Who Should’ve Been Picked For The MLB All-Star Game?
If I had the power to choose the MLB All-Star teams, this is who i would’ve chosen
MLB has released the official All-Star rosters for both the National League and the American League, which means it’s time for us fans to get angry, even if we’re the ones who pick part of the roster.
The All-Star game is supposed to be a celebration of the best players in each league, but it doesn’t always seem like it’s the best players who get picked.
I know if I had complete control over who made these teams I would definitely change some picks, so in this article I’ll share what I would’ve done.
I’ll mostly use stats through July 1, since on July 2, the All-Star game reserves were announced.
Also if a player is injured between the 2nd and when this gets published I’ll still include the player, but offer a potential replacement player as well. A ** will represent a player who is on the injured list and a * will represent that it’s a possibility they could be added.
I’ll also adhere to how MLB built the rosters, meaning every team will have a representative in my fantasy world (even though I don’t always agree with that rule), and there will be 12 pitchers (8 starters and 4 relievers, plus Ohtani for the AL), 11 reserve hitters, and of course the 9 players in the starting lineup.
With all of that out of the way, let’s get started.
American League:
Official Starters:
C: Jonah Heim - Texas Rangers
1B: Yandy Diaz - Tampa Bay Rays
2B: Marcus Semien - Texas Rangers
3B: Josh Jung - Texas Rangers
SS: Corey Seager - Texas Rangers
OF: Mike Trout - Los Angeles Angels
OF: Randy Arozarena - Tampa Bay Rays
OF: Aaron Judge - New York Yankees
DH: Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Angels
Official Reserves:
C: Salvador Perez - Kansas City Royals
C: Adley Rutschman - Baltimore Orioles
INF: Vladimir Guerrero Jr - Toronto Blue Jays
INF: Whit Merrifield - Toronto Blue Jays
INF: Bo Bichette - Toronto Blue Jays
INF: Jose Ramirez - Cleveland Guardians
OF: Luis Robert Jr. - Chicago White Sox
OF: Austin Hays - Baltimore Orioles
OF: Yordan Alvarez - Houston Astros
OF: Adolis Garcia - Texas Rangers
DH: Brent Rooker - Oakland Athletics
Official Pitchers:
RHSP: Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Angels
RHSP: Gerrit Cole - New York Yankees
RHSP: Luis Castillo - Seattle Mariners
RHSP: Sonny Gray - Minnesota Twins
RHSP: Nathan Eovaldi - Texas Rangers
RHSP: Kevin Gausman - Toronto Blue Jays
LHSP: Shane McClanahan - Tampa Bay Rays
LHSP: Framber Valdez - Houston Astros
RHSP: Michael Lorenzen - Detroit Tigers
RHP: Kenley Jansen - Boston Red Sox
RHP: Emmanuel Clase - Cleveland Guardians
RHP: Felix Bautista - Baltimore Orioles
RHP: Yennier Cano - Baltimore Orioles
My Starters:
C: Jonah Heim - Texas Rangers
1B: Yandy Diaz - Tampa Bay Rays
2B: Marcus Semian - Texas Rangers
3B: Jose Ramirez - Cleveland Guardians
SS: Wander Franco - Tampa Bay Rays
OF: Luis Robert Jr. - Chicago White Sox
OF: Mike Trout** - Los Angeles Angels
OF: Randy Arozerana - Tampa Bay Rays
DH: Shohei Ohtani - Los Angele Angels
My Reserves:
C: Adley Rutschman - Baltimore Orioles
C: Salvador Perez - Kansas City Royals
INF: Josh Jung - Texas Rangers
INF: Bo Bichette - Toronto Blue Jays
INF: Corey Seager - Texas Rangers
INF: Ryan Noda - Oakland Athletics
INF: Isaac Paredes - Tampa Bay Rays
OF: Aaron Judge** - New York Yankees
OF: Adolis Garcia - Texas Rangers
OF: Luke Raley - Tampa Bay Rays
OF: Masataka Yoshida - Boston Red Sox
Injury Replacements
OF: Austin Hays** - Baltimore Orioles
OF/INF: Ezequiel Duran** - Texas Rangers
My Pitchers:
RHSP: Shohei Ohtani - Los Angeles Angels
RHSP: Gerrit Cole - New York Yankees
RHSP: Kevin Gausman - Toronto Blue Jays
LHSP: Framber Valdez - Houston Astros
