2015 MLB All-Star Game Roster: Starting Pitchers and Lineup for AL and NL Squads

Simply looking at the rosters for the MLB All-Star Game should get fans excited for the Midsummer Classic.

Between young superstars and veterans who can still play at a high level, there is tons of variety on both the American League and National League squads. The first few innings should be especially enjoyable with a deep pair of starting lineups that didn't feature much drop-off even after injury replacements.

Meanwhile, very few people could have predicted the starting pitchers for this showcase when the season started, but both are deserving of the honor.   

Although most players will find a way to get into the game eventually, here is a look at the starting lineups for each squad, as announced by the managers.

American League	Batting Order	National League
Mike Trout, CF, Los Angeles Angels	1	Andrew McCutchen, CF, Pittsburgh Pirates
Josh Donaldson, 3B, Toronto Blue Jays	2	Todd Frazier, 3B, Cincinnati Reds
Albert Pujols, 1B, Los Angeles Angels	3	Bryce Harper, RF, Washington Nationals
Nelson Cruz, DH, Seattle Mariners	4	Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona Diamondbacks
Lorenzo Cain, RF, Kansas City Royals	5	Buster Posey, C, San Francisco Giants
Adam Jones, LF, Baltimore Orioles	6	Anthony Rizzo, DH, Chicago Cubs
Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City Royals	7	Jhonny Peralta, SS, St. Louis Cardinals
Jose Altuve, 2B, Houston Astros	8	Joc Pederson, LF, Los Angeles Dodgers
Alcides Escobar, SS, Kansas City Royals	9	DJ LeMahieu, 2B, Colorado Rockies
Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros	SP	Zack Greinke, Los Angeles Dodgers

The big story here is the announcements of the two starting pitchers. Both Bruce Bochy and Ned Yost had difficult decisions with plenty of reasonable options, but Zack Greinke and Dallas Keuchel ended up winning out.

Jon Heyman of CBS Sports is one person who agrees with the choices:

Max Scherzer wasn't eligible for selection in the National League after pitching on Sunday, although you could argue he still hasn't been as good as Greinke, even with a no-hitter on his resume. Gerrit Cole also had a legitimate case thanks to his major league-leading 13 wins with a 2.30 ERA.

However, Bochy explained the difference in his decision:

Greinke leads the majors with a 1.39 ERA and hasn't allowed a run in the last 35.2 innings, a run that spans five games. Although he doesn't rack up the strikeouts like Scherzer or others, he has been almost unhittable this season, allowing just a single hit in eight innings his last start.

Coming out of the other dugout will be Keuchel, who currently ranks second in the AL with a 2.33 ERA. This came as a bit of a surprise for someone who came into the year as a relative unknown despite a 2.93 ERA last season.

As the Houston Astros star pointed out, the new-age stats have helped him become a star:

Considering he trails only Clayton Kershaw among pitchers with a 4.7 WAR this season, per Baseball-Reference.com, he might be on to something with this assessment. It helps that Sonny Gray—like Scherzer—wasn't eligible after pitching Sunday, but Keuchel deserves plenty of credit for his incredible run to this point.

As far as the lineup is concerned, fans should be ready for a lot of power from each side.

Between Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson, Albert Pujols and Nelson Cruz, the AL lineup begins with four players who have all hit at least 21 home runs this season. Fans in the outfield better be ready for the possibility of a lot of souvenirs.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

In the NL, we have a few more well-rounded hitters in Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt and Buster Posey, players who can hit for a high average as well knock it out of the park.

There are some downsides, as fans were robbed of a chance to see top players such as Miguel Cabrera, Giancarlo Stanton and others, but we will be just fine with Pujols, Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen and Joc Pederson as replacements.

While he's not a household name, DJ LeMahieu will also get a chance to shine as a late replacement for the injured Dee Gordon.

With the All-Star Game counting toward home-field advantage in the World Series, these players should provide a quality effort for as long as they are in the game. No matter who wins, though, fans should be ready for quite a show.

