MLB Announces 2015 All Star Game Starting Rosters: The Rosters, The Debate

So much has been made this season of a potential "Royal Flush" in the AL All Star Balloting, that it almost seems anticlimactic now to see "only" four starters from Kansas City.  Here are a look at the rosters, with attendant story lines, statistical breakdowns, and editorialized opinions about which players were snubbed, which players shouldn't be there, and who might be making the team as a reserve or an injury replacement.

The National League Roster

Some have said that Brandon Crawford was snubbed when he was passed over in favor of Jhonny Peralta of the St. Louis Cardinals as the starting shortstop for the National League.  But upon reflection and poring over the statistics, one might surmise that the two players are nearly a push, with similar numbers outside of  a much higher batting average for Peralta and elite defense for Crawford.  However, as you will see as we examine the rosters below by position, Peralta actually has a slightly better slash line across the board, as well as a better OPS.  The two players have an identical OPS+ of 127.  Either player could have a convincing case made for them as the starter.

First Base
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Paul Goldschmidt	ARI	81	57	102	18	1	20	66	15	65	0.349	0.466	0.623	1.090	194

This is among the most obvious and clear cut of all the selections for either league this year.  There are other first basemen in the NL having good seasons, but Goldschmidt is the obvious choice.

Fan grade: A+

Second Base
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Dee Gordon	MIA	78	43	116	16	4	1	21	29	11	0.343	0.364	0.423	0.787	119

Another very clear selection, Dee "Flash" Gordon has been among the most dynamic leadoff hitters in baseball this season.

Fan Grade: A+

Third Base
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Todd Frazier	CIN	78	54	91	24	1	25	54	8	24	0.289	0.348	0.610	0.957	158
Nolan Arenado	COL	79	49	86	18	3	24	68	0	13	0.283	0.314	0.599	0.913	131

The first position where a logical debate could be had, the third base starting nod went to Todd Frazier from the fans.  Frazier has at least a slight offensive edge in every single statistical category, but Arenado's elite defense must garner him consideration.  In the end, there is probably no wrong answer between these two gentlemen, and Frazier will start while Arenado should be a reserve.

Fan Grade: A

Shortstop
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Jhonny Peralta	STL	78	34	90	19	0	11	42	1	26	0.301	0.355	0.475	0.829	127
Brandon Crawford	SFG	80	38	74	17	3	11	48	4	25	0.265	0.340	0.466	0.806	127

As mentioned above, this is another position where a reasonable debate could be had, centering around Crawford's elite defense.  In the end, the nod went to Jhonny Peralta, which appears to this writer to be the correct decision - although it is close.

Fan Grade: B+

Catcher
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Buster Posey	SFG	78	44	86	14	0	14	57	1	33	0.304	0.375	0.502	0.877	147

This is yet another fairly clear one.  Buster Posey is having yet another monster year in a career that already seems destined for Cooperstown.

Fan Grade: A+

Outfield
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Bryce Harper	WSN	75	57	88	19	1	25	60	3	60	0.344	0.470	0.719	1.189	224
Matt Holliday*	STL	52	20	54	10	1	3	26	2	33	0.303	0.417	0.421	0.839	133
Giancarlo Stanton*	MIA	74	47	74	12	1	27	67	4	34	0.265	0.346	0.606	0.952	158
Joc Pederson	LAD	81	45	64	12	1	20	38	2	56	0.236	0.375	0.509	0.885	145
Andrew McCutcheon	PIT	78	43	84	21	2	10	49	5	39	0.297	0.390	0.491	0.881	145

The first of the fan votes that appear to be a fairly serious miss.  The asterisks represent players who are injured and will not play in the game, so Pederson and McCutcheon have been added as potential replacements. Note that Pederson and McCutcheon are not currently on the roster, they're just likely to make the roster.  Bryce Harper is an obvious selection, his 224 OPS+ is patently absurd and anything other than a start for him would be a travesty.  Giancarlo Stanton is a fair selection, as he leads all of Major League Baseball in home runs and has an extremely impressive .952 OPS and 158 OPS+.  However, Matt Holliday, while certainly having a good season, is not quite as productive this season as Pederson.  Pederson plays excellent defense, hits for a ton of power, walks a lot, and posts excellent ISO power numbers.  Matt Holliday certainly has been hitting for a high average and an excellent OBP, but the overall picture must surely favor Pederson - even though he's a rookie and Holliday an established veteran.  Additionally, McCutcheon is a worthy replacement for Stanton for injury, provided the players agree in their vote.

