MLB All-Star Game: Projecting the Starter at Each Position for the AL

Jun 2, 2018

With two full months of baseball in the rear-view mirror, the 2012 MLB All-Star Game is suddenly just around the corner.

If you haven't cast your votes yet, I'm here to help. At least as far as the American League side of things is concerned, anyway.

I'm a big believer in voting for players who actually deserve to go to the All-Star Game instead of simply voting for your favorite players. To that end, I've started putting together projections of what the American League starting lineup should look like.

It's time to take a look at projection No. 3, which admittedly isn't all that different from projection No. 2. Not much has changed over the last week.

All the same, this projection should come in handy if you haven't filled out your All-Star ballot yet. Let's take a look.

Note: Head over to MLB.com to cast your votes.

Catcher: A.J. Pierzynski, Chicago White Sox

1 of 10

Last Week: A.J. Pierzynski

For a while there, Matt Wieters looked like a lock to be the starting catcher for the AL this year. Alas, he's fallen into an absolutely brutal slump at the plate.

A.J. Pierzynski, meanwhile, has kept chugging right along. He's hitting .299/.345/.512 on the season with eight home runs and 33 RBI. His .857 OPS is tops among qualified catchers in the AL.

Pierzynski is having a solid year defensively too, and he's done very good work with Chicago's pitching staff.

Keep Your Eye On: Jarrod Saltalamacchia

If he had enough plate appearances to qualify, Saltalamacchia would be leading all AL catchers in slugging percentage and OPS. He's been on fire ever since late April, and he's definitely a guy to watch heading into June and beyond.

First Base: Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox

2 of 10

Last Week: Paul Konerko

Paul Konerko is currently leading the American League in batting average (.381) and on-base percentage (.455). He ranks second in slugging (.642) and OPS (1.097) behind Josh Hamilton. He has 11 home runs and 33 RBI.

Konerko has been remarkably consistent all season. He hit .383 with a 1.123 OPS in April, and .375 with a 1.075 OPS in May. He went through one stretch in particular where nobody could get him out, as he hit .583 with three home runs between May 22 and May 27.

He's been the best first baseman in the AL this season by a pretty wide margin. He deserves your votes.

Keep Your Eye On: Albert Pujols

He's hitting .317 with seven home runs in 15 games since May 15, the day the Angels fired hitting coach Mickey Hatcher. He drove in 24 runs in May, second only to Hamilton in the American League.

Second Base: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees

3 of 10

Last Week: Robinson Cano

The second base race in the American League is pretty tight. I gave Robinson Cano the nod last week, and I'm going to give it to him again this week.

Cano's numbers are solid across the board. He's leading AL second basemen in slugging and OPS, and he's second only to Dustin Pedroia in batting average.

Cano's hidden value is in his defense, which has been very good this season. He has a 3.6 UZR and four defensive runs saved, numbers that place him among the elite fielding second basemen in the AL.

Keep Your Eye On: Jason Kipnis

Jason Kipnis is very quickly developing into one of the best all-around second basemen in baseball. He's hitting .280/.342/.450 with eight home runs, 30 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He's on pace to hit 26 home runs with 97 RBI and 36 stolen bases. According to FanGraphs, only Cano has a higher WAR than him among AL second basemen.

TOP NEWS

Washington Nationals v Los Angeles Angels

Bleacher Report1w

Bleacher Report1w

Third Base: Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals

4 of 10

Last Week: Mike Moustakas

The award for the best season nobody is noticing goes to Mike Moustakas. He's hitting .272/.335/.485 with eight home runs and 24 RBI. His .820 OPS ranks third behind Adrian Beltre and Miguel Cabrera among AL third basemen.

The reason Moustakas gets the nod over them is because of his defense, which has been tremendous this season. His 9.7 UZR leads all qualified AL third basemen, and only Brett Lawrie has more defensive runs saved.

