My Annual Prediction of the All-Star rosters

[GiantsSuperCollector]

3 NL Catchers I would take are Yadier as the starter and then Ruiz and Buster as the back-ups. McCann is having a pretty bad year offensively so far.

 

[muskiesfan]

And I post in the wrong thread. :lol:

 

[markakis8]

My second round of predictions. Quite a few changes but I'm proud of some selections that stayed.

SECOND ROUND OF PREDICTIONS:


AMERICAN LEAGUE:


STARTERS:


C - Mike Napoli - Ugh, looks like he's got this one wrapped up.
1B - Prince Fielder - Everyone doubted my Pauly pick up above but he's in second, 300,000 votes behind Prince.
2B - Robinson Cano - I'll stick with Cano, I think he squeaks this one out.
3B - Adrian Beltre - Do people not like Miggy? How Beltre is going to start is beyond me.
SS - Derek Jeter - NEN
OF - Josh Hamilton - NEN
OF - Jose Bautista - I REALLY hope Adam Jones gets a big push to take the 3rd spot but I think Bautista's recent home run parade will not let that happen.
OF - Curtis Granderson - It's really surprising to me that Ichiro will not be starting, like last year. His popularity has gone way down over the years. I thought he'd be a staple in the AS voting like Ripken was.
DH - David Ortiz - NEN
SP - Justin Verlander - I'm going to stick with my original pick of Verlander even though I personally would choose Sale. I think people are going to want to see an established big gun and who better to start than the reigning Cy Young/MVP?


RESERVES:


C - Matt Wieters - Almost chose Mauer here b/c of his average but I think the Twins are only going to have one rep and it's going to be Willingham.
C - A.J. Pierzynski - I think 2 backup catchers is the thing now and I think A.J. will be the third.
1B - Paul Konerko - NEN
2B - Jason Kipnis - he's having a great season!
2B - Ian Kinsler - Wash will take him if he doesn't get the fan vote.
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera - Thought about Hardy but I think he will have better numbers for the backup
3B - Miguel Cabrera - NEN
OF - Adam Jones - NEN
OF - Mark Trumbo - NEN
OF - Josh Reddick - Athletics rep
OF - Ichiro Suzuki - Mariners rep and that's sad!!
OF - Josh Willingham - Twins rep
OF - Mike Trout - WILL BE THE FINAL FAN VOTE WINNER


SP - Jered Weaver - Looks like he WONT be the only Angels rep. He'll have three teammates going along.
SP - David Price - Rays will be near 1st by the AS break, they will need more reps. Price will have the #'s.
SP - Yu Darvish - NEN
SP - Chris Sale - NEN
SP - C.J. Wilson - Great season he is having.
SP - Jason Hammel - Can't believe this one is sticking but it looks like it might.
RP - Jim Johnson - NEN
RP - Fernando Rodney - NEN
RP - Joe Nathan - 2 walks and 36 SO's. Not bad.
RP - Chris Perez - I think he'll be up there in the saves leaders.
RP - Jonathan Broxton - Royals rep




NATIONAL LEAGUE:


STARTERS:


C - Buster Posey - Was really hoping for Chooch here.
1B - Joey Votto - NEN
2B - Dan Uggla - Didn't realize he was this popular. He's not having a great season either.
3B - David Wright - NEN
SS - Troy Tulowitzki - Tulo edges out Furcal with the vote - I hope.
OF - Matt Kemp - NEN
OF - Ryan Braun - I think he'll retake the 3rd spot over Melky.
OF - Carlos Beltran - NEN
DH - Carlos Gonzalez - I think LaRussa would be wise to choose him and not a Cardinal.
SP - R.A. Dickey - NEN


