13 AL Central Hurlers That Could Make the 2012 All-Star Game

The American League Central has fallen on a weak time for pitching. As evidenced by my top 15 starting pitcher rankings, there aren't many household names when it comes to pitching in the division.

Only one team, the Detroit Tigers, has a true ace that they can count on. The Tigers might have the best second starter in the division as well. After that, it's hard to say who could make the leap and become a household name.

The easiest way to do this is by representing the American League in the 2012 All-Star game next July. While the AL Central doesn't have the most popular pitchers, it does have some talent with the potential of heading to Kansas City.

Justin Verlander

Barring significant injury, Justin Verlander will represent the American League at the All-Star game. Even if Verlander doesn't have as dominant of a season as he had in 2011, his name recognition will get him to Kansas City alone.

It would be a very bizarre occurance if Verlander was not selected for the All-Star team. This is the first pitcher to win both the AL Cy Young award and the AL Most Valuable Player award in the same season since Dennis Eckersley did it in 1992.

This is also the guy who is not only the best pitcher in the American League, but possibly all of baseball as well. It would be highway robbery if Verlander doesn't go to the All-Star game.

Justin Masterson

Justin Masterson is a relative unknown, but I believe that 2012 will be a breakout year that will include a trip to the All-Star game.

Masterson will enter his third full year as a starter for the Cleveland Indians next year. His statistics have continued to climb since he entered the rotation after two seasons as a bullpen pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

Masterson's win total has gone from one in the second half of 2009 to 12 in 2011. Masterson also has seen sharp drop in his WHIP (1.58 to 1.27) and his earned run average (4.55 to 3.21).

All of this has happened while Masterson has discovered the ability to control his pitches and strike more batters out. If Masterson continues his improvement, he'll be headed to Kansas City in July.

John Danks

This may be a bit of a reach because a lot of people are down on Danks right now, but I believe he will rebound and could head to the All-Star game next season.

In 2011, Danks had the worst statistical season of his career since his rookie season. Danks went 8-12 with a 4.33 ERA for the Chicago White Sox. Danks also failed to reach 200 innings pitched for the first time since 2008.

The reason I'm predicting success for Danks is his track record. Eliminating his two worst seasons (2007 and 2011), Danks has gone 40-31 with a 3.61 ERA. They're not spectacular numbers, but they're good enough to be in the upper half of AL Central pitchers.

If Danks can get back to form and get off to a fast start, he may wind up representing the American League. 

Jonathan Sanchez

Jonathan Sanchez is pretty difficult to figure out. The newly acquired pitcher for the Kansas City Royals had a great year in 2010 going 13-9 with a 3.07 ERA for the San Francisco Giants. The problem is that 2010 is his only winning season in the major leagues.

Sanchez's Achilles' heel is his control. In 2011, Sanchez walked 66 batters in 101.1 innings. That lead to the highest BB/9 IP ratio of his career at 5.9.

Sanchez's stuff may be some of the best in baseball but he has to learn how to control it. A change of scenery may help. And if Sanchez can find some control he could sneak his way on the All-Star roster.

Francisco Liriano

When Francisco Liriano made the All-Star team in 2006, it was assumed that he would be a regular at the Mid-Summer Classic for many years to come. Then came his Tommy John surgery later that year and he has not been back since.

Liriano is a lot like Jonathan Sanchez. He's a pitcher that has tremendous stuff but at times he can't put it in the strike zone. That leads to flashes of brilliance (Like his no-hitter in May 2011 against the White Sox) followed by three-inning starts.

Liriano's recent history says he could make a push at the All-Star game. Since returning from Tommy John surgery in 2008, Liriano has pieced together an off year followed by a good year.

In 2008, Liriano went 6-4 with a 3.91 ERA. That was followed in 2009 with a 5-13 record and 5.80 ERA. In 2010, he won AL Comeback Player of the Year by going 14-10 with a 3.62 ERA and followed that with a 9-10 record and 5.09 ERA in 2011.

That trend would seem to suggest Liriano will figure it out and make a run at his second All-Star game appearance.

Doug Fister

Doug Fister was possibly the second best pitcher in baseball down the stretch behind his teammate, Justin Verlander. Many people were surprised by Fister's emergence, but I was not one of them.

Fister had always been a solid pitcher in Seattle but never got the run support he needed to show it in the win-loss column. Fister had always been able to maintain an ERA around four, but because of the Mariners' weak offense he found himself with double digit losses every year.

