2022 All-Star Game Rosters

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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Sep 6, 2004
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My favorite thing every year is (poorly) predicting the ASG rosters.

Here's my first guess:

52543

Once the first round of votes are announced, I lock the leaders in as the starters and make adjustments based on that. There's been a change in voting this year -- the leaders get voted in, and then there's a second phase of voting -- one player from each position + DH (and two total outfielders) get voted in by the fans in that second round.

THEN, pitchers and reserves (five starting pitchers, three relievers, and one positional player) will be chosen by the players themselves. Then the commissioners office will pick the last six (four pitchers, two position players) players. Manager no longer gets a say.

This should make things better, I think? Maybe? I dunno. It'll be more interesting seeing how the second round will go, that's for sure.

My picks are a combination of who I think the fans will vote and who should make it. Some picks (Soto, for example) are because every team needs a representative. There are more deserving outfielders, but it came down to him or Josh Bell, and it's easier to sneak an OF on the roster than a 1B.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Good stuff - two Cubs positional players seems like one too many. I’d imagine Scherzer makes it too. Finding an A is challenging; Murphy is having a lousy year, maybe Pete Blackburn? Feels like too few Yankees given that they are in pace to win 122; Rizzo, Stanton, Torres, Taillon, Montgomery, and Cole l, among others, have pretty good cases.
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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Max Fried is not on SD. Oops. ATL.

You're right about the Yankees. They probably deserve more, but it's hard to get everyone in. My guess is that Rizzo, Stanton, and Judge all end up getting voted in by the fans eventually. Maybe more. That'll change the calculus.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Catcher seems really weak these days, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there are a lot of relatively anonymous pitchers these days. I had to look up the stats for several of the relievers you mentioned, a few of whom I wasn’t familiar with at all.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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You'll need another Rockies rep. Tyler Kinley is probably done for the year, certainly post-All-Star Game.
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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Catcher seems really weak these days, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there are a lot of relatively anonymous pitchers these days. I had to look up the stats for several of the relievers you mentioned, a few of whom I wasn’t familiar with at all.
Yeah, it's really bad at catcher. To be honest, so many of the pitchers are just team reps, especially at reliever.
 

LogansDad

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Catcher seems really weak these days, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s just me, but I feel like there are a lot of relatively anonymous pitchers these days. I had to look up the stats for several of the relievers you mentioned, a few of whom I wasn’t familiar with at all.
It's going to get better over the next couple years, but, yes, catcher is brutal right now.
 

Ale Xander

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I see that JD is 3rd at DH in AL ASG voting, I'm like, what??, and then I see the ballot, and now I understand. That's stiff competition. Hope they take all 3.
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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UPDATE!!!!

AL: Vlad, Bo Bichette, and George Springer move into the starting lineup, Alvarez is on the ballot as a DH (I should have checked this). This moves Xander and JD to the bench, with Ohtani and Tim Anderson off the roster. Very little movement. Bichette starting over Xander (or, like, four other guys) is silly. Springer doesn't deserve to be there either, but that's what happens when an entire country will vote for you! Byron Buxton has a case for a bench spot in the OF, he's 4th in WAR in the AL -- but he's only hitting .233 and his OBP is only .315 (though he's got 19 homers, though only 33 RBI, which is a hell of a ratio.). Even though he's got better defensive numbers than Ward or Tucker, they're hitting the ball much better. If this was the All-WAR team, he'd be there, but it's not, so he's not on there. I'm okay with putting JD in over Ohtani for now -- though Ohtani's combined WAR for pitching and hitting is higher than JD's for just hitting, JD's got an OPS in the 940s. Being slightly over league average at hitting and pitching is still probably more valuable than what JD contributes, but it's hard to justify giving the DH spot to a guy who just hasn't hit all that spectacularly at DH this season so far.

NL: Jazz Chisholm now is on the starting roster, as well as Trea Turner, Acuna and Joc Pederson. This pushes Edman, Swanson, and Happ to the bench, while McNeil, Schwarber, and Lil Yaz get booted off. Chisholm probably shouldn't be on the roster, but he's hit 13 dingers. So that helps his case to a casual voter. But Edman's been really, really good this year and is 3rd in WAR among all NL players so far. I don't hate the Joc selection (though he shouldn't be starting) because while he's been terrible in the field, he's 4th in offensive WAR. I *guess* Soto can still be the 6th OF since he's got 14 homers and a .368 OBP. He's been dreadful on defense but he can rake despite his low average.

