2016 All Star Rosters

CaptainLaddie

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I'll update this as it goes along (especially once voting results start being published), but this is my projection for the All Star Game rosters.

upload_2016-5-27_17-11-43.png

A few thoughts:

I need a Brave, Royal, and Twin -- their rosters are all pretty bad, but their lone representatives deserve to be there as far as name recognition (Minnesota) or a reliever having a lights-out year (Atlanta, KC).

There are a few high-WAR guys that I didn't include because their number was high as a result of defensive play -- that's all fine and good for real games, but no one gets put in the ASG as a result of defensive play alone outside of superstars.

This is by no means a final guess, and once the voting results are published for the first time, a lot of things are going to shift around.
 

Julius.R

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Not bad. I would love to have five Red Sox going to the All Star game. Honor the young ones and pad the resumes for Ortiz and Pedroia.

As for the Braves, Royals, and Twins... They might just go by name recognition and send Joe Mauer or someone who is on a hot streak (Chase d'Arnaud).

Some thoughts.

Braves: Chase d'Arnaud, Freddie Freeman, Arodys Vizcaino or Julio Teheran.
Royals: Kelvin Herrera, Eric Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, or Salvador Perez.
Twins: Joe Mauer, Eduardo Nunez, Tyler Duffey, Fernando Abad.

If I had to guess I would pick Freeman, Cain/Perez, and Mauer.
 

Ale Xander

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I would say Cain over Betts and Porcello or Wright over one of the relievers but have too look closer
Pun not intended

It's a little too early
 

B H Kim

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Posey will probably get elected as the starting catcher in the NL. And Diaz isn't on the ballot. Crawford or Story will probably end up starting, with Diaz as a backup.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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I'll update this as it goes along (especially once voting results start being published), but this is my projection for the All Star Game rosters.


I need a Brave, Royal, and Twin -- their rosters are all pretty bad, but their lone representatives deserve to be there as far as name recognition (Minnesota) or a reliever having a lights-out year (Atlanta, KC).

There are a few high-WAR guys that I didn't include because their number was high as a result of defensive play -- that's all fine and good for real games, but no one gets put in the ASG as a result of defensive play alone outside of superstars.

This is by no means a final guess, and once the voting results are published for the first time, a lot of things are going to shift around.
I like a lot of your picks, but I'm certain Yost will take more Royals than this. Maybe Logan Forsythe is the Rays representative (with Pedroia staying home) instead of Colome and Wade Davis making the squad and Hosmer getting in over Stephen Vogt. Probably Cain over either Eaton or Betts also, as others have suggested.

Ned could do an "all famous dudes" final man ballot this way, too: Pedroia, Beltre, Bautista, Cruz, V. Martinez.
 

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Royals fans are going to do it again this year right? Cano and Pedroia behind Infante and Xander barely holding off a guy whose OPS+ is a robust 68.
 

Merkle's Boner

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Amazing that McCann is the only Yankee in the top 5 at his position. They used to dominate these popularity contests.
 

simplicio

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Looks like Baltimore is trying to run a ballot stuffing operation too. No way should Trumbo be starting.

To be fair though, I have no idea why Swihart's even on the ballot.
 

DJnVa

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Looks like Baltimore is trying to run a ballot stuffing operation too. No way should Trumbo be starting.

To be fair though, I have no idea why Swihart's even on the ballot.
Trumbo is 4th among AL OFers in OPS and tied for league lead in HRs. He's hardly the issue with that list.

Swihart is on the ballot because the Sox listed him as their starting catcher this season.
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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My changes -- current vote-leaders are in the lineup now.

No changes to pitching yet, though with Hill getting hurt, we'll see. Pedroia loses a roster spot thanks to the crunch created by Hosmer making the cut (though he's deserving), but Mauer is the only Twin who is close to being worthy, so he kinda has to go, thereby pushing Pedroia off the roster. And in that crunch since we need 3 catches (I could cheat and have Mauer be the third catcher but he hasn't been behind the plate since 2013), I had to cut Francisco Lindor.

On the NL side, Russell getting into the lineup pushes Trevor Story off the roster, and LuCroy and Yadier swap.

Changes highlighted.

upload_2016-6-1_17-7-13.png
 

E5 Yaz

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I think I would sub in Wieters for McCann, given that Baltimore is having the better season and the more deserving NYY berths should be the relievers

But in looking at a McCann replacement, I was struck at how lousy the catching position across the AL is at the moment. Texas is getting good production, but has used four guys to get it
 

geoduck no quahog

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Just fuck the Royals. Really.