RHSP: Sonny Gray - Minnesota Twins
RHSP: George Kirby - Seattle Mariners
LHSP: Shane McClanahan** - Tampa Bay Rays
RHSP: Nathan Eovaldi - Texas Rangers
RHSP Luis Castillo - Seattle Mariners
RHP: Felix Bautista - Baltimore Orioles
RHP: Carlos Esteves - Los Angeles Angels
RHP: Emmanuel Clase - Cleveland Guardians
RHP: Jason Foley - Detroit Tigers
Injury Replacement:
RHSP: Zach Eflin** - Tampa Bay Rays
Six of the nine voted starters for the American League I agree should be starting the All-Star game, those players being: Jonah Heim, Yandy Diaz, Marcus Semien, Mike Trout, Randy Arozarena, and Shohei Ohtani. Heim has been instrumental in the first-half success of the Texas Rangers thanks to his elite defense and big bat that is so rare and valuable in catchers. Many people thought Adley Rutschman would be starting his first All-Star game this year, but Heim has made it an easy choice in his favor. His teammate Marcus Semien has also been unchallenged as the best in his position in the first half. At first base, many people want a big name such as Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to start the All-Star game, but when you look into it, he shouldn't be in the conversation. The fans ended up voting for Yandy Diaz, which I agree is the right move, but he received some competition from his teammate Luke Raley, who is more of a utility player, in my opinion. Trout and Arozarena are both big names who deserve a starting spot in the outfield, as well as Ohtani at DH.
I agree with all those fan choices. However, I disagree with the third outfield spot, third base, and shortstop. I believe the third outfield spot should go to Luis Robert Jr. Through the 1st, he led the AL in fWAR and home runs. His power and defense make him an elite player and well deserving of an All-Star starting spot. The player he’s replacing is Aaron Judge. Judge has had an amazing first half, but he’s also been injured, he’s arguably more deserving of a starting spot than Mike Trout, but I did end up giving that spot to Trout and giving Judge a reserve spot. Really though, it doesn’t matter too much since both players will be missing the midsummer classic due to injury.
At third base, I believe that Jose Ramirez should start over Josh Jung. Jung has had a really good rookie season for the Rangers, and he definitely is deserving of being in the All-Star game conversation, but Ramirez has nearly a full win over him in rWAR. Jung has been a really good player this year, but Ramirez is just about as good or better in every category you could ask for. Ramirez has been one of the elite players in the MLB for a long time, and he doesn't always get the recognition he deserves. If you don’t believe me do yourself a favor and look at FanGraphs or baseball-reference and see for yourself.
At shortstop, it was a tougher decision for me between who the fans chose, Corey Seager, and who I ended up choosing, Wander Franco. Seager is the better offensive player, but Franco isn’t too shabby. Seager was at 10 home runs, and a .348/.416/.603 slash, good for a 179 wRC+. Franco had 9 home runs, with a .286/.347/.463 slash, and 128 wRC+. Where Franco is far better is on defense, he’s in the 100th percentile for outs above average and has a 13 DRS and a 9 RAA. Even with a below average arm, Franco is an elite defender. Seager on the other hand, isn’t. He’s 36th percentile for outs above average and has a 3 DRS and a -1 RAA. Seager also missed some time due to injury. This all gives Franco a higher WAR than Seager a 3.8 compared to a 2.7. Some might feel that Seager should start anyway due to the better offensive numbers, but I feel like the rate stats aren’t fully representative since he missed a good chunk of time.
