SALE, SCHERZER WORTHY OF ALL-STAR STARTS
Our picks for MLB’s All-Stars With days left to vote, we make our choices
For baseball fans, the beauty of the All-Star Game is that they have a direct say in a portion of the roster.
The occasional bad fan choice, unfortunately, often means players having All-Star-caliber seasons don’t make the roster, what with a rule requiring all 30 teams be represented.
As Major League Baseball readies for the final four days of fan voting, we present you a utopian vision of American League and National League rosters, based solely on merit. (All statistics entering Monday.)
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Starting lineup
SP, Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox
Sale leads the AL with 146 strikeouts and 1071⁄3 innings pitched and also Fielding Independent Pitching (1.97) and walks and hits per inning (0.90). C, Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals
Perez has 73 hits and 15 home runs, and his candidacy is buoyed by injuries to Gary Sanchez and others. 1B, Justin Smoak, Toronto Blue Jays
Smoak has been a balanced offensive threat throughout the first half, as he is second among AL first basemen in runs, home runs, RBI, batting average and slugging percentage. 2B, Starlin Castro, New York Yankees
Castro leads AL second basemen with 52 runs and 92 hits, and his 45 RBI and .315 batting average are each good for second in those categories. 3B, Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians
Perhaps Ramirez’s most impressive statistic is that he has 38 strikeouts in 277 at-bats. He leads AL third basemen in runs, hits and batting average and is in the top 10 for home runs and RBI. SS, Carlos Correa, Houston Astros
Correa boasts a .518 slugging percentage, and his 14 home runs and 48 RBI make him the best offensive shortstop in a deep field. OF, Aaron Judge, Yankees
Judge is leading all outfielders with 26 home runs, 59 RBI and an on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of 1.139. OF, Avisail Garcia, Chicago White Sox
Garcia is second to Judge with 51 RBI and leads his position with 92 hits. OF, Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
Trout hasn’t played since a thumb injury sidelined him May 28, but he was on pace to finish with 27 home runs and 62 RBI in the first half of the season. Recognize. DH, Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners Cruz leads all DHs with 58 RBI. That’s his job, right? Reserves C, Gary Sanchez, Yankees Sanchez or Brian McCann of the Astros could jockey for this
position. Their numbers are fairly similar, and Sanchez has three more home runs in 20 fewer plate appearances. 1B, Logan Morrison, Tampa Bay Rays
Morrison leads AL first basemen with 22 home runs and 54 RBI. Can the roster handle Morrison and Rays teammate Corey Dickerson, an outfielder? 1B, Yonder Alonso, Oakland Athletics His .974 OPS ranks second in the AL, tops among first basemen. 2B, Jose Altuve, Astros
Altuve certainly has a case to start over Castro, with the best batting average among AL second basemen and 3.4 Wins Above Replacement (WAR). 2B, Jonathan Schoop, Baltimore Orioles
With Adam Jones banged up and Manny Machado struggling, Schoop and his 15 homers best represent the Orioles. SS, Francisco Lindor, Indians
Splitting hairs with Correa, as the pair likely will for the next decade. Lindor has 14 homers and 21 doubles. SS, Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
Andrus is quietly having an impressive first half, as he is second among AL shortstops in hits and RBI, and leads the group with 18 steals. 3B, Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins First among AL third basemen with 52 RBI and a .949 OPS. OF, Justin Upton, Detroit Tigers
Quietly on pace for a 30-homer, 100-RBI season and your lone Tigers representative. OF, George Springer, Astros
Springer is in the top five for runs, hits and home runs among AL outfielders; would be a fun choice to bat leadoff. OF, Aaron Hicks, Yankees
The only AL outfielder with a higher OPS than Hicks is his teammate, Judge; a side injury would take him out of the game. OF, Mookie Betts, Red Sox
Betts strikes out the least of any AL outfielder (27), and Judge is the only outfielder with a higher WAR. Pitchers SP, Dallas Keuchel, Astros
Has a 1.67 ERA, but he’s on the disabled list and likely won’t be available to pitch. SP, Jason Vargas, Kansas City Royals
The AL’s only 11-game winner also has a 1.13 WHIP (walks plus hits allowed per inning pitched).
