Picking The All-Stars: AL Edition

The All-Star Game isn’t for another 35 days, but with the voting in full swing and enough of the season under our belts, I figure it’s time to weigh in on how I’d fill out the roster if I were Grand Poobah and had the final say on all 34 players. I will note up front that I believe the All-Star Game is an annual affair, and we shouldn’t simply have the same collection of players every year just because those are the “true stars”. The All-Star Game is best when it serves as both a platform for the game’s greatest players and recognition for those who have earned their way in. I will not be putting players on the roster who have not performed well in 2013, even if they are bonafide stars.

We’ll start with the American League, with the NL to follow in its own post. As a reminder, the rosters now comprise 34 players, which I’ll be splitting as 21 position players and 13 pitchers, as that has been the final tally for the game most of the last few years. And, yes, we’re honoring the rule requiring every team to be represented. I’ll list each player by the tier of how they got selected, then put the final roster down below. On to the picks.

The Game Would Be A Farce Without Them

These players are the epitome of All-Stars; great players having great seasons. I imagine there will be little disagreement about any of these 14 selections. It’s hard to imagine a reasonable case for excluding any of these players, assuming they still healthy for the next few weeks anyway.

Miguel Cabrera, DET, 3B: +3.9 WAR
Mike Trout, ANA, OF: +3.4 WAR
Evan Longoria, TB, 3B: +3.3 WAR
Dustin Pedroia, BOS, 2B: +2.9 WAR
Joe Mauer, MIN, C: +2.7 WAR
Jose Bautista, TOR, OF: +2.5 WAR
David Ortiz, BOS, DH: +1.8 WAR
Robinson Cano, NYY, 2B: +1.6 WAR

Anibal Sanchez, DET, SP: +3.4 WAR
Felix Hernandez, SEA, SP: +3.0 WAR
Clay Buchholz, BOS, SP: +2.9 WAR
Justin Verlander, DET, SP: +2.7 WAR
Yu Darvish, TEX, SP: +2.7 WAR
Mariano Rivera, NYY, RP: +0.9 WAR

They’ve Earned It

You wouldn’t have necessarily pegged these guys as All-Stars headed into the season, but their 2013 performance has been so stellar that they have to be there. You might have a different line for how great a performance needs to be to overcome a lack of a track record, but these seven players should clear most people’s bar and get in based on their performance to date.

Chris Davis, BAL, 1B: +3.3 WAR
Manny Machado, BAL, 3B: +3.1 WAR
Josh Donaldson, OAK, 3B: +2.9 WAR
Jhonny Peralta, DET, SS: +2.6 WAR

Derek Holland, SP, TEX: +2.7 WAR
James Shields, KC, SP: +2.2 WAR
Hisashi Iwakuma, SEA, SP: +2.1 WAR

The Team Representative

These guys are mostly worthy candidates anyway, but they are also the best choice to represent the three franchises that did not have a player listed above.

Carlos Santana, CLE, C: +1.7 WAR
Jason Castro, HOU, C: +1.4 WAR

Chris Sale, CHW, SP: +1.9 WAR

The Reserves

With 14 hitters and 10 pitchers already on the roster, that leaves us 10 spots to fill, so it’s time to start looking at where the holes are. The AL is certainly deeper at some positions — third base being the most obvious — than others, and we need to make sure the final 10 spots are filled with deserving players who also fit into the spots that we have not already filled — primarily, that’s middle infield and outfielders. Here are the 10 guys who both fit the All-Star criteria and fill the current openings.

Brett Gardner, NYY, OF: +2.2 WAR
Coco Crisp, OAK, OF: +2.1 WAR
J.J. Hardy, BAL, SS: +2.0 WAR
Mark Trumbo, ANA, OF: +1.9 WAR
Alex Gordon, KC, OF: +1.6 WAR
Ben Zobrist, TB, UT: +1.5 WAR
Prince Fielder, DET, 1B: +1.1 WAR

Max Scherzer, SP, DET: +2.9 WAR
Hiroki Kuroda, SP, NYY: +1.7 WAR
Glen Perkins, RP, MIN: +0.9 WAR

The Final Roster

That leaves us with these 34 players. The starters are listed first and are in bold, with the reserves afterwards.