Despite my current roster projection, I don't actually think either team will have 6 relievers on it, probably just 4 or maybe 5.
 

jon abbey

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I was going to say Jose Trevino over Murphy (unless he is your only A) even before his game-winning HR last night. He only plays a bit over half the time, but is having a really remarkable season. NY is now a hard to believe 28-6 in games he started. He has been incredible defensively all year (leading MLB in DRS from C by a bunch) and has been scorching hot offensively since mid-May, 1.093 OPS in 24 games since May 16.

View: https://twitter.com/YankeeMetrics/status/1539796756258607104


Kirk should probably be the starter and Heim has been very good too, but Trevino is right up there with Heim and ahead of anyone else. He is tied for the AL DRS lead at any position (with Jorge Mateo and Kyle Tucker) despite it being a counting stat and him only playing about half the time.

http://www.fieldingbible.com/DRSLeaderboard
 

Heating up in the bullpen

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I was going to say Jose Trevino over Murphy (unless he is your only A) even before his game-winning HR last night. He only plays a bit over half the time, but is having a really remarkable season. NY is now a hard to believe 28-6 in games he started. He has been incredible defensively all year (leading MLB in DRS from C by a bunch) and has been scorching hot offensively since mid-May, 1.093 OPS in 24 games since May 16.

View: https://twitter.com/YankeeMetrics/status/1539796756258607104


Kirk should probably be the starter and Heim has been very good too, but Trevino is right up there with Heim and ahead of anyone else. He is tied for the AL DRS lead at any position (with Jorge Mateo and Kyle Tucker) despite it being a counting stat and him only playing about half the time.

http://www.fieldingbible.com/DRSLeaderboard
I hate that the Yankees gave up on Gary Sanchez. He sucked, and looked like a palooka doing it. In other words, he was the perfect Yankee.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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chawson

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See @chawson, how you like Joc now!
Yeah, he's really taken a step forward. Still strictly a platoon player, so he fits much better on the Giants (who've lately built their teams that way) than with a team that already has Verdugo, Duran, Cordero and JBJ.

If we were spending, I'd have still preferred Schwarber (.765 OPS vs. LHP) over Joc (unplayable) if we were spending, but yeah I was wrong about how productive he'd be this year.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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Totally fair, you were much more spot on with Schwarber than I was. Would have been nice to have either of them, rather than none, of course. Oh well.
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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This is where I've settled -- for now -- on rosters.

53113

I don't like leaving Nestor Cortes off -- he's had a hell of a year and it's a great story, but with players taking part in selecting, I think they end up going with Gerrit Cole instead.

Went with Soto instead of Bell for WAS so that Cron could be the lone COL representative at 1st. I don't like leaving Alonso, Schwarber, or McNeil off -- but thems the breaks. I suspect Schwarber ends up on the roster as an injury replacement for Harper, though.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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On the topic of this, I don't think I would have guessed that Cabrera has more ASG appearances than Pujols, but it's true.
I'm not surprised by that, though it is close (11 to 10, or now 12 to 11). Pujols never seemed to be an All Star level player for the Angels. Checking it out confirms he was an All Star just once out of a Cardinals uniform, in 2015. Oddly, he was left off the All Star team just twice during his initial Cardinals run (11 seasons) but still managed top 5 MVP finishes in those two seasons.
 

Yelling At Clouds

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I'm not surprised by that, though it is close (11 to 10, or now 12 to 11). Pujols never seemed to be an All Star level player for the Angels. Checking it out confirms he was an All Star just once out of a Cardinals uniform, in 2015. Oddly, he was left off the All Star team just twice during his initial Cardinals run (11 seasons) but still managed top 5 MVP finishes in those two seasons.
Yeah, I guess I just think of Pujols as having been the better player and having had the better career even with the long decline phase included, so I assumed that would extend to All Star selections. Maybe with further remove people will think of their careers more similarly.

This assumes there will still be baseball historians in the future :)
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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Sep 6, 2004
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where the darn libs live
Rosters:

AMERICAN LEAGUE
STARTING PITCHERS
Shane McClanahan, LHP, Rays
Nestor Cortes, LHP, Yankees
Alek Manoah, RHP, Blue Jays
Framber Valdez, LHP, Astros
Martín Pérez, LHP, Rangers
Paul Blackburn, RHP, A's
Gerrit Cole, RHP, Yankees
Justin Verlander, RHP, Astros
Shohei Ohtani, RHP/DH, Angels

RELIEF PITCHERS
Clay Holmes, RHP, Yankees
Emmanuel Clase, RHP, Guardians
Gregory Soto, LHP, Tigers
Jorge López, RHP, Orioles

FAN-ELECTED STARTERS
Alejandro Kirk, C, Blue Jays
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays
Jose Altuve, 2B, Astros
Rafael Devers, 3B, Red Sox
Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox
Shohei Ohtani, DH, Angels
Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees
Mike Trout, OF, Angels
Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Yankees