Then, Fister went to Detroit. Fister got run support but the truth was he didn't need it as he discovered ways to strike batters out. His 8-1 finish to last season grabbed the attention of many around the division, but not nationally.

I believe Fister uses the momentum from 2011 and joins Verlander on the All-Star team in 2012.

Ubaldo Jimenez

Ubaldo Jimenez is supposed to be the new ace of the Cleveland Indians rotation. The problem is that Ubaldo hasn't been the same pitcher since the 2010 All-Star game.

That is when Jimenez was the talk of baseball with a 15-1 record. He was what Justin Verlander is now, but now there's concern that Jimenez was just a flash in the pan.

His departure from the Colorado Rockies at the trade deadline last season may have been because the Rockies thought that he was not going to recover from his season-long slump. Even when Jimenez went to Cleveland, he didn't pitch all that well. So why is he on this list?

Jimenez is still an intriguing pitcher that still has his filthy stuff from two years ago. There was a drop off in his fastball velocity, but whispers were swirling that it was due to injury. If that was the case, there's the possibility that Ublado finds his form and returns to the All-Star game.

Gavin Floyd

Gavin Floyd has yet to make an All-Star game, but 2012 could be his year.

While Floyd didn't have his best season in 2011, he did wind up with a career-low WHIP of 1.16. If you're able to keep runners off of basepaths, you have a chance to be a very good pitcher. That snowballs into having a shot at the All-Star game.

It's not known how the addition of new manager Robin Ventura will affect the White Sox, but if the team improves there's a possibility of more wins for Floyd which may get him to Kansas City.

Aaron Crow

Aaron Crow made his first All-Star game in 2011 as a set-up reliever with the Kansas City Royals. However, in 2012 Crow will move into the starting rotation after the Royals signed Jonathan Broxton to set-up Joakim Soria.

This is always an important moment in the career of a young pitcher. Pitching in the rotation is much harder than pitching out of the bullpen.

In the pen, a hitter may only see a pitcher once, but when a pitcher starts the hitter may see the same pitcher three or four times which means the pitcher has to constantly make adjustments.

That is the difficulty Crow faces, but the Royals are confident he can handle it. If he's able to handle it well, Crow could make his second All-Star appearance in 2012, but this time as a starter.

Scott Baker

Of all the nagging from fans the Twins get for taking pitchers out when they sniff the 100 pitch mark, the most notorious example was Scott Baker.

Baker always seemed to come out as soon as he hit 90 to 100 pitches. This would happen even if Baker was cruising and having one of the games of his life.

However, that changed in 2011 as Baker showed a willingness to go deeper into games as the Twins bullpen struggled. The result may have been Baker breaking down toward August and September but he was still an effective pitcher when he took the mound.

If Baker can build off of what he accomplished in 2011 and stay healthy, he could make the All-Star roster.

Jose Valverde

Jose Valverde converted all 49 save opportunities for Detroit in 2011. If Valverde continues to keep that streak alive he'll be headed to Kansas City.

The current record for most consecutive saves is held by Eric Gagne who converted 84 straight opportunites between 2002 and 2004.

The Tigers will be in contention this season and give Valverde plenty of save opportunities to help build on his record.

It's highly unlikely that Valverde will break Gagne's record by the All-Star break, but if he has a season similar to last year he'll represent the American League.

Chris Perez

When deciding on closers for the All-Star roster it's usually a matter of quantity with just a little bit of quality mixed in. Basically, if your team gives you enough chances and you convert them, you have a shot of going to the All-Star game.

That's the situation Chris Perez finds himself in. Last season, Perez converted enough opportunities to make his first All-Star appearance and could be in the position for many more.

That's where the improvement of the young Indians comes in. If the Indians can improve and hold enough ninth inning leads to Perez, he should be able to convert them and make himself a contender for the All-Star game.

Joakim Soria

Joakim Soria is in a different situation than the other closers of the division are. Soria is a household name but struggled in 2011 while allowing a career-high in blown saves.

The Royals are so concerned about what happened last year that they signed a set-up/insurance option reliever in Jonathan Broxton in case Soria stumbles again.

Soria drew Mariano Rivera comparisons during his first couple of seasons in the league. Sometimes, a reliever just has a bad season and that's what I believe happened to Soria.

I think Soria will rebound to his usual self and represent the hosting Royals in the 2012 All-Star game.