Name	Team	Position	PA	AVG	OBP	SLG	wOBA	wRC+	Fld	BsR	WAR
Joe Mauer	Twins	C	261	0.332	0.414	0.498	0.392	150	1.1	-0.1	2.7
Carlos Santana	Indians	C	241	0.283	0.386	0.483	0.376	142	-3.4	-1.4	1.7
Jason Castro	Astros	C	227	0.266	0.322	0.464	0.336	112	0.0	0.1	1.4
Chris Davis	Orioles	1B	263	0.333	0.411	0.684	0.452	188	-1.4	0.3	3.2
Prince Fielder	Tigers	1B	281	0.284	0.388	0.500	0.381	140	-5.6	-2.0	1.1
Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox	2B	293	0.331	0.416	0.457	0.381	138	2.4	1.4	2.9
Robinson Cano	Yankees	2B	271	0.272	0.339	0.500	0.357	123	-2.1	0.0	1.6
Jhonny Peralta	Tigers	SS	243	0.339	0.388	0.493	0.380	140	1.9	0.5	2.6
J.J. Hardy	Orioles	SS	262	0.271	0.307	0.486	0.339	111	4.6	-0.7	2.0
Miguel Cabrera	Tigers	3B	288	0.361	0.444	0.647	0.458	193	-6.9	1.4	3.9
Evan Longoria	Rays	3B	275	0.305	0.360	0.530	0.380	146	7.3	-0.2	3.3
Manny Machado	Orioles	3B	294	0.316	0.352	0.484	0.361	126	11.6	-2.0	3.1
Josh Donaldson	Athletics	3B	270	0.324	0.393	0.521	0.392	152	1.5	-1.0	2.9
Mike Trout	Angels	OF	296	0.304	0.375	0.554	0.395	155	-1.0	4.3	3.4
Jose Bautista	Blue Jays	OF	257	0.267	0.370	0.516	0.380	140	4.6	0.9	2.5
Brett Gardner	Yankees	OF	265	0.284	0.349	0.453	0.349	118	4.8	0.5	2.2
Coco Crisp	Athletics	OF	219	0.290	0.381	0.489	0.373	139	-0.8	3.4	2.1
Mark Trumbo	Angels	OF	282	0.268	0.344	0.512	0.367	136	1.2	-0.1	1.9
Alex Gordon	Royals	OF	265	0.304	0.347	0.449	0.345	117	2.5	1.4	1.6
Ben Zobrist	Rays	UT	266	0.274	0.365	0.404	0.340	118	-2.8	2.8	1.5
David Ortiz	Red Sox	DH	200	0.314	0.395	0.623	0.425	167	-0.1	-0.2	1.8
–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Name	Team	POS	IP	BB%	K%	HR/9	ERA-	FIP-	xFIP-	WAR	RA9WAR
Clay Buchholz	Red Sox	SP	84.1	9%	25%	0.21	40	59	80	2.9	4.2
Anibal Sanchez	Tigers	SP	78.0	6%	31%	0.35	64	44	60	3.4	2.3
Felix Hernandez	Mariners	SP	97.2	5%	27%	0.55	65	63	63	3.0	2.9
Max Scherzer	Tigers	SP	83.1	6%	32%	0.65	78	58	69	2.9	2.1
Yu Darvish	Rangers	SP	88.1	8%	34%	0.92	63	65	64	2.7	3.0
Derek Holland	Rangers	SP	79.2	6%	23%	0.45	65	60	79	2.7	2.3
Justin Verlander	Tigers	SP	80.0	8%	27%	0.56	89	63	75	2.7	1.4
James Shields	Royals	SP	93.0	7%	23%	0.77	68	79	84	2.2	2.9
Hisashi Iwakuma	Mariners	SP	95.1	4%	25%	0.94	47	81	77	2.1	3.9
Chris Sale	White Sox	SP	77.1	6%	24%	0.81	63	76	83	1.9	2.6
Hiroki Kuroda	Yankees	SP	79.1	5%	18%	0.79	68	84	96	1.7	2.6
Mariano Rivera	Yankees	RP	24.1	4%	24%	0.37	35	56	78	0.9	1.2
Glen Perkins	Twins	RP	22.2	7%	38%	0.79	69	54	54	0.9	0.6

And, finally, the starting line-up.

1. Mike Trout, CF
2. Joe Mauer, C
3. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
4. David Ortiz, DH
5. Jose Bautista, RF
6. Chris Davis, 1B
7. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
8. Jhonny Peralta, SS
9. Brett Gardner, LF

Based on both career track record and 2013 performance, this is how I’d fill out the AL All-Star roster. There are a lot of great players who didn’t make the cut, and there are certainly judgment calls here that could have gone another direction, but overall, I think this is a pretty good set of players who would represent the American League quite well.