This, as in every year, there are players left out of the All-Star game who are seemingly deserving, but things aren’t as bad as they could have been. Jose Altuve made a miraculous comeback in the fan voting at the last moment to save one wasted roster spot that had been slated for Omar Infante, the 31st most valuable second baseman in the American League. A few other American League indiscretions were fixed as well, with the very deserving Josh Donaldson taking the starting job at third base and Miguel Cabrera being named the starter at first, although injury will keep him from playing in the game.
With that being said, many fan bases are feeling a range of disappointment as their favorites are not being honored, from the Royals who thought they really should have had eight starters in the field and two relief pitchers to the Indians, Rangers, Red Sox, Twins, White Sox, Braves, Brewers, Mets, Padres, and Phillies fans, who will have to be happy with one representative.
AL Pitchers
For the past two seasons, there has been a boon of pitching in both leagues and many worthy starters have been left off the roster. This year, things aren’t too far off as all six of the starting pitchers chosen rank in the top 12 in WAR in the AL with the worst chosen being Felix Hernandez, whose wins and track record made up for his poor (relatively) 3.04 ERA and 8.65 K/9. The rest are obviously the best of the best (all were chosen by the players ballot), so any complaints about Ubaldo Jimenez (2.96 ERA, #11 in WAR), Corey Kluber (#1 in K’s, #2 in WAR), or Scott Kazmir (2.56 ERA, #15 in WAR) missing out on the midsummer classic have to be sent to Seattle. All four pitchers have their merits and it shouldn’t be surprising that manager Ned Yost went with Hernandez over his AL Central rival, Kluber and the unpredictable Jimenez.
The bullpen is another matter. While again, the players picked the best of the best, Wade Davis, Dellin Betances and Glen Perkins, Yost made some odder choices. Of the top ten in reliever WAR, only four will be making an appearance. Those who will rank 23rd (Darren O’Day), 26th (Kansas City’s own Kelvin Herrera) and 33rd (Brad Boxberger). While five pitcher slots are saved for starters and three are meant for relievers, the other five can be used for any type of pitcher.
In this case it appears Yost is building this team to win this game (which makes sense since he hopes to return to the World Series this game) rather than feature the best players this season. He could have used the spots given to O’Day, Herrera and Boxberger to give Jimenez, Kazmir, and Kluber an All-Star appearance, but chances are they wouldn’t be as reliable in a relief role as someone who does the job all the time. Because of this, two teams have two relievers on the squad (the Royals and Orioles) while some of baseball’s top closers, like David Robertson of the White Sox (18/22 saves, 2nd in AL RP WAR) and the Indians’ Cody Allen (15/16 saves, 3rd in AL RP WAR) were left out.
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 17: Starting pitcher Clayton Kershaw #22 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after giving up a two run home run in the third inning to Joey Gallo #13 of the Texas Rangers at Dodger Stadium on June 17, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
NL Pitchers
Other than missing Clayton Kershaw, who like his Cy Young counterpart in the AL, must be wondering what you have to do to make an All-Star team (Kershaw is 2nd in the NL among starting pitchers in WAR), the NL pitching staff is solid. Unlike Yost, Bruce Bochy didn’t feel the need to fill his roster with Giants and while Madison Bumgarner is the worst starter on the NL staff, he isn’t that bad of a choice.
In place of Bumgarner (3.34 ERA, 9.1 K/9), there were a few better options, however. Left off the roster were Kershaw, Jake Arrieta of the Cubs (2.80 ERA, 9.3 K/9), Lance Lynn of the Cardinals (2.53 ERA, 9.5 K/9) and Cole Hamels of the Phillies (3.02 ERA, 9.5 K/9).
The National League bullpen was much harder to pick than the AL thanks to the dearth of options. Ten NL closers have an ERA below 2.00 and at least ten saves and each of five relievers chosen fit into this category. For the sake of fairness, call Drew Storen, Jeurys Familia, Kenley Jansen, A.J. Ramos and Brad Ziegler all snubs, but it is very hard to make an argument about who should be removed to fit them in. Unlike Yost, Bochy used some of his flex spots for starters, but saying some one inning at a time pitcher is more deserving than Michael Wacha or A.J. Burnett is a tough argument to make. Familia and Kershaw both still have a chance to make the team in the final five vote or as a replacement for any starter who pitches in the final game before the break.
TORONTO, CANADA – JULY 2: Xander Bogaerts #2 of the Boston Red Sox reacts after getting back to first base on his single in the sixth inning during MLB game action against the Toronto Blue Jays on July 2, 2015 at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
AL Hitters
Here again, the players got things right. Albert Pujols, who will start for Cabrera, Jason Kipnis and Jose Iglesias could all easily have been starters if it weren’t for the excessive balloting by Kansas City fans, and the rest of their choices are equally solid. Of the top 10 in AL WAR, only Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier is completely excluded (Brian Dozier is in the final five vote) and that makes sense given his .255 average and lack of power.
Here, the top snub (outside of Dozier) may be Xander Bogaerts (.302/.339/.414), who’s own teammate may have taken his place. Despite playing in just 66 games, Yost chose Brock Holt over both Bogaerts and Mookie Betts. Betts has better numbers and Bogaerts is closer to being the best at his position. Considering outfielders only, Betts ranks sixth in WAR and to go as far as Holt, both Brett Gardner and Yoenis Cespedes, who are also in the final five vote, need to be brought into the discussion.
CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 9: Joey Votto #19 of the Cincinnati Reds celebrates his third home run of the game against the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh inning at Great American Ball Park on June 9, 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cincinnati defeated Philadelphia 11-2. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)
NL Hitters
This may be the most fairly chosen group of any this season as each of the first 15 NL hitters in WAR are on the team in some part. The closest thing to a snub being the fact that Kris Bryant was only added as an injury replacement for Giancarlo Stanton. In fact, there is such a big break between those who made it and those who didn’t that Troy Tulowitzki is the only hitter on the NL final five ballot.
Despite being a last place team with two representatives, the Rockies have their share of snubs with Tulo, batting .321 with 43 RBI and still one of the best short stops around, and Charlie Blackmon, the top WAR hitter to be left out with 21 steals and 48 runs scored, missing out.
Four time All-Star Joey Votto must also be a little disappointed to not be representing the home team in his own ballpark, especially after his 14 home runs, 39 RBI first half, but it is another hard argument to place him ahead of the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo or the Dodgers’ Adrian Gonzalez.
In all, despite shady fan voting and blatant homerism by the Kansas City fans and manager, these two teams are pretty representative of the best players in baseball right now. Unlike past seasons, there are no absolutely terrible players invited (thanks to that last minute run by Altuve) and other than Kershaw and Kluber, none of the best of the best were excluded. Of course, those two can cuddle up to their 2014 Cy Young Awards and get back to winning another when the season starts again after enjoying their well deserved vacation.