Fan Grade: B-

The American League Roster

So, down the stretch, one of two things clearly happened.

1. All of the IP addresses in Kansas City, Missouri ran out of new ideas for e-mail addresses to use for voting.

or

2. The rest of the major league fans finally started picking up the slack and started voting for more deserving players to start the game.

In an effort to apply positivity to the situation, let's assume that the second option is the correct one.

Here's a look at the starting rosters (along with potential backups/injury replacements) in the American League.  You might note that this roster is slightly more controversial, in this writer's opinion.

First Base
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Miguel Cabrera*	DET	77	43	97	16	1	15	54	1	53	0.350	0.456	0.578	1.034	186
Eric Hosmer	KCR	75	40	81	14	2	8	40	4	29	0.286	0.352	0.435	0.787	117
Albert Pujols	LAA	78	49	77	12	0	24	51	1	29	0.263	0.336	0.549	0.886	150

Miguel Cabrera is pretty easy to project as an All Star Game starter year in and year out.  He's always one of the best hitters in baseball, and he's never hurt.

Oops.

Since Cabrera was elected the starter and is hurt and expected to miss the All Star Game, the replacement will fall to the runner up in the player's vote. That means that, though Hosmer is almost certainly second in fan voting, the players' votes will determine the replacement starter, and that will almost certainly not be Hosmer.  It should probably be Albert Pujols, based primarily on the strength of his incredible performance in June.  His 24 home runs, .886 OPS and 150 OPS+ are all outstanding numbers.  Couple his excellent production with his status as a first ballot Hall Of Famer, and it would seem a safe bet that he'll end up making a trip to Cincy.  All of this to say that, while Hosmer is certainly having a fine season in Kansas City, he probably never should have merited as serious a level of consideration as he did.

Fan Grade: C+

Second Base
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Jose Altuve	HOU	75	41	91	15	0	7	35	23	19	0.302	0.347	0.422	0.769	115
Jason Kipnis	CLE	79	55	108	26	4	6	35	10	39	0.342	0.421	0.506	0.927	157

This position has been a travesty for weeks.  Until the last week of voting, Omar Infante of the Royals had overtaken Jose Altuve for the lead in the All Star Voting - despite Infante's status as one of the very worst hitters (at any position) in the entire American League, and despite the fact that Jason Kipnis has had a better season even than Altuve - and Altuve has been head and shoulders above Infante.  Thankfully, a massive PR push from the Houston Astros to elect Jose Altuve as the starter appears to have swayed the voting in favor of the Houston second baseman.  Certainly Kipnis should be the starter, but consider this - once Infante was leading, had he held on to win the starting position, then it is fairly likely that Infante would have started the game, with Kipnis making the roster as the backup second baseman...leaving an extremely deserving Altuve off the roster entirely.  Considering that fact along with the fact that Jose Altuve won the batting title last year and is still having an excellent statistical season this year as the face of the Houston Astros franchise, his status as the starter with Kipnis likely starting the game on the bench isn't ideal, but is certainly within the realm of reason.  The grade for the fans is driven down on this one mostly due to the convoluted route taken to get to this point.

Fan Grade: C

Third Base
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Josh Donaldson	TOR	82	61	97	20	0	19	54	3	28	0.295	0.352	0.529	0.881	143

This is an obvious selection and shouldn't really have been close.  And in the end, it wasn't - Josh Donaldson led all vote recipients with over 11 million votes from the fans.  However, until fairly recently, Mike Moustakas of the Kansas City Royals was leading in the vote totals for this position..which never made any sense, from a statistical point of view.  This would have been an A+ selection but for another convoluted route to the good end result.