For my Reserves, I ended up having the same catchers as the official roster, Adley Rutschman, and Salvador Perez. For Rutschman, even if he hasn’t been the number one catcher like I thought he would be, he is undoubtedly the number two. I wanted to fit Jake Rogers from the Detroit Tigers in as the third catcher, but I just couldn’t. Rogers is the third in WAR for AL catchers, and probably the most deserving Tigers All-Star. The problem is there are no Royals that are deserving of being an All-Star, still though, no one at any other position comes as close to anyone else in the conversation as Salvador Perez comes to Jake Rogers. Even though Rogers has a 108 wRC+, and a 1.6 WAR, and Perez only has a 96 wRC+ and a 0.3 WAR he is the closest Royal to a player actually deserving of the All-Star spot, so because of the rule that every team needs to have an All-Star representative, I had to choose Perez. Rogers is also teammates with reliever Jason Foley, who isn’t too far from deserving of an All-Star spot on merit, and is who I chose to be the Tigers representative. It’s a rough deal from Rogers, but it had to be done.
For infielder reserves, I have both Seager and Bo Bichette who was also in the shortstop decision for me. Bichette is a slightly better hitter than Franco and has shown a good bit more power (15 home runs, 317/.347/.510, 137 wRC+), but he is an even worse defender than Seager with a 12th percentile outs above average.
I also believe Isaac Paredes, Josh Jung, and Ryan Noda should be infield reserves for the AL All-Star side. The A’s need an All-Star, and although Brent Rooker and the speedy 40 steal man Esteury Ruiz have compelling cases, Ryan Noda seems like the best option to me, and he might just be the best reserve first base option to begin with. Among qualified first basemen, Noda is tied for fourth in WAR, is second in wRC+, and leads the league in walks. Even at fourth in WAR, it’s only a .3 difference between him second place Nathaniel Lowe. This is why I chose Noda to be the reserve first baseman. Yes, even over Vladimir Guerrero Jr, as Noda has a higher WAR and wRC+. Vladdy might be the bigger name, but Noda is more deserving this year.
Finally, the two reserve third basemen Paredes, who can also play second, and Jung. I said Jung wasn’t quite having the season needed to start the All-Star game, but he is still an All-Star, just a reserve. Jung has 17 home runs, second most amongst AL Third basemen, and his 125 wRC+ is third. Paredes owns a 142 wRC+, the best. Jung is a 91st-percentile OAA defender, Paredes though is a 33rd-percentile defender, but his offense makes up for it. Both players have a 2.3 WAR. I almost substituted one of them for Matt Chapman, who actually has a higher WAR than them at 2.6, but he is carried by one amazing month, while the other two have been more consistent.
In the outfield I decided on Aaron Judge, Adolis Garcia, Luke Raley, and Masataka Yoshida. Judge, despite only playing 49 games is fourth in WAR and third in home runs, but will need to be replaced due to injury. I almost had Adolis Garcia start over Randy Arozerana since Garcia has a higher WAR (3.1 > 2.7), and is better on defense (63rd-percentile OAA > 29th), but Randy has a higher wRC+ (152 > 129), and this is one time I let star power play a role in the decision making. Still though, Garcia is easily a reserve pick. Luke Raley bounces around between first base and the outfield, but his numbers don’t lie. He has 14 home runs, a .280/.361/.585 slash, and a 163 wRC+. Also, despite the bouncing around he has a 71st-percentile OAA, and is sixth in WAR for outfielders with at least 150 at-bats. Masataka Yoshida doesn't have a crazy amount of WAR (partially because he has spent a good amount of time at DH), but don’t let the WAR fool you, the Japanese rookie has hit very well. He has nine home runs, a .305/.377/.477 slash and 134 wRC+. There are definitely some players that deserve an All-Star spot over him, but the Red Sox need a representative and Yoshida is the best one in my opinion due to his bat, and he isn’t too far off of being an All-Star on merit.