Keep Your Eye On: Will Middlebrooks

There was some uncertainty over whether Will Middlebrooks would be able to stay in Boston after Kevin Youkilis was activated off the DL, but Bobby Valentine has found ways to keep Middlebrooks in the lineup. He hit .316/.343/.579 in May with six home runs, and there should be more where that came from in June.

Shortstop: Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers

5 of 10

Last Week: Elvis Andrus

The shortstop race in the American League is just as tight as the second base race, but Elvis Andrus is the man to beat right now.

Andrus is having a good season offensively, as he's hitting .308/.385/.421 with eight stolen bases. It may seem like he's not hitting for power, but he's actually hitting for much more power than he usually does. Heading into this season, his career slugging percentage was a mere .343.

There are shortstops who are having better offensive seasons than Andrus, but he gets the nod over them because of—you guessed it—his defense. Andrus has a 4.4 UZR and four defensive runs saved, numbers that put him on track towards his best defensive season yet.

Keep Your Eye On: J.J. Hardy

Hardy got off to a very rough start in April, but he rebounded to hit .314 with seven home runs and 18 RBI in May.

Outfield: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers

6 of 10

Last Week: Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton has cooled down somewhat in recent weeks, but only to a degree. He's still hitting .368/.420/.764, and he leads the league in home runs (21), RBI (57), slugging and OPS (1.184).

There's not a whole lot to complain about when it comes to Hamilton. He's a lock for the All-Star Game.

Keep Your Eye On: Dayan Viciedo

Back on May 13, Dayan Viciedo was hitting .196 with a .304 slugging percentage. He's now batting .291 with a .515 slugging percentage. He has a 1.310 OPS in his last 16 games. Mercy.

Outfield: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles

7 of 10

Last Week: Adam Jones

Adam Jones is just as big a lock for the All-Star team as Hamilton is.

You get the sense that a lot of people are waiting for Jones to slow down, but he's not. For the season, he's hitting .316/.265/.618 with 16 home runs, 34 RBI and eight stolen bases. He's on pace to hit 51 home runs with 25 steals.

He won't get that far, but he definitely has eye-popping numbers right now. This guy deserves your votes.

Keep Your Eye On: Josh Reddick

I had Josh Reddick penciled in as a starter last week. He's very quietly having a solid season, hitting .266/.333/.547 with 14 home runs. He's on pace to hit over 40 home runs this season.

Outfield: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels

8 of 10

Last Week: Josh Reddick

Surprised to see Mike Trout on this list so soon?

You shouldn't be. He's been one of the best players in baseball over the last month, and he has impressive numbers across the board. He's hitting .303/.366/.521 with five home runs and 16 RBI. He also has eight stolen bases in 10 tries.

Just as important, Trout has played Gold Glove-caliber defense in the outfield. When the Angels have him in left and Peter Bourjos in center, nothing hits the ground.

Need further proof that Trout deserves to start in the Midsummer Classic? According to FanGraphs, the only AL players with higher WARs than Trout in the month of May were Hamilton and Jones.

Keep Your Eye On: Mark Trumbo

Mark Trumbo is hitting .348/.396/.632 with 10 home runs and 26 RBI. He deserves to go to the All-Star Game; it's just hard to determine what he should go as. Mike Scioscia has played him all over the place.

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox

9 of 10

Last Week: David Ortiz

Big Papi went through something of a slump in May, but he's come alive lately. Heading into Thursday night's game against the Detroit Tigers, he had seven hits in his last 12 at-bats to push his average from .305 to .323.

For the season, Ortiz also has 12 home runs and 35 RBI, numbers that rank fifth and seventh in the American League.

Adam Dunn and Edwin Encarnacion are also having great seasons, but neither of them are strictly DHs. They'll make the team, but Papi deserves to start.

Keep Your Eye On: Billy Butler

Billy Butler is the most underrated hitter in baseball, and he's at it again this season. He's hitting .289/.352/.521 with 11 home runs and 35 RBI.