Fan Grade: A-

Shortstop
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Alcides Escobar	KCR	68	38	78	13	2	2	28	5	12	0.277	0.315	0.358	0.673	86
Jose Iglesias	DET	69	18	73	7	2	1	12	9	17	0.320	0.372	0.382	0.754	111

This is another head scratcher.  Alcides Escobar has certainly had a nice season for Kansas City, especially defensively, but Jose Iglesias is so far above him both offensively and defensively that it renders comparison insulting.  Yet Escobar will start the game with a huge vote total and Iglesias will likely have to be happy to receive a bench spot and an appearance as a defensive replacement in the game.

(Note from the author: Of further concern to Astros fans is Carlos Correa.  Much has been made recently across baseball about the fact that Correa is already among the best shortstops in all of baseball, statistically, and that is true.  It is also very exciting for Astros fans - a group in which I claim membership.  However, when weighing All Star status, we must consider that he has barely 100 major league at bats.  Generally speaking, a rookie must have a little more time in the big leagues to realistically expect to warrant serious consideration for the All Star Game.  So it's not time...yet...for Carlos in the All Star Game.  But the fact that we're even having this conversation is amazing, and something we can be very excited about when thinking about the next 5, 10, 15 All Star games)

Fan Grade: D

Catcher
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Salvador Perez	KCR	74	26	73	12	0	13	34	1	5	0.263	0.275	0.446	0.721	95
Russell Martin	TOR	70	48	62	14	2	12	38	4	29	0.257	0.348	0.481	0.829	130
Stephen Vogt	OAK	79	39	75	12	2	13	53	0	40	0.294	0.385	0.510	0.895	149

If you compare the numbers for these three players, the first few columns they look pretty comparable...until you get to their walks.  Then, starting with walks, you might keep looking through their OBP, SLG%, OPS, and OPS+ numbers, and see how far behind Salvador Perez really is.  Then you consider that Russell Martin is essentially the best defensive catcher in baseball right now, in addition to one of the most productive offensive catchers...and one can't help but wonder what in the world Salvador Perez is doing starting this game...even considering what he means to his team as the slow and steady, every day leader.

Fan Grade: F

Designated Hitter
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Nelson Cruz	SEA	79	40	91	10	1	21	50	1	28	0.304	0.366	0.555	0.921	162
Prince Fielder	TEX	80	40	108	19	0	12	49	0	30	0.346	0.413	0.522	0.936	158
Alex Rodriguez	NYY	76	44	76	12	1	15	46	1	43	0.284	0.388	0.504	0.892	146

Despite an early Kansas City Shuffle that had the fans pushing for Kendrys Morales to start the All Star Game, Nelson Cruz did finally ride the wave of deserved popular support to garner the start this year.  Prince Fielder and Alex Rodriguez have both had incredible seasons also, and all three of these players really belong on an All Star roster this season.  Clearly nobody is anticipating Alex being there...but he should be.

Fan Grade: B

Outfield
Name	Tm	G	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+
Mike Trout	LAA	81	59	89	18	1	21	44	9	42	0.300	0.393	0.579	0.972	176
Lorenzo Cain	KCR	71	47	84	17	4	6	36	16	21	0.309	0.365	0.467	0.832	129
Alex Gordon	KCR	74	29	64	12	0	9	32	1	37	0.260	0.377	0.419	0.796	121

Not a lot of surprises here, all three of these guys have led the OF tallies pretty much all season.  Some players like Adam Jones and George Springer - before the injury - certainly could have had cases made for them as well, but there's just not quite as much depth in the AL outfield this season to raise vociferous objection to the fans voting for who they just plain want to see here.  It's likely that Adam Jones still makes the team as a backup.  Some guys like Jose Batista might be under consideration as well.

Fan Grade: A-

The Bottom Line

The Royals fan base got out and rocked the vote.  It is of paramount importance that those fans be given recognition for their unwavering support of their players, and in staggering numbers.  However, they may have ultimately threatened the outcome of the game by voting for Royal Blue instead of the best players...since the game does determine World Series Game 7 home field advantage, if the AL were to field anything other than the best roster, then all AL teams - including the Royals, of course - could be facing a tougher road to secure home field advantage.  So it is an important lesson for all fans, of all teams, to learn: as long as the game has meaning, vote for the best players.  Not just the ones who wear your favorite jersey.