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President of Freedonia
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The final All Star ballot update for both leagues came out today and the player ballot has been distributed, so I did some last-second tweaking for my predictions for the rosters that will be revealed in the next week. I’m doing this keeping in mind the convoluted voting process: starting position are voted by fans, players vote in a backup at each spot along with 5 SP and 3 RP, manager fills out the rest of the team making sure every team has a rep and there have to be a minimum of 13 pitchers. 33 players named plus 5 final vote candidates, and then of course injury subs and all that shit comes afterwards.
American League
Elected Starters
C: Salvador Perez, Royals
1B: Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
2B: Jose Altuve, Astros
SS: Alcides Escobar, Royals
3B: Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays
OF: Mike Trout, Angels
OF: Lorenzo Cain, Royals
OF: Alex Gordon, Royals
DH: Nelson Cruz, Mariners
Today’s ballot showed Donaldson and Cruz pulling ahead of Moustakas and Morales, and I expect it to stay that way as fans attempt to overrun the Royals. Infante still leads at 2B right now but only by like 300k votes. I can only assume people are voting for Infante as a joke at this point but I feel like he’s bound to get surpassed, or MLB will cleverly manage to veto some of his votes to avoid the embarrassment. I’d argue that there are better starting options on the bench than Perez, Altuve, Escobar, and Gordon – but I don’t object to any of them being on the team so whatever. Way better than the 8-Royal lineup of a month ago.
Player Ballot
C: Stephen Vogt, Athletics
1B: Albert Pujols, Angels
2B: Jason Kipnis, Indians
SS: Jose Iglesias, Tigers
3B: Manny Machado, Orioles
OF: Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
OF: Yoenis Cespedes, Tigers
OF: Adam Jones, Orioles
DH: Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays
SP: Chris Archer, Rays
SP: Sonny Gray, Athletics
SP: Felix Hernandez, Mariners
SP: Dallas Keuchel, Astros
SP: David Price, Tigers
RP: Zach Britton, Orioles
RP: Wade Davis, Royals
RP: Glen Perkins, Twins
As of last week I had Iglesias getting snubbed off the team due to his low RBI totals which aren’t his fault, but the more I’ve read the more it sounds like his amazing glove and high BA aren’t lost on the players, so I’m glad to fit him in. Vogt and Kipnis get some much-deserved love as the best hitting players at their respective positions. Machado feels like the clear-cut choice to back up Donaldson. Pujols, Cespedes, and Jones all have good numbers as well as a reputation. Bautista is another reputation pick, guys will likely overlook his low BA in favor of the really good power numbers. Backup DH is weird. Fielder would be the easy pick if he weren’t listed as a 1B on the ballot. A-Rod would absolutely warrant the pick based on numbers but I imagine him being a giant cunt will cause him to lose votes. Morales is probably the best all-around DH left but I wonder if all of this Royals voting controversy has created a bias amongst the players…so I just went with another big low BA power bat in Encarnacion.
Archer, Gray, Keuchel, and Price all feel like total locks based on their numbers alone. Felix hasn’t been quite his normal self but is still having a strong year in a pretty weak league for pitching in the AL, plus he has the reputation to get player support. Perkins and Britton are in as the current AL saves leaders. Set-up men have been elected by players in recent years and Davis’ ERA is so comically low it jumps off the page, so I think he’ll be voted in by his peers.
Managerial Selections
C: Russell Martin, Blue Jays
1B/DH: Prince Fielder, Rangers
UTIL: Brock Holt, Red Sox
SP: Chris Sale, White Sox
SP: Edinson Volquez, Royals
RP: Dellin Betances, Yankees
RP: Huston Street, Angels
Fielder is the easy choice to represent the Rangers. I figured Bogaerts would be Boston’s rep and I wouldn’t object to that, but looking at the numbers Holt plays most days, is a very good role player, and his ability to play anywhere makes him a more attractive option for the bench. Martin is tabbed as the third catcher over McCann for his defensive acumen.
Sale is the slam-dunk option for the White Sox rep. Weird to realize there’s not a Yankee rep by this point either, and Betances would have been a criminal snub anyway. Feel like Yost will want to carry one extra “official” closer so Street gets the nod. The remaining starting pitchers on the board are kinda “samey” so Yost uses his token homer pick on Volquez.
Final Vote
SP: Carlos Carrasco, Indians
SP: Michael Pineda, Yankees
RP: Brad Boxberger, Rays
RP: Will Harris, Astros
RP: Darren O’Day, Orioles
Yost probably still has a beef with Kazmir from the Royals/Athletics incidents earlier, so he is left off. Odorizzi and Andrew Miller would have been considered but are currently on the DL and might not be available for the game anyway, so Boxberger and Pineda get the chance to give their teams a second rep instead. Yost seems old school enough to still think the wins stat actually matters for pitchers, and he already has Pineda on there despite the 4+ ERA, let’s thrown on Carrasco as well with his 9 wins. Yost loves his specialists, so Harris and O’Day seem like sensible candidates to round off the field.