SP, Ervin Santana, Twins
Pairs a 106-inning load with a 2.80 ERA, 10 wins and a 1.05 WHIP. SP, Lance McCullers Jr., Astros Ranks No. 2 in ERA and third in strikeouts per nine innings in AL. SP, Luis Severino, Yankees
Severino has developed into an ace for the East-leading Yankees and has the sixth-most strikeouts in the AL. SP, Carlos Carrasco, Indians Striking out more than a batter per inning with a 2.99 ERA. SP, Jose Berrios, Twins
In eight starts, he is 7-1 with a 0.91 WHIP. His body of work will be more complete by game time. SP, Yu Darvish, Rangers
Darvish is 6-5, but his WAR (3.3) is the third highest among AL pitchers. RP, Craig Kimbrel, Red Sox
Kimbrel is tied for the most saves in the AL with 20 and boasts a 1.10 ERA. RP, Alex Colome, Rays Colome is tied with Kimbrel with 20 saves. RP, Andrew Miller, Indians Fifty-seven strikeouts in 382⁄ 3 innings. RP, Dellin Betances, Yankees Gave up one earned run in season’s first 11 weeks. RP, Chris Devenski, Houston Astros Leads relievers with 64 strikeouts and fills crucial bullpen role. NATIONAL LEAGUE SP, Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals Leads the NL with 145 strikeouts and a 2.09 ERA. C, Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
His .948 OPS blows away every other NL catcher, and he leads nearly every batting category. 1B, Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
Goldschmidt is leading NL first basemen in runs, hits, RBI and onbase percentage. 2B, Daniel Murphy, Nationals
Murphy’s .342 batting average is almost 40 points better than his next closest competition. He also leads NL second basemen with 54 RBI. 3B, Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies A slight nod over Jake Lamb. Hey, defense is a factor, too. SS, Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers Zack Cozart of the Cincinnati Reds makes an interesting case,
but Seager is leading NL shortstops with 12 homers and 79 hits. OF, Charlie Blackmon, Rockies NL-best 100 hits and 185 total bases to go with a .964 OPS. OF, Bryce Harper, Nationals
Tied with Blackmon with 56 RBI, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. OF, Cody Bellinger, Dodgers Twenty-four home runs in 57 games. Reserves C, Tyler Flowers, Atlanta Braves A .898 OPS, albeit in limited duty. C, J.T. Realmuto, Miami Marlins
Getting the nod over Yasmani Grandal of the Dodgers, thanks to better contact in slightly more atbats. He also trails only Posey in hits and on-base percentage. 1B, Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
A league-leading .350 average and a strong case to nudge Goldschmidt out of the starting lineup. 1B, Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds Classic Votto: 20 homers, 50 walks. 2B, Yangervis Solarte, San Diego Padres
Murphy is the only NL second baseman with more home runs and RBI. SS, Zack Cozart, Cincinnati Reds
Cozart is defying his career numbers with a .320 batting average and 33 RBI. The former leads NL shortstops. SS, Chris Owings, Diamondbacks
Very solid all-around numbers, and the D’backs deserve some shine. 3B, Kris Bryant, Chicago Cubs
His star-studded squad is struggling, but none is more reliably great than Bryant, with 16 home runs and a .914 OPS. 3B, Jake Lamb, Diamondbacks
Lamb could vie for the starting spot, as he leads NL third basemen with 17 homers and 62 RBI. OF, Michael Conforto, New York Mets
Yes, the Mets need a representative. But Conforto would probably belong on this roster regardless. His .404 on-base percentage trails only Harper among NL outfielders. OF, Marcell Ozuna, Marlins The best player in a talented
outfield? Perhaps. Ozuna ranks in the NL top 10 in WAR and OPS and pairs 20 homers with a .319 batting average. OF, Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins
He’s healthy and on pace for 44 home runs, and the game is in his home yard, so Stanton is on the team. It’s in the rule book somewhere. OF, David Peralta, Diamondbacks An excellent .377 on-base percentage and .869 OPS. Pitchers SP, Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers Giving up the home run ball but little else. SP, Carlos Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals
With a 2.87 ERA and 111 strikeouts, Martinez isn’t the one to blame for a 6-6 record. SP, Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks Ray has 119 strikeouts and boasts a 1.32 road ERA. SP, Chase Anderson, Milwaukee Brewers Anderson has the fifth-best ERA in the NL. SP, Antonio Senzatela, Rockies
A 4.79 ERA could make one question Senzatela’s place as an All-Star, but his nine wins are the second most in the NL. SP, Zack Greinke, Diamondbacks
He’s back — and now his team’s so good, he probably won’t get traded this summer. SP, Stephen Strasburg, Nationals
The 3.57 ERA isn’t what you like to see, but the 109 strikeouts in 952⁄3 innings and 1.13 WHIP make him more than deserving. SP, Ivan Nova, Pittsburgh Pirates
Slim pickings on the Pirates, but Nova’s seven wins, 3.06 ERA and 11 walks in 103 innings make him more than worthy. SP, Alex Wood, Dodgers 8-0 in 11 starts with a 1.86 ERA. RP, Greg Holland, Rockies NL-best 25 saves. RP, Kenley Jansen, Dodgers Fifty-two strikeouts and (finally) one walk. RP, Corey Knebel, Brewers
With Holland and Jansen pitching the way they are, you might not realize that Knebel has 65 strikeouts and 0.96 ERA in 372⁄3 innings. RP, Pat Neshek, Philadelphia Phillies
Nine holds and a 0.59 ERA, and hopefully he’s still a Phillie come game time.