, I wanted this to represent the players that I felt have played the best baseball in the first half of 2009. After I finished I inevitably looked back at some of the players that didn’t make it and questioned how I could leave them off. With my apologies to a handful of guys I had to stick with my original picks.

I’m sure the actual selection will differ greatly from mine and that many people will disagree with them, but I encourage any debate over these selections. And yes, you can call me a homer, but I do have 4 Rays making the squad (including Zobrist). Although, I believe all of them will at least deserve consideration.

First a quick breakdown of the selection rules:

32 players per team
Fan Voting – Determines the 8 position starters for each league
Player/Manager Voting – Determines the first 8 pitchers (5 starters and 3 relievers) as well as one reserve at each position for each league
All Star Managers – Select 7 players to fill the roster to 31 (At this time each team must be represented)
32^nd Roster Spot – The Commissioners Office releases a list of 5 players from each league which allows fans to vote on the most deserving. Top vote getters from each league will earn the final roster spot

For the purposes of this exercise I will assume the current voting standings will remain the same as they are at the time of this posting. The stats are also current as of this posting.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Current Fan Voting Standings

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
C	Joe Mauer	MIN	Best hitting catcher in the game
1B	Mark Texiera	NYY	It’s either him or Youk
2B	Ian Kinsler	TEX	Pedroia is close but Kinsler deserves it
3B	Evan Longoria	TB	It may be a few years before he’s the starter again because of ARod
SS	Derek Jeter	NYY	The face of the Yankees
OF	Jason Bay	BOS	Having the best season of his career
OF	Ichiro Suzuki	SEA	Hitting .374
OF	Josh Hamilton	TEX	I think his performance in the 2008 HR Derby got him an automatic invitation

Pitchers – 5 Starts and 3 Relievers

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
SP	Zack Greinke	KC	Sub 2 ERA… Should be the starter
SP	Roy Halladay	TOR	Toronto’s hanging around because of him
SP	Felix Hernandex	SEA	The King is back
SP	Jered Weaver	LAA	Where would the Angels pitching staff be without him
SP	Kevin Millwood	TEX	Could be EJax but Millwood has been a horse this year
CL	Jonathan Papelbon	BOS	If he saves the game let’s just hope he keeps his clothes on
CL	Joe Nathan	MIN	1.52 ERA
CL	David Aardsma	SEA	1.53 ERA plus 45 K in 35.1 IP… Mariano will probably be here instead

Reserves – 1 at each position

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
C	Victor Martinez	CLE	Splits time b/w C & 1B but flat out rakes. Napoli or Posada could also make it, but I found too many other deserving players.
1B	Kevin Youkilis	BOS	Youk and Texiera could trade places
2B	Aaron Hill	TOR	19 HRs and 56 RBIs at 2B
3B	Brandon Inge	DET	He’s better than most think
SS	Jason Bartlett	TB	Homer pick? Maybe… But compare his stats versus other SS… He has a .965 OPS
OF	Torii Hunter	LAA	Hamilton’s 35 HRs at the old Yankee Stadium cost him the starting spot
OF	Carl Crawford	TB	Willie Mays Hayes
OF	Johnny Damon	NYY	As much as this pains me, he is having a hell of a year

Manager Selections

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
1B	Justin Morneau	MIN	Already has over 60 RBI
2B	Robinson Cano	NYY	Quietly having a great year
OF	Jemaine Dye	CHW	Even at 35 he’s putting up huge numbers
OF	Ben Zobrist	TB	Maddon may try to talk himself out of this one, then he will remember that the Zobrist has a 1.026 OPS
SP	Dallas Braden	OAK	It was either Dallas Braden or Dallas Braden from the A’s
SP	Edwin Jackson	DET	He deserves a spot and Maddon won’t let him down
MR	George Sherrill	BAL	It was either him or Jones from the Orioles and this way Maddon can pick Zobrist

