MLB All-Star Selection Show 2015: Start Time, TV Schedule and Preview

Fear not, baseball fans, for you must only wait a few more hours until the unveiling of the starting lineups for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.

MLB Communications announced ESPN will air the selection show Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET, and a subsequent program will air Monday at 7 p.m. ET to reveal the remaining All-Star spots.

The sustained voting success of the Kansas Royals has been one of the top storylines surrounding the MLB All-Star Game all year. At one point, Mike Trout was the only non-Royals starter in the American League.

Kansas City's dominance has since ceased. On the most recent ballot returns, Miguel Cabrera, Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson all muscled their way to the top, per MLB Communications:

Russell Martin should be ahead of Salvador Perez, while Jose Bautista deserves a starting spot more than Alex Gordon. At the very least, though, you could still build cases for Perez and Gordon to be where they are. That same benefit of the doubt can't be afforded to Omar Infante, though.

According to FanGraphs, his minus-1.0 wins above replacement was tied for 27th among qualified AL second basemen heading into Sunday's play. If you aren't a fan of sabermetrics, then here's a look at how some of his more traditional numbers stack up at his position between the 20 players with at least 100 plate appearances:

Batting Average	.233 (14th)
On-Base Percentage	.239 (19th)
Slugging Percentage	.309 (T18th)
Home Runs	0 (T18th)
Runs Batted In	23 (13th)
Walks	3 (20th)
Strikeouts	42 (8th)
Stolen Bases	1 (T12th)

That could be your starting second baseman in the All-Star Game, ladies and gentlemen.

Hardball Talk's D.J. Short wonders how many fans are embracing the anarchy and simply want to watch the world burn:

Alas, Jose Altuve is catching up with Infante, so it's likely the Houston Astros star will top the balloting when the lineups are announced.

The real injustice at second base in the American League is the fact Jason Kipnis was a distant third in the voting. The Cleveland Indians infielder was resigned to defeat Wednesday, per MLB.com's Jordan Bastian:

Kipnis hasn't just been the best player at his position this year; he has been one of the best players in baseball, period. His 4.7 WAR was tops in the AL, per FanGraphs, while he led the league in batting average (.347) and sat second in on-base percentage (.420) and 11th in slugging (.514).

The good news is that Kipnis will almost certainly be an AL reserve. At least one representative has to go for the Indians, and Corey Kluber's poor win-loss record and ERA will probably keep him out of the All-Star Game.

As long as Kipnis makes it to Cincinnati one way or another, all will be right with the world.

Over at the National League, things aren't quite so hectic.

Joc Pederson is the biggest oversight, but with Giancarlo Stanton, Matt Holliday and Nori Aoki all on the disabled list, that may not be the case when the rosters are announced. The decision would ultimately be up to San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who has final say on injury replacements.

The fact Todd Frazier is second among NL third basemen is also somewhat quizzical. Not only does he have the home-city advantage, but he has also been the best third baseman in the NL. You can view a comparison between Frazier, Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant and Matt Carpenter—the leading vote-getter to date—below, courtesy of FanGraphs:

Player	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR	RBI	ISO	wRC+	WAR
Matt Carpenter	.278	.379	.451	8	38	.172	132	2.3
Todd Frazier	.289	.348	.610	25	54	.321	161	4.4
Nolan Arenado	.283	.314	.599	24	68	.316	128	3.2
Kris Bryant	.278	.381	.486	12	49	.208	140	3.1

Much like in the battle between Altuve and Infante, the difference separating Frazier and Carpenter was relatively small on the June 29 returns. It's possible Frazier will jump ahead when voting is closed.

No matter who gets in, you can bet that one or more fanbases will feel aggrieved that voters snubbed their favorite player. That's how it always works with All-Star Games.