Fan voting is a travesty and I choose to boycott this stupid exhibition.

Why not just award positions based on home attendance...it'll save a lot of time.

Fuck the Royals.
 

DJnVa

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If no one cares about the ASG why does anyone care if another team stuffs the ballot?

"I hate how team X is putting all their players in a meaningless game that I want to see all my players in."
 

keninten

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I`d much rather see Papi have a break than play an exhibition game. He is the most deserving DH but his ankles could use a rest.
 

jon abbey

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If no one cares about the ASG why does anyone care if another team stuffs the ballot?

"I hate how team X is putting all their players in a meaningless game that I want to see all my players in."
Well, it does decide home field advantage in the World Series despite being a stupid-ass exhibition, so if your team is a contender, you'd prefer the best possible team in there.
 

simplicio

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If no one cares about the ASG why does anyone care if another team stuffs the ballot?

"I hate how team X is putting all their players in a meaningless game that I want to see all my players in."
I'm more interested in watching baseball's best players playing and having their work acknowledged than a fandom-dictated sploogefest.
 

CaptainLaddie

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I think I would sub in Wieters for McCann, given that Baltimore is having the better season and the more deserving NYY berths should be the relievers

But in looking at a McCann replacement, I was struck at how lousy the catching position across the AL is at the moment. Texas is getting good production, but has used four guys to get it
I think those two are a toss-up, though it looks like Wieters can probably get bumped ahead.

No love for Wright getting a pitching spot?
I know it sounds stupid, but I'm sure people think because he's a knuckleballer that it's a gimmick. He's also 10th in WAR among starters -- he's been really good, but other guys have been better. I think if he finishes the half on a tear he can get in.
 

E5 Yaz

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Two things come to mind:

First, in the three-man booth Sunday, Lyons was whining about how Machado was playing shortstop these days and he was leading in voting, while X should be the starting shortstop. No one bothered correcting him that Machado was leading the third base vote, which has nothing to do with X

Then, sure the Royals ballot-stuff, but Blake Swihart if fifth among AL catchers. Who are these brain-dead Red Sox fans casting those ballots?
 

CaptainLaddie

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My update:

upload_2016-6-9_14-8-20.png

Lots of changes on the AL side, especially in the pitching department. Davis, Britton, and Harris all deserve spots. Steven Wright's gone long enough without a roster spot -- even though he's a knuckleball pitcher, he's quietly putting together a really nice season -- and a 2.29 ERA doesn't hurt. I think he's still last starter on the roster and could easily be overtaken by one of the young starters in Toronto (Sanchez or Estrada), or even Tillman in Baltimore (8-1, 3.01 ERA, 75:29 K:BB, and a better WHIP). The two big changes to the positional side are Weiters and Longoria making it. Both guys have been improving over the course of the season and deserve a spot over McCann (who sucks) and Frazier (who's hitting a ton of homers but not doing much else).

Corey Seager's earned a spot with this power streak he's been on. Hard to change the bullpen much -- Phelps has been amazing, we need an Atlanta Brave, and Rondon's the closer on the best team in baseball (and has an insane 28:21 K:BB ratio with a 0.67 WHIP over 19.1 innings). Jansen's off because, well... he's been fine. But there's roughly 15 other guys with his numbers (Melancon, Gomez, Familia, Ramos, Papelbon), and Rodney's got an ERA of 0.00 over 21.1 innings. One bad appearance and he'll be yanked, but it's really hard not to include a guy doing that, even with a low saves total. It also allows us to dump Pomeranz, and put in another Chicago starter (they deserve at least 2), so that's gonna be Jon Lester today but could be Lackey or Hendricks tomorrow.
 

E5 Yaz

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One AL question at this stage: The Rangers have the best record in the league, and they merit just one spot? I mean, I don't know the answer, either ... just wondering.
 

CaptainLaddie

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It's tough.

Their starting lineup isn't great - I guess Beltre could make the cut, but he's got an OPS of .786 -- 7th in the AL his position. Mazara has been very good, but he's not been better than any of the guys listed -- maybe him over Cain, but Cain's a starter, so there's no flexibility. Profar's a star in the making, but he's also only got 51 PAs this year. On the pitching side... who would you put in? Colby Lewis is 5-0 with a 3.20 ERA, but a FIP of 4.37 and a K/9 of 6.04. Nothing special. Their closer for most of the season has been awful. As a team they're 5th in ERA and dead last in strikeouts (and 11th in walks). They don't really have anyone putting up very good seasons other than Desmond. I could see Beltre over Longoria, I guess?
 