Final Roster Spot – Selection in Red

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
1B	Miguel Cabrera	DET	He’s the new Manny
1B	Russell Branyan	SEA	It’s tough to leave him off… but you can’t have a team of 1B
SP	Cliff Lee	CLE	One of the only bright spots in Cleveland
MR	Mariano Rivera	NYY	It would be unfair to the other players have to the greatest closer ever and a Yankee in this category. In my scenario he is my pick to win. Most likely he is in Aardsma’s position
OF	Adam Jones	BAL	Could easily replace Sherrill

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Current Fan Voting Standings

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
C	Yadier Molina	STL	Should be McCann but the game is in St. Louis
1B	Albert Pujols	STL	Best hitter in the game
2B	Chase Utley	PHI	2B shouldn’t put up numbers like this
3B	David Wright	NYM	This will probably be his spot for years to come, but where is his HR power?
SS	Hanley Ramirez	FLA	Thank God the fans finally started paying attention. Rollins was winning up until recently. (Quick message to J-Roll, Thanks for killing my fantasy team)
OF	Raul Ibanez	PHI	Best season of his career
OF	Ryan Braun	MIL	OPS nearing 1
OF	Carlos Beltran	NYM	Beltran’s been good and deserves to be an All Star, but Hawpe should be starting

Pitchers – 5 Starts and 3 Relievers

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
SP	Dan Haren	ARI	If he starts like he should he can’t get the win… But he’s used to that
SP	Matt Cain	SF	Who would want to face this 1-2 combo in the playoffs?
SP	Tim Lincecum	SF	Who would want to face this 1-2 combo in the playoffs?
SP	Josh Johnson	FLA	He’s scary good
SP	Johan Santana	NYM	Stats are almost identical to Yovani Gallardo, but Gallardo’s name isn’t Johan
CL	Fancisco Rodriguez	NYM	Take a look at his stats
CL	Heath Bell	SDG	See above
CL	Ryan Franklin	STL	See above

Reserves – 1 at each position

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
C	Brian McCann	ATL	As mentioned above, he should be starting
1B	Prince Fielder	MIL	He’s better than his dad
2B	Orlando Hudson	LAD	I flipped between him and Freddy Sanchez a hundred times
3B	Pablo Sandoval	SF	Mark Reynolds will probably get this spot since he does have over 20 HR. But Sandoval has a higher OPS, and unlike Reynolds, he hasn’t struck out 100 times
SS	Miguel Tejada	HOU	Could be Tulowitzki, but Miguel is hitting nearly 70 points higher
OF	Brad Hawpe	COL	See Beltran
OF	Justin Upton	ARI	He should get the to All Star game before his brother
OF	Adam Dunn	WAS	Tough pick especially with his low BA, but nearly 20 HR and 60 BB. Zimmerman could make it if he doesn’t.

Manager Selections

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
1B	Adrian Gonzalez	SDG	He’s slowly going to become a household name
1B	Ryan Howard	PHI	Manuel will make sure his slugger tags along.
2B	Brandon Phillips	CIN	Tough call here on selecting a Red. Cueto and Cordero cold be here as well.
OF	Matt Kemp	LAD	Kemp, Billingsley or Broxton? More than one could make it, but in my scenario Duke and Lilly had to be picked
SP	Zach Duke	PIT	If Sanchez were to get picked above I’m not sure Duke would make it. But he deserves it.
SP	Ted Lilly	CHC	It was Lilly or Lee. There were some teams that had tough picks. But surprisingly the Cubs really don’t have anyone that deserved a spot. Lilly’s not a bad pitcher to take to St. Louis though
SP	Yovani Gallardo	MIL	I hope he makes it

Final Roster Spot – Selection in Red

Pos	Player	Team	Comment
1B	Todd Helton	COL	35 and still hitting above .300
3B	Mark Reynolds	ARI	When he doesn’t strike out he hits the ball hard
SP	Jonny Cueto	CIN	I think he wins. Should have Lilly’s spot
SP	Chad Billingsley	LAD	He’s having a great year
CL	Francisco Cordero	CIN	Cordero, Hoffman and Broxton – If they don’t make it at least one should be in the running for the final spot