	American League
	National League
Position	Starter	Team
C	Salvador Perez	Kansas City Royals
1B	Miguel Cabrera*	Detroit Tigers
2B	Jose Altuve	Houston Astros
3B	Josh Donaldson	Toronto Blue Jays
SS	Alcides Escobar	Kansas City Royals
OF	Mike Trout	Los Angeles Angels
OF	Lorenzo Cain	Kansas City Royals
OF	Alex Gordon*	Kansas City Royals
DH	Nelson Cruz	Seattle Mariners
Position	Reserve	Team
C	Russell Martin	Toronto Blue Jays
C	Stephen Vogt	Oakland Athletics
1B	Albert Pujols	Los Angeles Angels
1B	Mark Teixeira	New York Yankees
2B	Brock Holt	Boston Red Sox
2B	Jason Kipnis	Cleveland Indians
2B	Brian Dozier	Minnesota Twins
SS	Jose Iglesias	Detroit Tigers
3B	Manny Machado	Baltimore Orioles
3B	Mike Moustakas	Kansas City Royals
OF	Brett Gardner	New York Yankees
OF	Jose Bautista	Toronto Blue Jays
OF	Adam Jones	Baltimore Orioles
OF	J.D. Martinez	Detroit Tigers
DH	Prince Fielder	Texas Rangers
Position	Pitcher	Team
SP	Chris Archer*	Tampa Bay Rays
RP	Dellin Betances	New York Yankees
RP	Brad Boxberger	Tampa Bay Rays
RP	Zach Britton	Baltimore Orioles
RP	Wade Davis	Kansas City Royals
SP	Sonny Gray**	Oakland Athletics
SP	Felix Hernandez	Seattle Mariners
RP	Kelvin Herrera	Kansas City Royals
SP	Dallas Keuchel	Houston Astros
RP	Darren O'Day	Baltimore Orioles
RP	Glen Perkins	Minnesota Twins
SP	David Price	Detroit Tigers
SP	Chris Sale	Chicago White Sox
SP	Hector Santiago	Los Angeles Angels
Position	Starter	Team
C	Buster Posey	San Francisco Giants
1B	Paul Goldschmidt	Arizona Diamondbacks
2B	Dee Gordon*	Miami Marlins
3B	Todd Frazier	Cincinnati Reds
SS	Jhonny Peralta	St. Louis Cardinals
OF	Bryce Harper	Washington Nationals
OF	Giancarlo Stanton*	Miami Marlins
OF	Matt Holliday*	St. Louis Cardinals
Position	Reserve	Team
C	Yadier Molina	St. Louis Cardinals
C	Yasmani Grandal	Los Angeles Dodgers
1B	Anthony Rizzo	Chicago Cubs
1B	Adrian Gonzalez	Los Angeles Dodgers
2B	DJ LeMahieu	Colorado Rockies
2B	Joe Panik	San Francisco Giants
SS	Brandon Crawford	San Francisco Giants
3B	Nolan Arenado	Colorado Rockies
3B	Kris Bryant	Chicago Cubs
OF	Andrew McCutchen	Pittsburgh Pirates
OF	Joc Pederson	Los Angeles Dodgers
OF	A.J. Pollock	Arizona Diamondbacks
OF	Justin Upton	San Diego Padres
OF	Ryan Braun	Milwaukee Brewers
Position	Pitcher	Team
SP	Max Scherzer**	Washington Nationals
SP	Gerrit Cole	Pittsburgh Pirates
SP	Zack Greinke	Los Angeles Dodgers
SP	Shelby Miller	Atlanta Braves
SP	Jacob deGrom	New York Mets
SP	Madison Bumgarner	San Francisco Giants
SP	Michael Wacha	St. Louis Cardinals
SP	A.J. Burnett	Pittsburgh Pirates
RP	Trevor Rosenthal	St. Louis Cardinals
RP	Mark Melancon	Pittsburgh Pirates
RP	Aroldis Chapman	Cincinnati Reds
RP	Jonathan Papelbon	Philadelphia Phillies
RP	Francisco Rodriguez	Milwaukee Brewers
SP	Clayton Kershaw	Los Angeles Dodgers

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