As injury replacements for Mike Trout and Aaron Judge, I have Austin Hays and Ezequiel Duran. There’s a .3 WAR difference between Hays and the top healthy outfielder after Luke Raley, and he is within .2 of all but the highest WAR player. Hays has been hitting really well this year with a 134 wRC+, tied for fourth among qualified outfielders, and has been very consistent all year. Among players with at least 150 at-bats, Duran is eighth in AL wRC+. Duran can play shortstop, third, second, and outfield corners, but he has mostly played shortstop this year. Baseball Savant has him as an 82nd-percentile defender. He’s only played 64 games, but in those 64 games, he has been really amazing.
For starting pitchers, I mostly agree with all of the official picks. I agree with the picks of Ohtani (who was already an All-Star as a hitter so he’s here without taking up another roster spot), Cole, Castillo, Gray, Eovaldi, Gausman, McClanahan, and Valdez. Where I disagree, is when it comes to Michael Lorenzen. On the year in 14 starts, 82 innings pitched, the Tiger has a 4.28 ERA, 1.171 WHIP, 4.33 FIP, 20 walks, 62 strikeouts, and 100 ERA+. That’s just not All-Star level, and since I have Jason Foley as the Tigers representative, there’s no point in me having Lorenzen as well. That opened up a spot which I gave to George Kirby. He’s tied for ninth in ERA, he’s sixth in FIP, and eighth in xFIP. I also had to replace Shane McClanahan, and I chose Zach Eflin. It was close between Eflin and Joe Ryan for me, but Eflin has a slightly better ERA and FIP so I had to choose him.
The relievers I picked are, of course, Tigers representative Jason Foley who is tied for 15th in ERA among relievers in the AL with a 2.23, and he’s tied for fourth in WAR. He’s fairly worthy I would say. Felix Bautista is fourth in ERA, first in WAR, and third in saves, while holding a league-best 18.16 K/9. Emmanuel Clase is tied for the league lead in saves, however, he is top 20 in ERA, while Jordan Romano who he is tied with, is not. Finally, Carlos Esteves, who went 20/20 in save opportunities with the 11th-best ERA.
These are my American League All-Star selections, onto the NL now.
National League:
Official Starters:
C: Sean Murphy - Atlanta Braves
1B: Freddie Freeman - Los Angeles Dodgers
2B: Luis Arraez - Miami Marlins
3B: Nolan Arenado - St. Louis Cardinals
SS: Orlando Arcia - Atlanta Braves
OF: Ronald Acuna Jr - Atlanta Braves
OF: Mookie Betts - Los Angeles Dodgers
OF: Corbin Carroll - Arizona Diamondbacks
DH: JD Martinez - Los Angeles Dodgers
Official Reserves:
C: Will Smith - Los Angeles Dodgers
C: Elias Diaz - Colorado Rockies
INF: Matt Olson - Atlanta Braves
INF: Ozzie Albies - Atlanta Braves
INF: Austin Riley - Atlanta Braves
INF: Dansby Swanson - Chicago Cubs
INF: Pete Alonso - New York Mets
OF: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - Arizona Diamondbacks
OF: Nick Castellanos - Phillidelphia Phillies
OF: Juan Soto - San Diego Padres
DH: Jorge Soler - Miami Marlins
Official Pitchers:
RHSP: Zac Gallen - Arizona Diamondbacks
RHSP: Spencer Strider - Atlanta Braves
RHSP: Bryce Elder - Atlanta Braves
LHSP: Justin Steele - Chicago Cubs
RHSP: Mitch Keller - Pittsburgh Pirates
RHSP: Josiah Gray - Washington Nationals
LHSP: Clayton Kershaw - Los Angeles Dodgers
RHSP: Marcus Stroman - Chicago Cubs
RHP: Alexis Diaz - Cincinnati Reds
RHP: Devin Williams - Milwuakee Brewers
LHP: Josh Hader - San Deigo Padres
RHP: Camilo Doval - San Francisco Giants
My Starters:
C: Sean Murphy - Atlanta Braves
1B: Freddie Freeman - Los Angeles Dodgers
2B: Luis Arraez - Miami Marlins
3B: Jeimer Candelario - Washington Nationals
SS: Geraldo Perdomo - Arizona Diamondbacks
OF: Ronald Acuna Jr. - Atlanta Braves
OF: Corbin Carroll* - Arizona Diamondbacks
OF: Mookie Betts - Los Angeles Dodgers
DH: Jorge Soler - Miami Marlins
My Reserves:
C: Will Smith - Los Angeles Dodgers
