2016 MLB All-Star picks loaded with Red Sox

A rundown of my selections for the 2016 MLB All-Star game, which of course includes several members of the Boston Red Sox.

We are one month away from the 2016 MLB All-Star Game in San Diego, where the biggest stars in baseball will gather to put on a glorified exhibition.

There is still time to cast your vote for the starting position players, but I’ve already made my selections for the American League roster, which I’d now like to share with all of you. Only I’m not going to stop with listing merely the starting position players – no, that would be too easy.

Here’s the plan. This isn’t a predictions column where I attempt to make selections based on the most recent fan ballot results. We’ve seen in the past that fans don’t always make the right selections, especially when a particular fan base floods the online ballots with the names of players from their favorite team (looking at you, Royals fans).

Listen, I get that this is supposed to be a game for the fans, so involving them in the selection process is a great way to keep them engaged. It makes sense from that perspective, but it’s not what I’m focusing on here. I’m only concerned with which players actually deserve to be there.

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I’m also ignoring the archaic rule that every team needs to be represented in the All-Star Game. Sorry, Twins fans, but when we are this deep into the season and your team only has 19 wins, you don’t get an All-Star.

Also, keep in mind that these selections are being made based on what we’ve seen entering the day on Sunday, June 12. Track records from previous seasons hold some significance, but the current season is weighted more heavily. In other words, players who have had great careers but are having terrible seasons aren’t making the list based on name recognition. There is also plenty of baseball left to be played before the All-Star break, so with tight races at some positions, opinions can change between now and then.

So there is a little insight into how I’m making my selections for the starters, reserves and pitchers. Sure, I may show a slight bit of favoritism for Red Sox players. Hey, I can’t help it, I’m a fan too! Luckily this year Boston has many deserving candidates, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

So without further adieu, here are my picks for this year’s American League All-Star team.

Next: Infield

Infielders

Catcher – Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals

I thought about putting Sandy Leon here given that he enters the day batting 1.000, but I figured 5 at-bats wasn’t enough of a sample size. Actually, only two AL catchers have enough plate appearances so far this season to qualify in the batting race, one of whom is Perez, who leads that shallow group with a .276 average.

Perez is actually the easy pick in an underwhelming group of backstops. The three-time All-Star remains an elite defensive catcher and currently owns a .791 OPS that is higher than what he produced in any of his previous All-Star seasons.

First Base – Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals

What, did Royals fans hijack my ballot? Nope, turns out the defending World Series Champions just happen to have two deserving starters (but only two, let’s not get carried away).

This was a close call between Hosmer and Detroit Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera. So far this season, Cabrera’s 1.8 WAR has a slight edge over Hosmer’s (1.6 WAR), but the Royals first baseman has the edge in batting average and OPS. They entered the day tied in home runs and extra-base hits, with Hosmer leading in RBI by two. These two could easily swap spots over the next few weeks, but at the moment, Hosmer leads by a hair.

Second Base – Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

The diminutive second baseman is headed for his fourth career All-Star appearance with perhaps his best season. Altuve is second in the league with a 3.4 WAR and first with 18 steals. Speed has always been a part of his game, but he is showing a bit more pop in his bat this season. He already has 10 home runs, putting him on a base to obliterate the career-high of 15 that he hit last year.

Shortstop – Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox

The 23-year old isn’t merely about to make his first All-Star appearance, he’s officially reached superstar status. Bogaerts leads the league with a 3.6 WAR and has a sizable lead in the batting title race with a .358 average. If Bogaerts finishes the season with that average, he’ll equal Alex Rodriguez‘s 1996 season for the second highest batting average by a shortstop in the past 50 years, trailing only Nomar Garciaparra‘s 2000 season when he hit a ridiculous .372 for the Red Sox.

Third Base – Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles

Now here is where it gets complicated. While Machado has spent the bulk of his career at the hot corner, he has nearly double the number of appearances at shortstop this season. Bogaerts is clearly deserving of the starting shortstop spot, but Machado is having too good of a season not to be a starter. He’s third in the league with a 3.3 WAR and has every other third baseman in the league beat in nearly every category.

Reigning MVP Josh Donaldson is having another fine season, but not as great as the one Machado is having.

Next: Outfielders

Outfielders

Left Field – Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

The perennial MVP contender is an obvious choice to lead our crop of outfielders. Trout hasn’t actually played in left field since 2013, but outfield alignment doesn’t really matter when selecting All-Star rosters. We want the three best outfielders, even if all of them happen to be capable of patrolling center field.

Center Field – Jackie Bradley, Boston Red Sox

A scorching month of August last season foreshadowed this breakout campaign. Bradley was already one of the best defensive outfielders you’ll ever see, but now he is finally backing that up with a big bat. Bradley is second in the league with a .981 OPS, seventh with 31 extra-base hits, ninth with a .316 batting average and tenth with a 3.0 WAR. Oh, he also had a 29-game hit streak that is the longest by any player this season, so that gave him a tie-breaker edge over some other deserving outfield candidates.

Right Field – Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox

The blossoming young superstar got off to a slow start this season, but has come storming back over the last few weeks to put him near the top of most offensive categories among outfielders. His resurgence was highlighted by a three-home run game on May 31, which he followed up with another multi-homer game the next day to give him 5 home runs in 7 plate appearances.

Even more impressive than his home run binge is that he is 5th in the league with 47 RBI from the lead-off spot. It’s a testament to not only how deep the Red Sox lineup is, but Betts’ ability to hit with runners in scoring position (.365 average with RISP, 5th in the league among hitters with at least 50 plate appearances).