RESERVES
Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros
Miguel Cabrera, DH, Tigers (Special Selection)
Xander Bogaerts, SS, Red Sox
José Ramírez, 3B, Guardians
Jose Trevino, C, Yankees
Luis Arraez, 1B, Twins
Andrés Giménez, 2B, Guardians
George Springer, OF, Blue Jays
Byron Buxton, OF, Twins
Andrew Benintendi, OF, Royals
Kyle Tucker, OF, Astros
Julio Rodríguez, OF, Mariners

NATIONAL LEAGUE
FAN-ELECTED STARTERS
Willson Contreras, C, Cubs
Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Cardinals
Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, Marlins
Manny Machado, 3B, Padres
Trea Turner, SS, Dodgers
Bryce Harper, DH, Phillies
Ronald Acuña Jr., OF, Braves
Joc Pederson, OF, Giants
Mookie Betts, OF, Dodgers

RESERVES
William Contreras, C, Braves
Nolan Arenado, 3B, Cardinals
Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets
Albert Pujols, DH/1B, Cardinals (Special Selection)
Jeff McNeil, 2B, Mets
Travis d'Arnaud, C, Braves
C.J. Cron, 1B, Rockies
Dansby Swanson, SS, Braves
Kyle Schwarber, OF, Phillies
Juan Soto, OF, Nationals
Starling Marte, OF, Mets
Ian Happ, OF, Cubs

STARTING PITCHERS
Clayton Kershaw, LHP, Dodgers
Sandy Alcantara, RHP, Marlins
Corbin Burnes, RHP, Brewers
Luis Castillo, RHP, Reds
Max Fried, LHP, Braves
Tony Gonsolin, RHP, Dodgers
Joe Musgrove, RHP, Padres
RELIEF PITCHERS
Edwin Díaz, RHP, Mets
Josh Hader, LHP, Brewers
Ryan Helsley, RHP, Cardinals
David Bednar, RHP, Pirates
Joe Mantiply, LHP, D-backs
 

CaptainLaddie

dj paul pfieffer
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where the darn libs live
AL: Dylan Cease not making it is blowing my mind. 92 IP, 2.45 ERA, a 13 k/9, 7-4. 6th in WAR among AL pitchers.

The only one worse is Kevin Gausman not making it -- he's leading all pitchers (tied for first with Carlos Rodon... who also didn't make it, I'll get to that) in WAR, has a 2.86 ERA, but is 6-6 and has allowed just TWO homers. His BABIP is .372 -- highest in baseball among qualified pitchers -- but he's somehow not on the team. It's so dumb.

Ty France not making it is such a robbery. As for catcher, they went with one backup and a little strange. Yes, Trevino is 2nd in the AL for WAR among catchers... if he qualified. He's only played 57 games, versus 76 for Murphy or 63 for Heim,. Trevino has been spectacular behind the plate though, which is most of his WAR value. I dunno. I like to reward guys like Murphy who've played a lot more games, but Trevino is probably the right choice for backup catcher.

NL: Is this the first time in baseball history that TWO catchers from the same team have made the ASG? It might be.

Rodon not making it is killing me. The guy has been incredible -- 2.70 ERA (8th in NL), 3rd in K/9, 8-5, and tied for the MLB lead in WAR among pitchers. This is stupid.

Wheeler not making it is also pretty stupid -- 8-4, 2.46 ERA, 4th in WAR. I don't get it. Kershaw having thrown 63 IP vs Wheeler's 95 or Rodon's 100 and getting in there is.... yikes. I get his name matters, but yikes.

Castillo over Mahle actually makes sense -- Mahle's thrown 20+ more innings, but his ERA is more than 1.5 points higher. I'm fine with that call.
 

simplicio

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Yordan Alvarez also just went on the IL with hand inflammation, don't know who takes his spot.
 

Sad Sam Jones

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Jose Altuve is passing on the All-Star game because of a knee injury. Andres Gimenez will now move from the bench into the starting lineup for the AL. I'll just point out that Francisco Lindor did not get invited to the game.

Similar to the Clevinger trade Cleveland made, I was a little disappointed with the package for Lindor at the time because I thought it was quantity over quality. The two lower level prospects acquired for Lindor (Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf) have not been good, and Amed Rosario was always a little redundant, but six years of Gimenez for one year of Lindor has made the deal a slam dunk for Cleveland.
 

Ale Xander

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Happy for Rue Shane

He deserved it over Ohtani, was "worried" SO would get it based on LA appeal.
 

Jason Bae

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I'm glad Kershaw's getting the opportunity to start the ASG in LA, but it's kind of a bummer Sandy doesn't get the nod just because of the season he's having.