Key Takeaways from the 2015 MLB All-Star Game Rosters

After much deliberation from managers, players and fans, the rosters have finally been selected for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game.

Well, almost. Fans still have until Friday to vote in one player for the final spot on both the American and National League rosters. 

As usual, roster selections for the 86th Midsummer Classic sparked a great deal of debate among fans and members of the sports media regarding which players who deserved spots were left off.

Regardless of the snubs that may have occurred, AL manager Ned Yost and NL manager Bruce Bochy will deal with the cards they were dealt come July 14 in Cincinnati.

Until then, a couple of things stand out from this year's All-Star selections.

1. There are plenty of potential future stars

While fans can find many big-name superstars throughout both lineups, one of the more noticeable things in this year's ASG class is its youth.

Doug Miller crunched some numbers for MLB.com, noting that "35 players aged 27 or younger have been named to the big game and 28 of the players will shine in a Midsummer Classic for the first time."

Some of those selections have already made significant impacts on the game, including reigning AL MVP Mike Trout (23), three-time All-Star Bryce Harper (22) and reigning World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner (25).

Others will be making their first starts, including 23-year-old Kris Bryant, who made his big league debut April 17. He showed some of that excitement in an article on ESPN.com.

"I've been at some all-star games, but I don't think anything can compare to making the major league All-Star team," he said. "It's all happened so quick. I've just been having so much fun with this, my baseball career. Right now, it's a pretty special feeling for me."

While baseball continues its attempts to appeal to a younger audience, this year will be a great way to showcase what fans can expect to see in the future.

2. Pitching is at a premium

As the saying goes, good pitching beats good hitting, and there'll be plenty of pitchers to choose from this year.

Twenty-six pitchers make up both rosters, 12 of whom are relief pitchers. The AL squad is more reliever-friendly, with seven hurlers on the staff.

But the number isn't surprising. Yost rode Kansas City's strong bullpen all the way to the World Series last year.

Don't expect that to change, even if it is the All-Star Game.

"In the All-Star Game, you want to highlight closers," Yost told the Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkhoff. "Setup men have become more prominent in the game, and we took a couple of premier setup guys to go with the closers."

That's not to say that the NL won't bring the heat on the mound, especially with its starters. Of the eight starting pitchers selected, seven had ERAs under 3.00 as of Tuesday.

3. The fans have spoken

Fan voting can be a blessing and a curse, especially when home-field advantage in the World Series is on the line. Managers want the best players on the field, which might not always match up with whom the fans deem their favorites.

The fans are responsible for picking the starting lineups for each team, while player votes and the managers determine the pitchers and reserves.

Though it might not be the wisest decision to give that much weight to fan votes, such is the case, and fans voted in droves. Fan votes were especially popular in Kansas City, as eight Royals players had been slated to start for the AL at one point until that number slimmed down to four.

The ballots were available only online this year, and the numbers didn't disappoint. Fans cast a total of 620 million votes, which beat the previous record of 391 million in 2012.

Maury Brown went through some of those numbers for Forbes, starting with top vote-getter Josh Donaldson.

The Blue Jays third baseman earned 14,090,188 total votes, which set a new all-time single-season voting record, surpassing Josh Hamilton’s 2012 total of 11,073,744 tallies. It also marked the third time in five years that a Blue Jays player led MLB in votes (Josh Bautista in 2011 and 2014).

As predicted, Donaldson was all smiles:

"

I feel honored to represent the AL All Star team!! Thank you to all the fans who voted! #blessed #teammatesarestuds #truenorth

— Josh Donaldson (@BringerOfRain20) July 6, 2015"

Mike Trout was second overall with 14,013,021 votes, and Bryce Harper was the NL's leading vote-getter with 13,964,950, the most votes in NL history.

Overall, the AL and NL have more than enough players to impact the game. Both teams will feature major strengths and only minor weaknesses, which should make for an entertaining night.

All that remains to be seen is which league will hold the upper hand come October.