With the 2013 Major League Baseball All-Star Game rapidly coming upon us there is almost near certainty as to who will be taking the mount to kick things off for the American League. With a league leading 11-0 record, mediocre 3.05 ERA and absolutely ridiculous 0.91 WHIP, Detroit Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer looks like he’ll be solidifying, not only his first start in an All-Star game, but his first appearance in the event as well. While most would be “ok” with this decision, especially when considering that as of now he is the best pitcher in the AL record-wise, it’s hard to overlook two other pitchers who could have valid arguments for getting the nod as well. First off, we really need to break down what exactly is on the line.

As most of you should know Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland will be serving as skipper for his third All-Star game as he and the Tigers made it to the World Series the previous year. In 1998, Leyland’s first take at the helm, the National League lost to the AL by the score of 13-8 in a game that was kicked off by Greg Maddux who threw two scoreless frames. Leyland then called to the bullpen and brought out Tom Glavine in the third inning at which he lasted only 1 1/3 innings after giving up four earned runs. Even though both sides came offensively charged, the rest of the pitchers used for the NL proved to be lackluster as they fell to the AL. In 2007 Leyland redeemed himself as the skipper of the AL after the Tigers had fallen to the St. Louis Cardinals in the fall classic the previous year.

This time around then-Oakland Athletics pitcher Dan Haren started the game for the AL in which he allowed one run over two frames in the AL’s 5-4 victory. Leyland is an old school manager, and rarely ever defers from his regular guys/habits. For instance, in 1998 Leyland took two guys with him from the Florida Marlins that season; however, he also took an additional four guys from the 1997 Marlins World Series team, who were dealt to other teams, with him as well. In 2007 he took five guys from his Tigers team along for the ride.

Now, this isn’t exactly an unusual practice by All-Star Game managers; however, since All-Star Games now determine who will get home filed advantage as of the tie in 2002, this practice may be a bit risky to gamble on, especially if one wants to keep his players healthy for a potential playoff run. Also, one has to consider the element of foreshadowing that we saw displayed by Justin Verlander in 2012 when he got the start and proceeded to get shelled by San Francisco Giants bats handled by Pablo Sandoval and Melky Cabrera, which continued by Sandoval in game one of the 2012 World Series.

What happened last year is something that Leyland truly needs to consider when going into this game. While it’s obvious that he has a lot of confidence in his pitchers, this doesn’t necessarily mean he’s the right fit. Athletics pitcher Bartolo Colon, for example, is right on his heels with a 10-2 record, a better ERA of 2.93 and a slightly worse WHIP of 1.10. Two things that Colon has in-hand over Scherzer when it comes to the All-Star Game: two games of experience plus a win in the game held in 1998… which also ended with him having an ERA of 27.00, but he still got the win. In Colon’s defense he’s performed like one of the best in the game, hardly rattled by the fact that he’s 40-years-old and may potentially be the first pitcher to win 20 or more games at that age since Jamie Moyer pulled it off for the Seattle Mariners in 2003.

But the one person who probably deserves the starting job the most is Boston Red Sox pitcher Clay Buchholz. Prior to Buchholz getting placed on the DL on June 9th his accomplishments on the mound superseded what Scherzer has and was putting up. Buchholz had a one-win edge on Scherzer, but more importantly his 1.71 ERA is nearly half of what Scherzer is posting and his 1.01 WHIP is only slightly worse. The one department in which Scherzer was lighting up Buchholz, and every other pitcher in the Majors for that matter, was strikeouts (122), which are currently third to Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish who has 143.

The next few starts for all three of these pitchers, pending Buchholz returns to the Red Sox soon, will certainly prove to be a grueling test, all for the sake of tossing one-to-innings in an effort to provide their respective league a slight edge in the World Series. Which begs the question, is it actually worth it to be the best at the break?