AL All-Stars 2015: Starting Roster and Top Snubs

The results are in, and the starting nine for the American League in this year's MLB All-Star Game have been determined. This year's lineup card, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will include four members of the Kansas City Royals as well as a record-setting turnout in favor of this year's starting third baseman, Josh Donaldson.

Many deserving players were named to the team, including Astros second baseman Jose Altuve, the aforementioned Donaldson and superstar center fielder Mike Trout. However, three players are well-deserving of the "snub" title, and while they all may end up making the trip to the Queen City for the 2015 All-Star Game, it's hard to argue they weren't deserving of greater consideration for a spot on the team as a starter.

Before we get to talking about snubs, though, let's take a look at the starters for this year's American League All-Star Team.

American League Starters

Position	Name	Team	Votes
C	Salvador Perez	Kansas City Royals	13,747,294
1B	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers	13,824,271
2B	Jose Altuve	Houston Astros	9,634,464
3B	Josh Donaldson	Toronto Blue Jays	14,090,188
SS	Alcides Escobar	Kansas City Royals	11,960,907
OF	Mike Trout	Los Angeles Angels	14,013,021
OF	Lorenzo Cain	Kansas City Royals	12,399,127
OF	Alex Gordon	Kansas City Royals	10,609,006
DH	Nelson Cruz	Seattle Mariners	10,632,184

Unsurprisingly, the Royals rostered a whopping four position players, those being Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar, Alex Gordon and Lorenzo Cain. Several of these selections are rather questionable, though, and we'll look at those in the section that follows.

Also of note is the fact that fans voted Miguel Cabrera to start at first base. The 13-year-veteran was well on his way to another MVP-caliber season, but, as noted by Fox Sports, the now 10-time All-Star is currently on the disabled list:

Cabrera went down with a strained calf late last week and will miss significant time. This is a bit of an anomaly, as the Venezuela native had never landed on the DL prior to this season.

We'll find out Monday night who will replace Cabrera, but the most likely candidates include Eric Hosmer, Prince Fielder, Justin Smoak and Albert Pujols. Those four players finished second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively, behind Cabrera in this year's voting, per MLB Communications.

Speaking of the final tally, let's take a look at that quick before our final note on this year's AL starters.

Toronto Blue Jays third baseman Josh Donaldson set a record for most All-Star Game votes (14,090,188 votes) in a single season, and for good reason. The 29-year-old is having a standout campaign, and the numbers speak for themselves.

Top Snubs

Every year we talk about All-Star Game snubs, but this year's AL roster is full of them. 

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

This year's starting lineup will feature at least four members of the Kansas City Royals, and the case can be made that none of them deserve to be in that position. That said, shortstop is one of the thinnest positions in baseball this year, but the same can't be said at the position behind the plate

Fans selected Perez as the starting catcher for this year's All-Star Game, but behind him, two better options exist in Russell Martin and Stephen Vogt.

Sure, Perez is a great defender—he ranks second among AL catchers with five defensive runs saved (DRS)—and his pitch framing is some of the best in the American League—he ranks third in the league in called-third-strikes on pitches outside of the strike zone, per BaseaballSavant.com—but he's not the best catcher in the AL this year.

That honor belongs to Martin...or maybe Vogt. Why not both? Co-snubs.

Name	G	AB	HR	2B	RBI	R	AVG	OBP	SLG	fWAR
Russell Martin	71	246	12	14	39	48	.256	.345	.476	2.8
Stephen Vogt	80	259	13	12	53	39	.290	.380	.502	2.6
Salvador Perez	74	278	13	12	34	26	.263	.275	.446	1.2

Martin and Vogt rank fifth and seventh, respectively, in called third strikes on pitches outside of the strike zone, per BaseballSavant.com, and their stat lines are off the charts.

Martin has been one of the best offensive threats on his third-place Blue Jays club. The Canada native ranks second among qualified catchers in home runs, third in RBI, first in runs scored, second in wRC+ and first in fWAR, per Fangraphs.com, and outpaces Perez in all of those categories, save home runs.

Meanwhile, Vogt has quietly been putting up yet another impressive offensive showing in 2015, leading AL backstops in RBI, batting average, OBP, slugging percentage and wRC+ while ranking second in fWAR and is tied for first in home runs, per Fangraphs.com. The 30-year-old has been downright outstanding, but  he went relatively unnoticed throughout the voting process, falling a whopping 6-plus million votes behind Perez.

So Vogt and Martin got snubbed, but J.D. Martinez tops the list of AL All-Star snubs this year.

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

The 27-year-old outfielder ranks fifth among qualified outfielders in fWAR while compiling an impressive stat line, including a .285/.340/.563 batting line with 23 homers, 56 RBI, 49 runs scored and an 89-23 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Martinez leads all AL outfielders in home runs, and his 145 wRC+, .563 slugging percentage and 56 RBI rank fourth, second and second, respectively, per Fangraphs.com.

Martinez has helped shoulder the load offensively alongside Miguel Cabrera in Detroit. He outpaces Gordon and Cain in nearly every offensive category, and while he doesn't offer the defensive upside of either player, his offensive contributions certainly should have tipped the scales in his favor.

The Florida native is likely to find a spot on the roster, but it should have come as a starter.

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