Major League Baseball presents it's annual All-Star Game Tuesday, July 15 as the National League and American League do battle in the Midsummer Classic live from Target Field in Minneapolis. While the polls are still open as far as starters are concerned, SWN will delve into who should start at each position for the NL as the two leagues clash with home field advantage for the World Series at stake in just over two weeks.
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It's been a memorable first half of the MLB season thus far with many surprise teams excelling and a few past power houses struggling out of the gate. With an ample amount of talent in the league, the starting field is a tough one to pick, but we'll take a position-by-position look at who should start the All-Star Game for the NL.
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Pitcher-Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds
There are a lot of quality pitchers in the National League, but Cueto makes the most sense to take the hill for the Midsummer Classic. Cueto is 8-5 this season and leads not only the NL but the entire MLB with a 1.85 ERA and 0.84 WHIP. Cueto is second in the NL behind Stephen Strasburg with 122 strikeouts.
Other strong candidates include Strasburg (MLB-leading 123 K's), and Zack Greinke and Adam Wainwright, who are tied for the NL lead with 10 wins apiece along with Cueto's teammate Alfredo Simon. Clayton Kershaw missed some time due to injury but after going 6-0 and adding a no-hitter in June, he is now 9-2 on the season with a 2.04 ERA, 0.920 WHIP and 107 strikeouts, making him a contender for the start.
Catcher-Jonathan Lucroy, Milwaukee Brewers:
While Atlanta's Evan Gattis (NL-leading 16 homers) is having a solid year and San Francisco's Buster Posey and St. Louis' Yadier Molina are always among the best catchers in the game, Lucroy deserves the starting nod in Minneapolis come July 15. MLB.com reported Molina as the leading vote-getter as of last week.
Lucroy leads all NL catchers and ranks second in the NL with a .334 average while he also ranks second in the NL in hits (100) and doubles (28) and is fifth in on-base percentage (.403) and OPS (.918). Lucroy's .515 slugging percentage is first among NL catchers while his 43 RBI rank second. Lucroy has also blasted eight homers thus far this season.
First Base-Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks:
There is a lot of tough competition at first base as Adam LaRoche of the Nationals, Brandon Belt of the Giants and Matt Adams of the Cardinals are all playing well enough to start along with the Rockies' Justin Morneau (leads all first baseman with 58 RBI) and the Cubs Anthony Rizzo (leads NL first baseman with 17 homers). Still, Goldschmidt deserves the nod.
Goldschmidt, who was in the lead for the first base vote last week, is hitting .296 and is second among all NL catchers with 15 homers and 53 RBI while his .529 on-base percentage is first among all NL first baseman and ranks third in the NL. Goldschmidt is first in the NL in doubles (28), second in runs scored (59) and third in total bases (166).
Second Base-Scooter Gennett, Milwaukee Brewers:
The second base job is up in the air, but Milwaukee's Gennett holds the slight edge among qualifiers. While guys like the New York Mets' Daniel Murphy (.301/.351/.417), Washington's Anthony Rendon (leading NL second baseman with 12 homers and 46 RBI) Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips (.272/.304/.405) and Philadelphia's Chase Utley (leads all second baseman in the NL with a .353 on-base percentage) could be deserving of the nod, Gennett has been a stand-out player this season. Utley was leading upon the last vote count via MLB.com.
Gennett leads all NL second baseman with a .311 average, a .485 slugging percentage and a .837 OPS. Aside from his six homers and 27 RBI, Gennett has an on-base percentage of .351, ranking him third in the NL among second baseman.
Third Base-Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds
While names such as the Brewers' Aramis Ramirez (.292, 11 homers, 33 RBI) the Mets David Wright (.277 average, six homers, 41 RBI), the Giants Pablo Sandoval (.267, nine homers, 34 RBI), , the Cardinals' Matt Carpenter (.281, four homers, 31 RBI) and the Rockies' Nolan Arenado (.305, six homers, 28 RBI) are the top-five vote-getters among NL third baseman, there is a strong case for Frazier.
Frazier is hitting .287 this season and leads all NL third baseman with 17 homers, a .508 slugging percentage and a .860 OPS. Frazier also has 46 RBI this season. Casey McGehee of the Marlins is another possible candidate, as his .309 batting average ranks first among NL third baseman and he leads the NL at the hot corner with 48 RBI and a .376 on-base percentage.
Shortstop-Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies:
While there are some very talented shortstops in the NL, no one comes close to what Tulowitzki has brought to the table this season. Tulowitzki leads the MLB with a .353 batting average, 63 runs scored, a .445 on-base percentage and a 1.062 OPS. Tulo also leads the NL with a .618 slugging percentage and is second in the league with 168 total bases and 18 homers while he has added 46 RBI. Tulowitzki is the leading vote-getter in the entire NL at any position, according to MLB.com.
Outfield-Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers, Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates and Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins:
There are a lot of quality outfielders in the National League, but these three players stand out above the rest.
Puig ranks fourth in the NL with a .923 OPS and ranks third among NL outfielders in batting average (.312) and fourth in slugging percentage (.521).
Aside from stellar defense, McCutchen is having a solid year at the plate as he ranks second in the NL with a .418 on-base percentage, third with a .943 OPS, and fourth in total bases (159) and batting average (.314). McCutchen also leads the NL with 54 walks and his 48 RBI rank second among NL outfielders.
Stanton leads the NL with 21 homers, 60 RBI and 183 total bases. Stanton also ranks second in the NL in slugging percentage (.590) and OPS (.999) while his .408 on-base percentage is second among NL outfielders and fourth in the NL overall. Stanton is also third in the NL with 97 hits and fourth with 57 runs.
Stanton is behind Carlos Gomez for the third and final outfield spot while McCutchen and Puig hold down the other two spots.
The MLB All-Star Game takes place in just over two weeks on July 15 live from Target Field in Minneapolis.
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