Most of the players in the MLB are millionaires. Hell, once a player becomes arbitration available, he usually starts making seven figures on their contract. My goal today was to create an All-Star team of players making LESS than a million dollars on their 2011 contract. Since this is an All-Star team, and not a career team, I’m looking at 2011 performance only. So if the player is having a bad 2011, he’s not going to be on this team, regardless of how much money he’s making.
C: Alex Avila, Tigers. .300/.391/.522, 5.3 fWAR, $425,000
We gave some love to Avila here on the Outside Corner yesterday, with good reason: he’s having a great year. His only real competition for the spot on this team were Matt Wieters and Carlos Santana, but Avila’s season is eclipsing them both.
1B: Freddie Freeman, Braves. .296/.356/.467, 1.7 fWAR, $414,000
I really wanted to go with Michael Morse of the Nationals here, but he’s making $1.05 million, just above the threshhold. The battle came down between Freeman and Gaby Sanchez of the Marlins, but I gave Freeman the edge based upon his higher slash lines across the board, and the fact that a lot of Freeman’s value is killed because of his poor defense, which many Braves fans disagree with.
2B: Dustin Ackley, Mariners. .290/.369/.456, 2.9 fWAR, $600,000
Ackley just got brought up in Juen, but he’s the highlight of the young second basemen in baseball right now. The Mariners are slowly building up a decent young core of players, and Ackley is the best of that crop. He’ll be in the top tier of second basemen next season once hegets a full season under his belt.
3B: Pablo Sandoval, Giants. .296/.341/.500, 4.0 fWAR, $500,000
This will be Sandoval’s final season on this team, as he’ll be arbitration eligible this offseason. Not only has Sandoval been one of the better cheaply paid players in the league this year, he’s also been one of the best third baseman. It’s been a great bounceback campaign after a 2010 season where he only had a .732 OPS.
SS: Starlin Castro, Cubs. .307/.336/.426, 2.9 fWAR, $440,000
I could have gone with Elvis Andrus, but Castro is worlds better with the stick, and most of Andrus’s defense comes with the glove and on the bases. While Castro doesn’t walk too much at all, he’s the best building block that the Cubs have. That doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things for making an All-Star team, but his value gets overinflated by that fact. But he’s not a bad player at all.
LF: Gerardo Parra, Diamondbacks. .292/.353/.430, 3.2 fWAR, $426,000
Parra is having an under the radar season that isn’t getting nearly enough publicity. I was initially going to go with Brett Gardner of the Yankees, another guy who is criminally underrated, but Parra’s OPS is nearly 60 points higher. While that’s not enough to offset the fWAR difference between the two because of Gardner’s stellar defense, Parra is also an ace defensively.
CF: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates. .268/.371/.471, 5.7 fWAR, $452,500
I can’t believe that the Pirates haven’t locked McCutchen up long term yet. In a banner year for center fielders, McCutchen has been top five in the league, and is still making close to the league minimum. Unlike Nate McLouth, the last center fielder locked up long term by the Pirates, McCutchen is the real deal. They should try to get him locked up, stat.
RF: Mike Stanton, Marlins. .262/.354/.543, 4.2 fWAR, $416,000
Stanton was known for his crazy power in the minor leagues, and it’s translated to the majors along with the other great parts of his game, and he’s already a nearly elite right fielder. In a year where Jason Heyward, the seemingly chosen one in right field, has struggled, Stanton has picked up the slack among NL East outfielders.
SP: Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers. 18-5, 2.36 ERA, 231 K, 6.6 fWAR, $500.000
Kershaw has a chance to win the NL Cy Young award, and he’s making half a million dollars this year. He’ll be arbitration eligible this offseason and will get his money, Tim Lincecum got $23 million over two years after winning the Cy Young award in 2008 and 2009, and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of money Kershaw gets this offseason.
MR: David Robertson, Yankees. 3-0, 1.21 ERA, 90 K, 2.4 fWAR, $460,450
Robertson has been amazing this year for New York in front of Mariano Rivera at the back end of Yankees games, and has seemingly displaced Joba Chamberlain as the chosen one to follow in Rivera’s footsteps once he retires.
CL: Craig Kimbrel, Braves. 4-2, 1.78 ERA, 116 K, 3.5 fWAR, $419,000
It’s rare when the best player at a given position is a rookie. But that’s what’s happening this year with the closer position in the majors this year, as Kimbrel has been absolutely dominant for the Braves at the end of games this year. He just had a scoreless innings streak snapped on Friday, and hadn’t been scored upon since June. The Braves are in good hands with Kimbrel at the back end of their bullpen in the coming years.
