MLB All-Star Game 2015: Rosters, AL, NL Lineups and Pitching Breakdown

For all of the controversy that surrounded the voting process, it's looking increasingly like this week's All-Star Game in Cincinnati will be a standard affair.    

Alex Gordon's trip to the disabled list leaves only three Royals in the projected AL starting lineup, which is nowhere near the seven that could have gotten in via fan vote. Recent weeks saw the Kansas City flood of votes die down, which should avoid a situation where the NL walks in as heavy favorites.

On the National League side, nearly half of the players voted in have already pulled out of the game. Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Holliday and Dee Gordon are nursing injuries, leaving Bryce Harper as the lone remaining starter from the original outfield and opening up a spot for the ascending DJ LeMahieu at second.

Luckily, there were talented players on both rosters ready to step into the Midsummer Classic spotlight. With that in mind, here is a look at the projected starters for both sides along with a look at the pitching staffs tasked with getting them out.

AL Lineup

Position	Player	Team
C	Salvador Perez	Kansas City Royals
1B	Albert Pujols	Los Angeles Angels
2B	Jose Altuve	Houston Astros
3B	Josh Donaldson	Toronto Blue Jays
SS	Alcides Escobar	Kansas City Royals
OF	Mike Trout	Los Angeles Angels
OF	Lorenzo Cain	Kansas City Royals
OF	Adam Jones	Baltimore Orioles
DH	Prince Fielder	Texas Rangers

NL Lineup

Position	Player	Team
C	Buster Posey	San Francisco Giants
1B	Paul Goldschmidt	Arizona Diamondbacks
2B	DJ LeMahieu	Colorado Rockies
3B	Todd Frazier	Cincinnati Reds
SS	Jhonny Peralta	St. Louis Cardinals
OF	Bryce Harper	Washington Nationals
OF	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates
OF	Joc Pederson	Los Angeles Dodgers

AL Pitching Staff

Player	Team
Chris Archer	Tampa Bay Rays
Dellin Betances	New York Yankees
Brad Boxberger	Tampa Bay Rays
Zach Britton	Baltimore Orioles
Wade Davis	Kansas City Royals
Sonny Gray	Oakland Athletics
Kelvin Herrera	Kansas City Royals
Félix Hernández	Seattle Mariners
Dallas Keuchel	Houston Astros
Darren O'Day	Baltimore Orioles
Glen Perkins	Minnesota Twins
David Price	Detroit Tigers
Chris Sale	Chicago White Sox

NL Pitching Staff

Player	Team
Madison Bumgarner	San Francisco Giants
A. J. Burnett	Pittsburgh Pirates
Aroldis Chapman	Cincinnati Reds
Gerrit Cole	Pittsburgh Pirates
Jacob deGrom	New York Mets
Zack Greinke	Los Angeles Dodgers
Carlos Martinez	St. Louis Cardinals
Mark Melancon	Pittsburgh Pirates
Shelby Miller	Atlanta Braves
Jonathan Papelbon	Philadelphia Phillies
Francisco Rodríguez	Milwaukee Brewers
Trevor Rosenthal	St. Louis Cardinals
Max Scherzer	Washington Nationals
Michael Wacha	St. Louis Cardinals

Advantages

NL: Pitching Staff

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Max Scherzer getting the start for Washington on Sunday dampens this momentum a bit, but the NL starting staff is stacked. Gerrit Cole has two more wins than any pitcher in baseball and might not even get the ball first for this team. Bruce Bochy will most likely choose between Cole and Zack Greinke, whose recent run of brilliance likely makes him the favorite.

Greinke has gone five consecutive starts without allowing a run, a streak of 35.1 innings that has pushed him to the forefront of the Cy Young conversation. The 31-year-old currently has a 8-2 record with a 1.39 ERA, allowing just 0.84 baserunners per inning.

"It's pretty hard to be better than [Greinke] is right now. I know Max Scherzer's been really good, so that's with all due respect," manager Don Mattingly said, per Eric Stephen of True Blue LA. "But that's my guy."

Throw in the Cardinals' trio of first-time All-Stars (Michael Wacha, Trevor Rosenthal and Carlos Martinez) along with relievers like Aroldis Chapman, and the NL has a top-notch staff. Couple that with the AL having eight first-time All-Stars on its staff, and it's pretty clear the NL has the advantage here.

AL: Defense

Colin E. Braley/Associated Press

While players largely treat this game as an exhibition, the American League will at the very least have a talent advantage on the defensive side. Five of the 20 best defensive players of the first half, according to FanGraphs' formula, will be playing for the American League side. Third baseman Josh Donaldson, outfielder Lorenzo Cain and shortstop Alcides Escobar lead the way among AL starters, with Manny Machado and Russell Martin coming off the bench.

The National League isn't hurting for players who can hit the ball hard into gaps, so that defensive advantage may come in handy given the AL's slight deficiency on the pitching staff. Even starting catcher Salvador Perez is a top-25 player, so this roster is deep with all-around smart talents.

It's a testament to both the fans and managers that so many top-notch defensive players made their way to the roster. Ten or maybe even five years ago, the rosters merely would have been filled with the top talents across the offensive stat sheet. Those players are still represented, but it's promising that we're seeing different kinds of All-Stars in the game.

Draw: Best Player in the Game

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press

Bryce Harper or Mike Trout? It's the debate of this generation across Major League Baseball. Trout is certainly off to the better all-around start, spending his first three MLB seasons competing for MVP trophies while Harper remained a talented enigma.

This season, though, the narrative has begun shifting. Harper is the no-doubt-about-it NL MVP favorite heading into the break, posting a .342/.466/.709 slash line with 26 home runs and 61 RBI. If the season ended today, he would finish on the cusp of the NL's first Triple Crown since Joe Medwick in 1937.

On the other side, Trout remains a bastion of consistency. It's sort of amazing that Trout could wind up with 50 home runs and 100 runs batted in this season and most have just come to expect it. He's already hit six home runs in July, giving him four straight months with at least five bombs. The reigning MVP is the only other batter to post at least five wins so far this season.

Rather than getting into a silly argument about who is better in the here and now, let's just move on and call this one a draw.