C: Elias Diaz - Colorado Rockies
INF: Matt Olson - Atlanta Braves
INF: Paul Goldschmidt - St. Louis Cardinal
INF: J.D. Davis - San Francisco Giants
INF: Ketel Marte - Arizona Diamondback
INF: Matt McLain - Cincinnati Reds
OF: Juan Soto - San Deigo Padres
OF: Fernando Tatis Jr. - San Deigo Padres
OF: Brandon Nimmo - New York Mets
OF: Nick Castellanos - Philadelphia Phillies
Injury Replacement:
OF: Christian Yelich - Milwaukee Brewers
My Pitchers:
RHSP: Zac Gallen - Arizona Diamondbacks
RHSP: Bryce Elder - Atlanta Braves
LHSP: Justine Steele - Chicago Cubs
LHSP: Clayton Kershaw** - Los Angeles Dodgers
RHSP: Marcus Stroman - Chicago Cubs
RHSP: Mitch Keller - Pittsburgh Pirates
RHSP: Spencer Strider - Atlanta Braves
RHSP: Michael Wacha - San Deigo Padres
RHP: Devin Williams - Milwaukee Brewers
RHP: Camilo Doval - San Francisco Giants
LHP: Josh Hader - San Deigo Padres
RHP: David Bednar - Pittsburgh Pirates
Injury Replacement:
RHSP: Alex Cobb** - San Francisco Giants
For the National League I also agree with six of the nine fan voted starters. Braves catcher, Sean Murphy, might not get as much attention as his potential MVP teammate Ronald Acuna Jr, but he has been the best at his position for sure. Former Brave, Freddie Freeman is in a similar spot at first base. At second, Luis Arraez might be in a three-way tie for WAR, but his .388 batting average is an unchallenged tiebreaker. In the Outfield, the previously mentioned Acuna is, in my opinion, the MVP frontrunner right now, but the two men he’ll be sharing the outfield with are probably the two right behind him, Corbin Carroll and Mookie Betts.
Somewhere I disagree with the fans is DH. I believe Jorge Soler should start over J.D. Martinez. Soler gets on base more with his .343 OBP compared to Martinez’s .303, Soler also has more home runs, 22 compared to 19. In fact, Soler leads all qualified DHs in home runs so far this year as well as wRC+ where he is 5 points higher than Martinez. 5 points isn’t a lot, but with a higher OBP and more home runs he edges out the Dodgers slugger.
Moving back into the infield I think someone who won’t even be at the All-Star game should start at shortstop, I’m talking about Geraldo Perdomo. If you take a look at his Baseball Savant page, it doesn’t really make him seem like an All-Star, he just doesn’t hit the ball hard or drive the ball, but if you look at his stats, they show he should be. If you look closer, you can understand that he uses what he’s good at to his advantage. He is tied for second in NL shortstop WAR with Francisco Lindor, and is right behind Dansby Swanson. Both those players are amazing defensively, with a 92nd and 100th percentile OAA respectively, but Perdomo is no slouch either with an 81st percentile rating. Offensively, this year Perdomo is much better, and that’s the difference maker for me. He played 68 games by July 1st compared to Lindor’s 83 and Swansons 79, but in shortstops with at least 150 plate appearances he leads in OBP, with a .388. Lindor and Swanson have a .305 and .348 respectively. With a 125 wRC+, Perdomo is second only to Matt McLain who has only played in 42 games. The next three after Perdomo are Orlando Arcia (111), Dansby Swanson (109), and Lindor (108). Perdomo is an interesting player having an interesting year, but he is definitely deserving of the All-Star nod
At third base I also have someone that won’t be an official All-Star, Nationals switch hitter, Jeimer Candelario. Candelario makes a lot of sense as not only the Nationals representative but the starter at third base. He leads NL third basemen in WAR, is in the 96th percentile of OAA, is fourth in wRC+, and has been really good after a sort of slow start. J.D. Davis, Nolan Arenado, Austin Riley, and Spencer Steer all make sense to be in the conversation, but Candelrio has been really good, and the Nationals do need a representative, so I’ll give him the start.