CaptainLaddie

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upload_2016-6-16_14-52-26.png

Not a lot of changes. Right now, the AL is pretty stable - catcher is a shitshow for the 3rd spot, and there's a number of guys on the bubble trying to get in (at the bottom in yellow, along with guys removed from the roster). Texas deserves another All-Star, so they get Colby Lewis bumps Wade Davis, and Felix... he's great, but Tillman's healthy and has been excellent.

In the NL, Ozuna bumps Braun -- Braun's been fine, but he's nothing special in the context of the rest of the league, and there are a few guys having better seasons. And Jansen's back on - he's too good.
 

E5 Yaz

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Where are all the posts mocking Red Sox fans for stuffing the ballot box?
 

DanoooME

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Well, at least Vazquez isn't getting voted in, which would be the equivalent of Alcides Escobar last year. For once, you can actually make an argument that everyone on top of the voting deserves to go.

Edit: And yes, I understand you aren't serious, but the point stands.
 

E5 Yaz

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Well, at least Vazquez isn't getting voted in ,,,
Swihart is fifth among catchers.

The only real Red Sox related question I have is whether both JBJ and Mookie deserve starts (They should be on the team). They may well deserve the starts, I haven't checked that closely among the outfielders. Trumbo spends some of his time as a DH. You can make a case for Ian Desmond. Springer and Cain are a step behind.
 

simplicio

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Swihart is fifth among catchers.

The only real Red Sox related question I have is whether both JBJ and Mookie deserve starts (They should be on the team). They may well deserve the starts, I haven't checked that closely among the outfielders. Trumbo spends some of his time as a DH. You can make a case for Ian Desmond. Springer and Cain are a step behind.
It ultimately depends on whose version of WAR you want to use, I think. There's a strong case to be made for Desmond, but beyond the home run total Trumbo is slightly behind Beltran in just about every metric.

The Swihart thing is dumb, but I put that down to most people not knowing anything about catchers beyond Posey and Perez and rooting laundry.
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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Update!

upload_2016-6-23_19-39-10.png

- Cain falls off the top 3 OF vote-getters, which allows us to get Michael Saunders in there, who has been on fucking fire with a 1.038 OPS over the last month and 1.288 over the last two weeks. He's been great. No other changes. I forgot to put Roberto Osuna on the bubble list, but I think he's there. Strangely, I think it's Betances who is first off among pitchers at this point. And while I think other players are more deserving, it's important to get more than one Ranger in there (thanks E5). Trumbo's also done -- he's been good at hitting homers, and that's about it. He's 32nd in WAR. Not really worth keeping around.

- Diaz just isn't good enough to justify keeping him in there at this point, and getting a hometown guy in Wil Myers (who seems to finally have hit his potential) in the lineup seems right. Greinke's creeping in on Lester. And yeah, Rodney gave up a run, but again... the game is in San Diego and Rodney's so fun to watch.
 

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Yelling At Clouds

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Cole Hamels is 31st in Fangraphs' WAR but 11th in BBRef's version. I personally believe Ned Yost does not care about either version of WAR so much as baseball-card numbers, so I could see him making it.
 

CaptainLaddie

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Thanks for the heads up on Colby Lewis. Yeah, I guess Hamels makes sense.

I don't think Yost does either, which is why I think guys like Trumbo and Frazier will probably make it despite obvious reasons not to include them.
 

CaptainLaddie

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Final update:

upload_2016-6-28_15-50-12.png


I'm following Jonah Keri's rules of having a 34-man roster, so I've added two players to each side. Hamels slides in as a Colby Lewis replacement, and Tanaka (whose W/L record and K rate are both unimpressive) makes it because he HAS been good. Encarnacion is our 3rd-string 1B, and he's also hit 21 homers (2nd in the AL).

Marte makes it as a 7th OF and Oh is added to the pen because holy shit he's been ridiculous.

I think Yost ends up taking Cain and Davis, and Collins grabs an extra Met or two to reward his guys. But for the most part I'm happy with these rosters. Rich Hill probably gets bumped off because he's only thrown 64 innings (but has been incredible in the innings he has pitched - Chris Sale has pitched nearly twice as many innings but only has a 0.6 WAR lead on Hill).
 

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E5 Yaz

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I think Cody Allen of Cleveland deserves it more than, say, Betances