2013 All-Star Roster: Breaking Down Which Squad Holds the Early Edge

The 2013 MLB All-Star Game rosters have been announced, and on paper, it's clear which team has the advantage. Home-field advantage in this year's World Series is on the line, and the National League will earn that honor.

Playing in the New York Mets' Citi Field paired with its roster, the National League has the edge on paper. There are plenty of first-timers on the NL squad, but that is not due to any kind of lack of talent in the league. 

Here is the full All-Star roster for both squads, courtesy of MLB.com:

MLB All-Star Game Starters

American League

Pos.	Name	Team
*C	Joe Mauer	Twins
*1B	Chris Davis	Orioles
*2B	Robinson Cano	Yankees
*SS	J.J. Hardy	Orioles
*3B	Miguel Cabrera	Tigers
*OF	Mike Trout	Angels
*OF	Adam Jones	Orioles
*OF	Jose Bautista	Blue Jays
*DH	David Ortiz	Red Sox
^P	Clay Buchholz	Red Sox
P	Brett Cecil	Blue Jays
P	Bartolo Colon	A's
^P	Jesse Crain	White Sox
P	Yu Darvish	Rangers
P	Felix Hernandez	Mariners
P	Hisashi Iwakuma	Mariners
P	Justin Masterson	Indians
P	Joe Nathan	Rangers
P	Glen Perkins	Twins
P	Mariano Rivera	Yankees
P	Chris Sale	White Sox
P	Max Scherzer	Tigers
P	Justin Verlander	Tigers
C	Jason Castro	Astros
C	Salvador Perez	Royals
1B	Prince Fielder	Tigers
2B	Jason Kipnis	Indians
2B	Dustin Pedroia	Red Sox
2B	Ben Zobrist	Rays
SS	Jhonny Peralta	Tigers
3B	Manny Machado	Orioles
OF	Nelson Cruz	Rangers
OF	Alex Gordon	Royals
OF	Torii Hunter	Tigers
DH	Edwin Encarnacion	Blue Jays

National League

Pos.	Name	Team
*C	Yadier Molina	Cardinals
*1B	Joey Votto	Reds
*2B	Brandon Phillips	Reds
*SS	Troy Tulowitzki	Rockies
*3B	David Wright	Mets
*OF	Carlos Beltran	Cardinals
*OF	Carlos Gonzalez	Rockies
*OF	Bryce Harper	Nationals
P	Madison Bumgarner	Giants
P	Aroldis Chapman	Reds
P	Patrick Corbin	D-Backs
P	Jose Fernandez	Marlins
P	Jason Grilli	Pirates
P	Matt Harvey	Mets
P	Clayton Kershaw	Dodgers
P	Craig Kimbrel	Braves
P	Cliff Lee	Phillies
P	Jeff Locke	Pirates
P	Adam Wainwright	Cardinals
P	Travis Wood	Cubs
P	Jordan Zimmermann	Nationals
C	Buster Posey	Giants
1B	Paul Goldschmidt	D-Backs
1B	Allen Craig	Cardinals
2B	Matt Carpenter	Cardinals
2B	Marco Scutaro	Giants
SS	Everth Cabrera	Padres
SS	Jean Segura	Brewers
3B	Pedro Alvarez	Pirates
OF	Domonic Brown	Phillies
OF	Michael Cuddyer	Rockies
OF	Carlos Gomez	Brewers
OF	Andrew McCutchen	Pirates

* = Starter

^ = Injured, will not play

Both teams have exciting and talented rosters, with the American League boasting red-hot Chris Davis and his 33 home runs. Countering Davis and the AL batters' firepower are Matt Harvey, Clayton Kershaw, Cliff Lee, Madison Bumgarner and others.

Kershaw owns the MLB's lowest ERA at 1.93, with fellow NL All-Stars Harvey and Adam Wainwright just behind at 2.27 and 2.36, respectively. All three pitchers have struck out at least 117 batters already this season.

American League hurler Felix Hernandez currently owns the 10th-best ERA in the league but does have 130 strikeouts to his name so far. Yu Darvish, Justin Verlander and Chris Sale are other fine AL arms available, but there's more to like about the National League names.

Aroldis Chapman, Jason Grilli and Craig Kimbrel are available to pitch the last few innings for the NL. Those three have the edge over Glen Perkins, Joe Nathan and Mariano Rivera.

Justin Masterson and Max Scherzer are other weak links on the AL squad. Masterson has been shelled for six earned runs in two of his past three outings.

Scherzer is on a roll this year, but his 2011 and 2012 seasons cannot be forgotten. He finished with an ERA of 3.74 or higher both years and lost two of his three postseason starts last year.

As for batting, having Mike Trout, Davis and Jose Bautista is intimidating paired with David Ortiz and others. 

When you look at the NL with David Wright, Bryce Harper, Carlos Beltran and Carlos Gonzalez, there's a lot to like for the home team. 

The batting is a bit of a wash. Wright doesn't have the pop that AL third baseman Davis has, but he knows Citi Field better than anyone in the All-Star game. No manager could go wrong with either team's starting outfielders.

Like other recent All-Star Games, this one will come down to pitching. Over the past three All-Star Games, the American League has tallied just two runs and lost each exhibition. Expect the pitching depth of the National League to best the AL for the fourth straight year at Citi Field.