For reserves, starting with catchers, I agree with the official reserves of Will Smith and Elias Diaz. Smith is second in NL catcher WAR, he’s 1 wRC+ points below Murphy’s 154, and .6 WAR points behind. That’s not a knock on Smith though, that shows how good he is. Diaz might not be the most obvious third catcher, but the Rockies need a representative and Diaz isn’t too far from the conversation. The most deserving pick would be Brewers catcher William Contreras who is third in WAR and wRC+ for catchers with at least 150 plate appearances, like I said though the Rockies need a representative, and Diaz is fifth in WAR and wRC+, just behind Mets rookie Francisco Alvarez.
For first base, I also agree with Matt Olson being a reserve. He leads the NL in home runs, and is third in WAR (2.4) and wRC+ (143) among first basemen. He hasn’t been good at all this year in terms of OAA, but his offense makes up for it. Instead of Pete Alonso being a second, first base, reserve, I think it should be Paul Goldschmidt. Alonso has 24 home runs on the year, not too far behind Olson’s 29, but he only gets on base at a .311 clip which hurts his wRC+ (124). Alonso also isn’t anything special on defense, he’s 46th percentile OAA. Goldschmidt however has been in the 87th percentile this season, while having a 141 wRC+ thanks to a .289/.379/.498 slash. This combination makes him 2nd in NL first baseman WAR, and I believe he should easily be an All-Star over Pete Alonso.
Olson was actually the only infield reserve I agreed with because I think it should be J.D. Davis, Ketel Marte, and Matt McLain rounding out the group. Davis is second in third base WAR, this is because he has turned into an amazing defender this year with 94th percentile OAA, while hitting very well at the plate. He is second after Spencer Steer in wRC+, and only trails him 125 to 126. Steer is a much worse defender than Davis, and he’s more of a first baseman anyway. Baseball Savant has Steer as a 2nd percentile defender, not good at all. J.D. Davis getting this spot means that I don’t have Nolan Arenado or Austin Riley as All-Stars which almost seems like baseball sacrilege, but Riley, and surprisingly Arenado as well, haven’t been nearly as good as Davis on defense, and as previously stated only trails Steer in wRC+.
Ketel Marte is one of the biggest omissions from the official list in my opinion, and I think he deserves this spot more than Ozzie Albies. After the three-way tie for the lead in second base WAR at 2.6 between the now injured Thairo Estrada, Ha-Seong Kim, and Luis Arraez, comes Marte at 2.3. Estrada and Kim are much better defenders than Marte, but I’m not sure they hit enough to justify being ahead of him. Marte’s 135 wRC+ is second only to Arraez, and it’s a decent drop-off until Kim at 110 and Estrada at 108. I do value defense highly, but you still need to hit and they don’t do that enough to outweigh Marte in my opinion. As for Albies, he’s pretty similar defensively to Marte, but his wRC+ is also low at 111, and it seems to me he was just added because of his name.