C - Carlos Ruiz - NEN
C - Yadier Molina - NEN
1B - Bryan LaHair - will be Cubs rep!
2B - Aaron Hill - Diamondbacks rep and LaRussa LOVE B Phillips, right?
2B - Jose Altuve - Astros rep
SS - Rafael Furcal - LaRussa will take him. Hot start + Cardinal = roster spot
SS - Ian Desmond - Just a hunch. Could be Lowrie as the Astros rep.
3B - David Freese - LaRussa will reward him for WS performance (if you don't think that comes into play - HAH) and he will have decent numbers by the break
3B - Chipper Jones - Honorary All-Star a la Tony Gwynn?
OF - Giancarlo Stanton - NEN
OF - Melky Cabrera - NEN
OF - Michael Bourn - Braves will need a rep if Chipper doesn't get chosen, I could see it being him.
OF - Andrew McCutchen - NEN
OF - Bryce Harper - WILL WIN FINAL FAN VOTE!


SP - Lance Lynn - NEN
SP - Gio Gonzalez - NEN
SP - Stephen Strasburg - NEN
SP - Cole Hamels - NEN
SP - Clayton Kershaw - NEN
SP - Matt Cain - NEN
SP - Wade Miley
RP - Jonathan Papelbon - NEN
RP - Craig Kimbrel - NEN
RP - Aroldis Chapman - sick numbers
RP - Santiago Casilla - great numbers

 

[Superhuskiefan1]

Personally the mariners rep is going to be Felix or Kyle Seager it wont be Ichiro

 

[markakis8]

Personally the mariners rep is going to be Felix or Kyle Seager it wont be Ichiro

Almost chose Felix. I just think the quality of starting pitching is so vast for him to go. I could see it being Seager though. Honestly, the Mariners rep was the hardest to pick and the AL OF is slim so I went with Ichiro.

 

[Frow]

I hope the pick of Broxton is wrong because there is no way he's deserving. While his ERA/Save count look sexy on paper his actual performance is terrible and he's kind of a text book example of all that is wrong with the closer "position" I would love to see Moose or Butler get the nod, but if we need to have another pitcher as our representative I wouldn't mind Tim Collins in the pen. He's been our most dependable guy and the strength of the team right now is the pen, especially with the injuries to the starters.

4 Wins (Tied 2nd Most on the team including starters)
2.27 ERA (3rd, not counting Paulino who is facing TJ surgery)
51 Strike outs (3rd on the team counting starters)
35.1 IP (4th on the team, including starters)
0.981 WHIP (Lowest on the team)

 

[Superhuskiefan1]

Almost chose Felix. I just think the quality of starting pitching is so vast for him to go. I could see it being Seager though. Honestly, the Mariners rep was the hardest to pick and the AL OF is slim so I went with Ichiro.

Ya I just dont see Ichiro even being the AS Rep his stats aren't worthy enough and ya seager is batting .267 but hes got the 3rd most RBI's for 3B in the AL leads the M's in RBI's and 2nd in Batting and HR's so I doubt ichiro makes it

 

[Frow]

Ya I just dont see Ichiro even being the AS Rep his stats aren't worthy enough and ya seager is batting .267 but hes got the 3rd most RBI's for 3B in the AL leads the M's in RBI's and 2nd in Batting and HR's so I doubt ichiro makes it

Problem with that though is that the competition at third base is already fierce and out of the 7 third baggers that qualify (per MLB.com) a case could be made that Seager offensively is the second worst of the group and the worst defensively. I'm not saying he is, but simply based on certain perspectives and given how even it is across the group he doesn't rise above the group in any way.

 

[schmidtfan20]

Chooch is having a career year, batting 30 points higher than Molina and 50 points higher than Posey. What a crock if Ruiz isn't starting.

 

[markakis8]

I hope the pick of Broxton is wrong because there is no way he's deserving. While his ERA/Save count look sexy on paper his actual performance is terrible and he's kind of a text book example of all that is wrong with the closer "position" I would love to see Moose or Butler get the nod, but if we need to have another pitcher as our representative I wouldn't mind Tim Collins in the pen. He's been our most dependable guy and the strength of the team right now is the pen, especially with the injuries to the starters.

