MLB All-Star Voting Results 2013: Predictions for Final Vote Winners

The almost-complete rosters for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game were announced over the weekend, with a number of snubs and surprises selected to appear on both sides in the Midsummer Classic.

While 66 total players have been named to the American League and National League squads, there are still two more available spots, and fans will get to choose from 10 candidates over the next few days in which to fill them.

This is the All-Star Final Vote, a concept that was put into fruition in 2002 and remains in effect today.

Let’s take a look at the five men on the AL ballot and the five on the NL ballot, make a prediction on which player will break through into the All-Star Game, highlight the entire roster for both leagues and more.

 

AL Final Vote Candidates

 

NL Final Vote Candidates

 

Predicted AL Final Vote Winner: Koji Uehara, P, Boston Red Sox

Uehara is going up against four other relievers, but the Japanese hurler has a great chance of winning.

He is not only extremely skilled, but the nature of this competition skews toward popular players on big-market teams—especially those with an international fanbase.

Uehara is currently closing for the AL-leading Red Sox and is extremely adept at striking out batters. His 6.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio is one of the best in the majors, and the 38-year-old boasts a 1.93 ERA and has already recorded five saves.

With three Japanese players having won the final vote previously—including former Boston pitcher Hideki Okajima—it would not be a surprise if Uehara ends up packing his bags and heading to New York.

 

Predicted NL Final Vote Winner: Yasiel Puig, OF, Los Angeles Dodgers

Puig is one of the most interesting and intriguing players to step onto the diamond in a long time.

The Cuban national has been playing professionally in the United States for only a month now, but he has already made a huge impact in his epic rookie campaign.

As of July 7, the outfielder is hitting .407, has smashed eight home runs and has driven in 19 RBI. He’s racked up 50 hits in 123 at bats and is on pace to break a number of records if he can keep up this pace.

However, he’s hardly proven himself, and his selection to the All-Star Game would be one of the more controversial decisions in the history of the game.

It’ll be quite interesting to see how the fans and players react if the 22-year-old can pull it off and win the NL’s Final Vote balloting.

Complete All-Star Rosters

*Info for both NL and AL via ESPN.com

AL Starters

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	Appearances
C	Joe Mauer	Minnesota	6
1B	Chris Davis	Baltimore	1
2B	Robinson Cano	NY Yankees	5
3B	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit	8
SS	J.J. Hardy	Baltimore	2
OF	Mike Trout	LA Angels	2
OF	Adam Jones	Baltimore	3
OF	Jose Bautista	Toronto	4
DH	David Ortiz	Boston	9

 

AL Reserves

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	Appearances
C	Jason Castro	Houston	1
C	Salvador Perez	Kansas City	1
1B/DH	Edwin Encarnacion	Toronto	1
1B	Prince Fielder	Detroit	5
2B	Jason Kipnis	Cleveland	1
2B	Dustin Pedroia	Boston	4
SS	Jhonny Peralta	Detroit	2
3B	Manny Machado	Baltimore	1
OF	Nelson Cruz	Texas	2
OF	Alex Gordon	Kansas City	1
OF	Torii Hunter	Detroit	5
OF/INF	Ben Zobrist	Tampa Bay	2

 

AL Pitchers

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	Appearances
RHP	Clay Buchholz	Boston	2
LHP	Brett Cecil	Toronto	1
RHP	Bartolo Colon	Oakland	3
RHP	Jesse Crain	Chicago	1
RHP	Yu Darvish	Texas	2
RHP	Felix Hernandez	Seattle	4
RHP	Hisashi Iwakuma	Seattle	1
RHP	Justin Masterson	Cleveland	1
RHP	Joe Nathan	Texas	6
LHP	Glen Perkins	Minnesota	1
RHP	Mariano Rivera	NY Yankees	13
LHP	Chris Sale	Chicago	2
RHP	Max Scherzer	Detroit	1
RHP	Justin Verlander	Detroit	6

 

NL Starters

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	Appearance
C	Yadier Molina	St. Louis	5
1B	Joey Votto	Cincinnati	4
2B	Brandon Phillips	Cincinnati	3
3B	David Wright	N.Y. Mets	7
SS	Troy Tulowitzki	Colorado	2
OF	Carlos Beltran	St. Louis	8
OF	Carlos Gonzalez	Colorado	2
OF	Bryce Harper	Washington	2

 

NL Reserves

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	Appearance
3B	Pedro Alvarez	Pittsburgh	1
OF	Domonic Brown	Philadelphia	1
SS	Everth Cabrera	San Diego	1
2B	Matt Carpenter	St. Louis	1
1B	Allen Craig	St. Louis	1
OF	Michael Cuddyer	Colorado	2
1B	Paul Goldschmidt	Arizona	1
OF	Carlos Gomez	Milwaukee	1
OF	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh	3
C	Buster Posey	San Francisco	3
2B	Marco Scutaro	San Francisco	1
SS	Jean Segura	Milwaukee	1

 

NL Pitchers

POS	PLAYER	TEAM	Appearance
LHP	Madison Bumgarner	San Francisco	1
LHP	Aroldis Chapman	Cincinnati	2
LHP	Patrick Corbin	Arizona	1
RHP	Jose Fernandez	Miami	1
RHP	Jason Grilli	Pittsburgh	1
RHP	Matt Harvey	N.Y. Mets	1
LHP	Clayton Kershaw	L.A. Dodgers	3
RHP	Craig Kimbrel	Atlanta	3
LHP	Cliff Lee	Philadelphia	4
LHP	Jeff Locke	Pittsburgh	1
RHP	Adam Wainwright	St. Louis	2
LHP	Travis Wood	Chi. Cubs	1
RHP	Jordan Zimmermann	Washington	1