Finally, I have Matt McLain at shortstop. This was a tough decision because McLain hasn’t played much, but he’s done so well, and if he played as much as Swanson or Lindor he’d definitely have better stats than them, and already has better stats than Orlando Arcia who is starting the actual game. Through his first 42 games, McLain has a 1.9 WAR, 7 home runs, a .317/.372/.556 slash, and an 80th percentile OAA. I’m sure McLain will come back down to earth, at least a little bit, but with Shortstop not being super strong right now I have no problem giving it to McLain. The Reds also need a representative, and although Elly De La Cruz is the bigger name, and Spencer Steer has been better offensively for longer, McLain has the best stats on both sides of the ball.
For my outfield reserves I only have Juan Soto and Nick Castellanos in common with the acutal list. Soto is fourth in NL outfielder WAR and second in wRC+. He might not be the best defender but he is an absolute star of the game who is insane in the batters box. As for Castellanos, he’s 8th in wRC+ for outfielders in a big bounce-back season, and he makes the most sense for a Phillies representative. The official roster has Lourdes Gurriel Jr and Jorge Soler as the final two spots, but I have Soler in the starting lineup and I don’t think his replacement, J.D. Martinez, or Gurriel Jr are the right picks. Instead, I would have Fernando Tatis Jr. and Brandon Nimmo. I understand that Tatis Jr. was probably left off due to his steroid suspension, but he already did his time and has had a great season while clean. He has quickly become an absolutely amazing right fielder with a 94th percentile OAA with 98th percentile arm strength, and he’s still hitting, he has 15 home runs and a 132 wRC+, just two points behind Brandon Nimmo in fifth. Speaking of Nimmo, He does indeed hold the fifth best wRC+ among NL outfielders and he has a 2.6 WAR on the season which is sixth best. Gurriel Jr, who was originally a reserve had a very strong start to the year, but has slowed down and now has a 114 wRC+ and 1.3 WAR. Nimmo is also needed here to be the Mets lone representative, which feels weird to say since they operate with the highest payroll in baseball.
If the injury that Corbin Carroll suffered on July 6, keeps him out of the All-Star game I believe that Christian Yelich should be the injury replacement. We know how Yelich is a former MVP who lost his form, but he seems to be getting it back. He’s 7th among NL outfielders in WAR, he has 10 home runs and a .276/.373/.441 slash good for 122 wRC+ (11th best), as well as having 18 steals.
Similar to the AL, I only have one issue with one of the picks, Josiah Gray. Gray has been a good pitcher this year, 3.30 ERA, 4.57 FIP, and a 1.38 WHIP. That’s pretty good, but I think Michael Wacha deserves the spot over him. Similar to Yelich, it once looked like Wacha was completely lost, but he’s found himself again. This year he has a 2.84 ERA, 3.75 FIP, and a 1.074 WHIP. He has a couple less starts than Gray, but he’s pitched better and deserves the spot more in my opinion. Since Kershaw is injured I need to replace him, and I think Alex Cobb is the best option. Another older pitcher who has had recent improvments Cobb almost made an All-Star team earlier in his career but missed it due to injury. Now, at least in this alternate universe, he benefits from an injury. He did miss a couple of starts due to an injury of his own but when he’s pitched he’s been All-Star level. He’s seventh in the NL ERA race with a 3.12, he’s fifth in FIP with a 3.19, and has a 1.36 WHIP.
For the relievers I replaced Alexis Diaz with David Bednar due to Bednar having the second best ERA among NL relievers with a 1.44, and the best FIP with a 1.73 to go along with 16 saves. Josh Hader has the best ERA (1.21), and the second best FIP (2.21). Doval had the eight best ERA by the end of July 1st, with a 1.89, and he also led the league in saves. Devin Williams is the Brewers representative, he’s third in ERA (1.57), and tied for fourth in saves with David Bednar. Diaz has been a good reliever this year, but he has a higher ERA than all these guys, and the Reds already have their representative.
These are my All-Star game picks. I’m sure you disagree with some of them, and I know they’re not perfect, but to me, they seem a lot better than the official rosters.
Who do you think would win this All-Star game?