4 Wins (Tied 2nd Most on the team including starters)
2.27 ERA (3rd, not counting Paulino who is facing TJ surgery)
51 Strike outs (3rd on the team counting starters)
35.1 IP (4th on the team, including starters)
0.981 WHIP (Lowest on the team)

Awesome post. It very well could be Collins over Broxton. But how closely is Wash going to look at the Royals roster?

 

[markakis8]

Chooch is having a career year, batting 30 points higher than Molina and 50 points higher than Posey. What a crock if Ruiz isn't starting.

The starters I chose aren't my opinion on who should start, just who I think the fans will end up voting in.

 

[Frow]

Awesome post. It very well could be Collins over Broxton. But how closely is Wash going to look at the Royals roster?

Since Ned Yost and the Royals trainer, forget his name off the top of my head, were both chosen to be on Wash's staff I hope pretty closely.

 

[GiantsSuperCollector]

If Posey is the starter (which is likely), then I would say Cain would get the nod to start the game over Dickey. Especially since Posey has never caught a knuckleballer and is a lot more familiar with Cain.

 

[markakis8]

If Posey is the starter (which is likely), then I would say Cain would get the nod to start the game over Dickey. Especially since Posey has never caught a knuckleballer and is a lot more familiar with Cain.

Wade Miley has a better shot at starting than Matt Cain. Dickey leads in almost every category and there are like 3 other pitchers that would get the nod before Cain. Posey starting has nothing to do with it.

 

[GiantsSuperCollector]

Wade Miley has a better shot at starting than Matt Cain. Dickey leads in almost every category and there are like 3 other pitchers that would get the nod before Cain. Posey starting has nothing to do with it.

Cain has a better ERA, more K's, lower WHIP, less walks, and more IP than Dickey. Which 3 pitchers would YOU give the nod before Cain? Cain is top 5 in IP (#1), ERA (#6, but Beachy is out so #5), WHIP (#1), BAA (#4), and Ks (#2).

Also, Cain has Miley beat in IP, Ks, WHIP, BAA and is only .08 behind him in ERA.

 

[markakis8]

Cain has a better ERA, more K's, lower WHIP, less walks, and more IP than Dickey. Which 3 pitchers would YOU give the nod before Cain? Cain is top 5 in IP (#1), ERA (#6, but Beachy is out so #5), WHIP (#1), BAA (#4), and Ks (#2).

Also, Cain has Miley beat in IP, Ks, WHIP, BAA and is only .08 behind him in ERA.

Ok I thought Cain had a rough couple games after his perfect game...didn't realize his numbers were that good. BUT, with that said, he won't start the All-Star game. Even after tonight's game vs. the Yankees, it is Dickey's. Dickey has the numbers and the story, it's going to be Dickey.

I just immediately took your "Posey will be the starting catcher so Cain should be the starting pitcher" excuse and....well....laughed b/c it was so ridiculous.

 

[markakis8]

Geez, with another win or two, Vogelsong could get in as well; which would make for an incredible story since he made the AS team last year and was pitching out of the country like 3 years ago (albeit I do believe he made the team last year solely b/c Bochy was the manager. Doesn't matter, he had a great year last year). The pitching is so deep this year in the NL, much more than last year and I thought last year was hard to choose.

 

[Zambrano38]

No way LaHair makes it, he doesn't even play 1B anymore. As for the pitchers who will start, it also has a lot to do with scheduling and who has a start right before the break and who doesn't.

 

[sheetskout]

I think the starter will be Strasburg in the NL, and it will be somewhat of a business decision.

 

[GiantsSuperCollector]

Ok I thought Cain had a rough couple games after his perfect game...didn't realize his numbers were that good. BUT, with that said, he won't start the All-Star game. Even after tonight's game vs. the Yankees, it is Dickey's. Dickey has the numbers and the story, it's going to be Dickey.

I just immediately took your "Posey will be the starting catcher so Cain should be the starting pitcher" excuse and....well....laughed b/c it was so ridiculous.

LaRussa hinted that this is probably now, he is going to pair Dickey with Molina...how ridiculous is it now?