MLB All-Star Rosters: Fan voting, we finally got it right

By JOE CERAULO            

For years, MLB fans have had the luxury of voting players into what was the only meaningful all-star game in professional sports. Home field advantage in the World Series used to ride on this game until the MLB’s newest Collective Bargaining Agreement passed last December. Despite this, fans of certain teams still stuffed the ballots with the names of many undeserving players over the years. A recent example of this is Cubs fans last year. They sent five starters, including their entire infield to the game. This year however, the fans got it one hundred percent correct.

For the American League, Sal Perez (KC) will be behind the plate. The infield consists of Justin Smoak (TOR) at first, Jose Altuve (HOU) and Carlos Correa (HOU) up the middle, and Jose Ramirez (CLE) at third. Mike Trout (LAA), Aaron Judge (NYY) and George Springer (HOU) team up for the lethal outfield. Your AL DH is Chris Dickerson (TB). In past years, guys like Smoak, Ramirez and Dickerson, who aren’t household names may have been overlooked. But justice was served this year and all three got the recognition, and votes, they deserved.

Over in the National League, 2012 MVP Buster Posey (SF) commands the star-studded pitching staff. Ryan Zimmerman’s (WSH) comeback season earns him the start at first and Daniel Murphy (WSH), Zack Cozart (CIN) and Nolan Arenado (COL) round out the infield. Miami will be represented in the starting lineup as the host city will send Marcel Ozuna, who shares the outfield with Charlie Blackmon (COL) and Bryce Harper (WSH). Cozart beating out Corey Seager (LAD) was the biggest shock here, as his great season for a lesser quality team has been noticed nationally.

While the fans did an outstanding job electing the deserving starters to Miami for this year’s MLB All-Star Game, the reserves and pitching staffs selected were somewhat questionable in my eye.

In the American League, the middle infield reserves were flat out botched like a pop up hit to Luis Castillo. Starlin Castro (NYY) has exceeded expectations this year with a slash line of .313/12/45/.348, but Robinson Cano (SEA) was snubbed considering his 60 RBI place third in the AL. He also has 17 home runs and a .276 average to go with consistent gold glove defense. Another middle infielder in the AL West, Elvis Andrus (TEX) failed to get the recognition he deserved when Francisco Lindor (CLE) was selected as the backup SS. After a scorching start, Lindor is hitting .246 with 14 homers and 38 RBI. Andrus, not known for his power, has 11 long balls, 50 runs batted in and a .301 average to go with 20 stolen bases for the Rangers. He can still win the final vote, but shouldn’t have to sweat it out.

Former NL batting champ DJ LeMahieu (COL) is having a fine year, hitting .309 with three homers and 38 RBI, however, this year’s batting leader Justin Turner (LAD) deserves this spot more than him. Turner is less than ten plate appearances shy of qualifying for the batting title, and is hitting about 40 points higher than the qualified leader Daniel Murphy, who has a .341 average. He can still make it though, as he is a final vote candidate for the National League.

My biggest issue comes with the pitching staffs. In the AL, a pair of Yankees who I find undeserving in Luis Severnio and Dellin Betances made it. I’d also replace Yu Darvish (TEX). Darvish is currently the only Ranger represented, but that’s due to Andrus being snubbed as I mentioned earlier. The replacements for these guys should be Chris Archer (TB), Carlos Carrasco (CLE) and Roberto Osuna (TOR). While Archer has a 3.95 ERA to Darvish’s 3.56, Archer has 20 more strikeouts and a 7-5 record, while Yu is 6-7. Carrasco being left off is the biggest shock to me. He is 9-3 with a 3.50 ERA. Severino is fifth in the AL in strikeouts, but his 5-4 record is unimpressive, and his ERA hovers in the same range at 3.52. Betances meanwhile, has been the cause for many of the Yankees recent late inning struggles. His ERA has skyrocketed to 3.29, and he’s only converted a save in 75% of his chances. Osuna is 21/24 in save opportunities and has a stellar ERA of 2.12.

Over in the NL, a pair of starters were overlooked. Alex Wood (LAD) might be replacing his teammate since 2014 NL MVP Clayton Kershaw is scheduled to pitch this Sunday and wouldn’t be eligible for the game. Wood entered last night’s start against Arizona at 9-0 with a 1.83 through 12 starts, certainly making him deserving. The other pitcher snubbed was Jacob deGrom (NYM). While Jake had two awful starts at the end of May and early June, he bounced back, closing the month at 4-0 with a 0.84 ERA. He sits at 8-3 with a 3.55 ERA (higher than usual as a result of those two starts) and 125 K’s, and is schedule to pitch in St. Louis tomorrow night. The guy he should replace, Carlos Martinez, is scheduled to oppose him in that start. C-Mart has a better ERA at 3.15, but is just 6-7 and despite having one more start than deGrom, has one less K. An argument can be made for either, but to me wins matter.

I get it, not every fan can be pleased by the All-Star rosters. We all have our takes on who was snubbed and who was undeservingly selected. This year was ultimately a huge success, because for the first time I can remember, EVERY fan vote got it right. Make sure to tune in to Fox at 8 pm Tuesday night to see which league takes the All-Star Game in Miami.