National League
Elected Starters
C: Buster Posey, Giants
1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
2B: Dee Gordon, Marlins
SS: Jhonny Peralta, Cardinals
3B: Todd Frazier, Reds
OF: Bryce Harper, Nationals
OF: Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins*
OF: Matt Holliday, Cardinals*
The only change I have from the fan ballot released today is Frazier going in over Matt Carpenter. Frazier gained huge ground in the last week and I think he’ll end up getting the nod and rightly so. He’s having an amazing year and I feel like it’s a real shame when the host team doesn’t get a starter in the game. Holliday has actually pulled away from Aoki a bit so I figure he’ll hang on to his elected spot but it really doesn’t matter as he and Stanton are hurt and will need to be replaced in the lineup anyway.
Player Ballot
C: Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1B: Joey Votto, Reds
2B: Kolten Wong, Cardinals
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
3B: Nolan Arenado, Rockies
OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
OF: Joc Pederson, Dodgers
OF: Justin Upton, Padres
SP: Madison Bumgarner, Giants
SP: Gerrit Cole, Pirates
SP: Zack Greinke, Dodgers
SP: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
SP: Max Scherzer, Nationals
RP: Aroldis Chapman, Reds
RP: Mark Melancon, Pirates
RP: Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals
Same rules apply as with the player voting in the AL really, it’s about more than just numbers – a well-known guy with a reputation having a good season usually has a better chance than a less-known guy having a slightly better year. Molina, Votto, Tulo, McCutchen, and Upton all qualify as guys that would be getting the reputation vote, but I certainly wouldn’t object to any of them making it. McCutchen probably winds up starting at CF with 2 outfielders out. Arenado is ridiculously underrated but I think the players will recognize the brilliance of his numbers. Pederson’s power numbers would make him an alluring choice for the players. And I guess Wong gets the 2B slot over Panik in a very close call.
Ignore Kershaw W-L record and what the media is trying to tell you about him coming back to Earth this year, he’s still leading the league in K’s and even if he didn’t, do you really think the players aren’t going to vote the reigning MVP in? Similarly, Bumgarner is deserving to make the team anyway but last year’s heroics get him voted in outright. Scherzer, Cole, and Greinke are locks. Melancon is leading the league in saves. Rosenthal’s overall numbers are the best of any closer in the league. Chapman has a boatload of K’s in the pen and a reputation of a guy nobody really wants to face.
Managerial Selections
C: Derek Norris, Padres
1B: Anthony Rizzo, Cubs
SS: Brandon Crawford, Giants
3B: Kris Bryant, Cubs
OF: Nori Aoki, Giants
OF: AJ Pollock, Diamondbacks
SP: AJ Burnett, Pirates
SP: Jacob deGrom, Mets
SP: Shelby Miller, Braves
RP: Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies
RP: Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers
Normally Bochy would make 9 selections here, but since Stanton and Holliday are going to be out I’m sure he already has an idea of who he’d take with the extra 2. Rizzo is a must-have, and since this gives the NL 3 1B I figure you can allow Votto to play his normal position for his home crowd in relief of Goldschmidt later in the game, freeing up Rizzo to be in the starting lineup as the DH. Pollock is having an incredible under-the-radar season. Norris is in for his power. Nothing against Matt Carpenter, but the Cubs really feel like a team that should have a second rep, and Kris Bryant is a guy people will want to see and is therefore "best for business". Bochy is left with 2 spots and has 3 of his own guys I could justify making it: Crawford, Aoki, and Panik. In the end, he goes with Aoki and Crawford. I could easily see him starting Aoki in left with Holliday not playing.
4 teams left without reps at this point. Miller and deGrom are really easy picks for the Braves and Mets. If I may go on a homer rant of my own, it fucking sucks that I have Jeurys Familia not making the team. He’s clearly a top 3 closer in the NL this year. But alas, the “every team needs a rep” rule rears its ugly head as K-Rod and Papelbon are basically the default Brewers and Phillies reps. Burnett rounds off the field as he’d seem to be having way too good of a year to ignore – if he were to get squeezed out of the roster somehow it’d probably be for a guy like Michael Wacha.
Final Vote
1B: Freddie Freeman, Braves
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers
2B: Joe Panik, Giants
3B: Matt Carpenter, Cardinals
OF: Starling Marte, Pirates
With the 13 pitcher requirement met I assume he’d just load up the ballot with position players of different types and let their respective fan bases settle it. I can’t really argue against any of these guys being considered for what amounts to the 34th spot on the roster. If Bochy does leave the door open for a 14th pitcher to be added, the aforementioned Familia should be on the poll. Drew Storen or another Bochy guy, Santiago Casilla could also warrant consideration. If he wants to go outside the box he could even nominate a utility guy (Justin Turner) or a set-up guy (Tony Watson or Kevin Siegrist).
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