Next: Designated Hitter

Reserves

Catcher – Brian McCann, New York Yankees

First Base – Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

First Base – Chris Davis, Baltimore Orioles

Second Base – Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners

Second Base – Ian Kinsler, Detroit Tigers

Shortstop – Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians

Third Base – Josh Donaldson

Third Base – Kyle Seager

Outfield – George Springer, Houston Astros

Outfield – Mark Trumbo, Baltimore Orioles

Outfield – Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners

DH – Victor Martinez

Do we really need to have a backup catcher? Fine, I’ll take McCann by default given that he at least has a track record, but it’s an ugly bunch after Perez.

Miggy could easily be worthy of being the starter, so if you want to flip him for Hosmer I won’t fight you on it, but both clearly have to make the team. Davis wasn’t an easy choice given his brutal .228 average and the fact that he strikes out a ton, but his 15 homers are the most at the position. Joe Mauer is having a fine bounce back season and his 1.7 WAR equals what Davis has produced, but an Orioles team tied for first in the AL East deserves multiple All-Stars more than the Twins deserve any. In reality, Mauer probably makes the team as Minnesota’s lone representative because he has name recognition and MLB rules are dumb.

Cano is finally living up to his enormous contract after a slow start to last season had many questioning Seattle’s decision. His 3.2 WAR is 4th in the league and he’s 3rd with 18 homers. Kinsler is having too great of a season to leave off this team, producing a 3.1 WAR and .897 OPS, so we’re rolling with three second basemen on this squad.

We’re only bringing one backup shortstop with us and Lindor is the only option that makes much sense, but that’s fine because Machado can always slide over to that spot if necessary.

As the reigning MVP, Donaldson has to be on the team and he’s having a solid season, even if it’s not up to last year’s standards. I thought about putting Todd Frazier on the roster too considering his 18 home runs are a big part of Chicago’s hot start that has them competitive again in the AL Centeral, but the dude is hitting .215, so no thanks. Seager gets the other hot corner spot, with a slight edge over Adrian Beltre. Although I can’t blame you if you want to pick Beltre instead because, well, he’s Adrian Beltre.

Springer can make a case for being a starter over JBJ, especially if you lean more towards track record. Both are having outstanding seasons and have to be on this team either way, but I gave Bradley the edge because

I’m a homer

of his defense.

Trumbo makes the team because he leads the league with 20 home runs and his .939 OPS is sixth, although I remain skeptical he can keep this up. The power is real, but a career .254 hitter isn’t likely to keep flirting with a .300 average at age 30.

Cruz spends most of his time at DH, but he’s played enough right field that we can sneak him in. The 35-year old can still rake and could be headed for his third straight 40-homer season. I’m putting him as an outfielder mostly so I can use my backup DH spot on Martinez, who is fifth in the league in hitting at .335 and has a .907 OPS.

Next: Pitchers

Pitchers

Starter – Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox

SP – Danny Salazar, Cleveland Indians

SP – Steven Wright, Boston Red Sox

SP – Rich Hill, Oakland Athletics

SP – Marco Estrada, Toronto Blue Jays

SP – Jose Quintana, Chicago White Sox

SP – Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

SP – Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

RP – Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles

RP – Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals

RP – Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox

RP – Alex Colome, Tampa Bay Rays

RP – Andrew Miller, New York Yankees

RP – Will Harris, Houston Astros

Sale’s league-leading 10 wins isn’t the reason he earns the starting spot, as I find wins to be a highly overrated way of measuring a pitcher’s worth. He gets the nod because he’s been among the best pitchers in the league for years, has a 2.87 ERA, he’s second among starters with a 1.01 WHIP and fifth in strikeouts.

Salazar makes a strong case for that starting spot with a 2.24 ERA that is second in the league, while ranking first among pitchers with 3.5 WAR. He doesn’t quite have Sales track record though and has pitched about 23 fewer innings.

Several high-profile starters are having down seasons, as Red Sox fans will quickly point out has been the case with David Price. He’s not the only one, as Dallas Keuchel has been a shell of the pitcher that took home the Cy Young last year and Chris Archer‘s league-leading strikeout total is offset by an ugly 4.61 ERA and far too many walks. Those guys aren’t making my roster, so some new faces may make the All-Star team this year.

Knuckleball pitcher Steven Wright leads AL starters with a 2.09 ERA. He hasn’t given up an earned run in either of his last two starts and has given up more than 3 earned runs in a start only once all season. Old friend Rich Hill is proving last year’s epic run to end the season in a Red Sox uniform was no fluke, Estrada leads all starters in WHIP and Quintana is tied for 4th in pitching WAR.

Britton has been the best reliever in the league this year and it’s not because he has the most saves. Davis remains one of the game’s most dominant closers and Colome is a surprise appearance, as the Rays’ fill-in closer has produced a sub-1.00 ERA while racking up the second most saves in the league. Kimbrel has to make the team in order for me to justify in my mind the bounty of prospects the Red Sox gave up for him. He’s been great after a rocky start and still has an outstanding 13.5 K/9 rate. Miller was great as the Yankees closer while Aroldis Chapman served his suspension and remains an elite setup man. Harris gets the last reliever spot because his ridiculous 0.63 ERA is even better than his impressive 0.80 WHIP.

Next: Bogaerts helps Boston sleep at night

So there you have it, these are my picks for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game. Who did I miss? Who is on the list that shouldn’t be? Let us know in the comments!