Two months are nearly complete in the Major League Baseball season and the first round of American League all-star voting results have been released. The first round of results were flawed, as they always will be while fans are voting, but I’m here to show you who really deserves to be voted in as all-star starters.
Edwin Encarnacion - First Base (Fan Vote Miguel Cabrera)
While I still believe that White Sox rookie Jose Abreu deserves to start at first base over Encarnacion he is on the disabled list and no one has been better than Encarnacion in the month of May. It will be hard for either Abreu or Encarnacion to win the fan vote, though, because Cabrera is still the reigning MVP of the league.
Brian Dozier - Second Base (Fan Vote Ian Kinsler)
Dozier is my dark horse candidate to make the all-star team at second base. He doesn’t have a great batting average, he is only hitting .247, but he leads all second basemen in home runs with 11 and runs with 43. It will be hard for him to beat out Robinson Cano and Kinsler in the fan voting because they are both household names, but he deserves to be there.
Alexei Ramirez - Shortstop (Fan Vote Derek Jeter)
Ramirez is an easy choice for shortstop as he is statistically the best shortstop in the AL, but the fan vote will go to Derek Jeter because he is on his retirement tour. Hopefully Ramirez can overcome the Jeter hype because the White Sox offense has been so good they deserve a starter in the game.
Josh Donaldson - Third Base (Fan Vote Donaldson)
The one vote that I believe the fans have got right so far is Donaldson at third base. He is leading all AL third basemen in runs, runs batted in and home runs. After being snubbed last season because there were too many good players at third base he will not give them the opportunity to snub him again with Miguel Cabrera now at first in the AL.
Derek Norris - Catcher (Fan Vote Matt Wieters)
It is highly unlikely that Norris will win the fan vote as a platoon player, but he is the most deserving of all of the AL catchers. Wieters leads all catchers by a pretty large margin even though he is on the disabled list and if he doesn’t the fan vote will go to Brian McCann because of his uniform even though Norris, Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes are arguably having better years.
Michael Brantley, Jose Bautista and Nelson Cruz - Outfield (Fan Vote Bautista, Mike Trout and Jacoby Ellsbury)
Right now in the AL the best player may be Encarnacion, but the next top three players are these three outfielders. Brantley is having a breakout year after signing an extension with the Indians and is proving to be worth every single bit of it. Bautista is continuing to prove that he is not a flash in the pan that many thought he was when he first hit over 50 home runs in 2010. Cruz is making everyone wonder why it took so long for him to get signed even with the draft compensation attached. He is leading the AL in home runs and runs batted in making you scratch your head when you realize he stayed unsigned for so long.
Albert Pujols - Designated Hitter (Fan Vote David Ortiz)
No Trout in the starting line up even though the Angels offense has been good? Yes, because Trout has not only not been the guy who many considered the best in baseball, but it’s debatable that he has even been the best player on the team as Pujols has looked more like the guy the Angels expected to get when they signed him three offseasons ago. The batting average isn’t quite where it use to be, but he is back to his slugging ways hitting 14 home runs and knocking in 31. If this was three years ago when Pujols was at the peak of his popularity he’d win the designated hitter spot easily, but he’ll have a difficult time beating out fan favorite Ortiz despite being better than Ortiz in runs, RBI, home runs and only having a batting average .03 points lower than Ortiz.
Some of these are unrealistic, especially Pujols and Cruz because they are listed on the ballot as a first baseman and designated hitter instead of the positions I have them starting at. Also, it is unlikely that Jeter, Trout and Cabrera won’t be voted in as starters, but these are the players I believe are statistically the best and you should vote for. If these come to fruition there will be a few firsts in the AL All-Star lineup. The two offensive players for the Athletics would be the first players to be voted in to start since Jason Giambi in 2001. If Dozier makes if for the Twins he would be the first starter not named Joe Mauer or Justin Morneau in in years. It would be the first time Pujols would be a starter for the American Leauge.