2016 MLB All-Star Game Roster: Starting Pitchers and Lineup for AL and NL Squads

MLB will display a talent renaissance during Tuesday night's All-Star Game, which will be headlined by up-and-coming studs.

The Midsummer Classic starters aren't much older than Sunday's MLB Futures Game participants. In fact, 23-year-old Bryce Harper is younger than 10 of those minor league stars who were fighting to sit at the big kids' table.

Outside of elder statesman David Ortiz, every American League starter is 27 or younger. In all, 14 of the 20 starters are no older than 26.

Instead of honoring popular veterans well past their primes—congratulations on tying the knot, Derek Jeter—the fans recognized baseball's burgeoning crop of talent carrying the present and representing the future.

Let's take a look at the finalized rosters and starting lineups for Tuesday night's exhibition contest with real-world repercussions:

POS	Player	Team
C	Salvador Perez	Kansas City Royals
C	Matt Wieters	Baltimore Orioles
C	Stephen Vogt	Oakland Athletics
1B	Eric Hosmer	Kansas City Royals
1B	Miguel Cabrera	Detroit Tigers
1B	Edwin Encarnacion	Toronto Blue Jays
2B	Jose Altuve	Houston Astros
2B	Robinson Cano	Seattle Mariners
3B	Manny Machado	Baltimore Orioles
3B	Josh Donaldson	Toronto Blue Jays
SS	Xander Bogaerts	Boston Red Sox
SS	Francisco Lindor	Cleveland Indians
SS	Eduardo Nunez	Minnesota Twins
OF	Mike Trout	Los Angeles Angels
OF	Jackie Bradley Jr.	Boston Red Sox
OF	Mookie Betts	Boston Red Sox
OF	Ian Desmond	Texas Rangers
OF	Mark Trumbo	Baltimore Orioles
OF	Carlos Beltran	New York Yankees
OF	Michael Saunders	Toronto Blue Jays
DH	David Ortiz	Boston Red Sox
SP	Chris Sale	Chicago White Sox
SP	Steven Wright	Boston Red Sox
SP	Cole Hamels	Texas Rangers
SP	Danny Salazar^	Cleveland Indians
SP	Marco Estrada^	Toronto Blue Jays
SP	Aaron Sanchez*	Toronto Blue Jays
SP	Jose Quintana*	Chicago White Sox
SP	Corey Kluber*	Cleveland Indians
RP	Zach Britton	Baltimore Orioles
RP	Andrew Miller	New York Yankees
RP	Wade Davis	Kansas City Royals
RP	Dellin Betances	New York Yankees
RP	Brad Brach	Baltimore Orioles
RP	Alex Colome	Tampa Bay Rays
RP	Kelvin Herrera	Kansas City Royals
RP	Will Harris	Houston Astros
RP	Craig Kimbrel^	Boston Red Sox

POS	Player	Team
C	Buster Posey	San Francisco Giants
C	Jonathan Lucroy	Milwaukee Brewers
C	Wilson Ramos	Washington Nationals
1B	Anthony Rizzo	Chicago Cubs
1B	Paul Goldschmidt	Arizona Diamondbacks
1B	Wil Myers	San Diego Padres
1B	Brandon Belt	San Francisco Giants
2B	Ben Zobrist	Chicago Cubs
2B	Daniel Murphy	Washington Nationals
3B	Kris Bryant	Chicago Cubs
3B	Nolan Arenado	Colorado Rockies
3B	Matt Carpenter^	St. Louis Cardinals
SS	Addison Russell	Chicago Cubs
SS	Corey Seager	Los Angeles Dodgers
SS	Aledmys Diaz*	St. Louis Cardinals
OF	Bryce Harper	Washington Nationals
OF	Yoenis Cespedes^	New York Mets
OF	Dexter Fowler^	Chicago Cubs
OF	Carlos Gonzalez	Colorado Rockies
OF	Marcell Ozuna	Miami Marlins
OF	Adam Duvall	Cincinnati Reds
OF	Odubel Herrera	Philadelphia Phillies
OF	Starling Marte*	Pittsburgh Pirates
OF	Jay Bruce*	Cincinnati Reds
SP	Johnny Cueto	San Francisco Giants
SP	Jake Arrieta	Chicago Cubs
SP	Jose Fernandez	Miami Marlins
SP	Julio Teheran	Atlanta Braves
SP	Jon Lester	Chicago Cubs
SP	Clayton Kershaw^	Los Angeles Dodgers
SP	Noah Syndergaard^	New York Mets
SP	Stephen Strasburg^	Washington Nationals
SP	Madison Bumgarner^	San Francisco Giants
SP	Max Scherzer*	Washington Nationals
SP	Bartolo Colon*	New York Mets
SP	Drew Pomeranz*	San Diego Padres
RP	Jeurys Familia	New York Mets
RP	Kenley Jansen	Los Angeles Dodgers
RP	Mark Melancon	Pittsburgh Pirates
RP	A.J. Ramos	Miami Marlins
RP	Fernando Rodney	Miami Marlins

American League

No.	Player	Position
1	Jose Altuve	2B
2	Mike Trout	CF
3	Manny Machado	3B
4	David Ortiz	DH
5	Xander Bogaerts	SS
6	Eric Hosmer	1B
7	Mookie Betts	RF
8	Salvador Perez	C
9	Jackie Bradley Jr.	LF
	Chris Sale	SP

In his final All-Star Game, Ortiz will babysit a loaded young lineup that features three Boston Red Sox teammates. If baseball's best lineup wasn't already stacked enough, the best of Boston's batting order joins Jose Altuve, Mike Trout and Manny Machado.

This is what an All-Star lineup looks like when fans don't go off the grid. Kansas City Royals skipper Ned Yost was gifted a group with contact, power and speed. Salvador Perez is the only starter batting below .295, and he's a catcher with a .500 slugging percentage and excellent defensive skills. 

Yost could have picked the batting order out of a hat—Kansas City's lineups occasionally have that look—and it would do just fine.

However, he faced a tougher decision regarding which pitcher to start. Having few choices to begin with, he lost a prime contender in late scratch Danny Salazar (elbow). With a staff dominated by relievers, he had limited options—unless he were to make the unconventional decision to open with one of his many late-inning specialists.

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

Instead, he chose one of baseball's most respected aces: Chicago White Sox southpaw Chris Sale. During Monday's media session, Yost referenced his familiarity with the American League Central foe, per CSN Chicago's Dan Hayes:

For the few simpletons out there who still regard wins as the pinnacle of pitcher evaluation, this year's 14-win campaign is better than Sale's 12-win 2014 and 13-win 2015. Yet he's having a letdown season for his astronomically high standards.

His 3.38 ERA, which would be a personal high if not for last year's 3.41, is above his career 2.97 mark. While his peripherals indicate better 2015 production, his 8.86 strikeouts per nine innings and 3.74 FIP both represent the worst rates of his career.

Perhaps Yost made up his mind before Sale relinquished eight runs to the Atlanta Braves, baseball's worst offense by nearly every metric. In his defense, the next-best choice was knuckleballer Steven Wright, who has allowed 18 runs over his last three starts.

Like Yost's Royals, the AL squad is still in good shape if it can hand its loaded bullpen a lead. That could mean jumping ahead after three or four frames.

National League

No.	Player	Position
1	Ben Zobrist	2B
2	Bryce Harper	LF
3	Kris Bryant	3B
4	Wil Myers	DH
5	Buster Posey	C
6	Anthony Rizzo	1B
7	Marcell Ozuna	CF
8	Carlos Gonzalez	RF
9	Addison Russell	SS
	Johnny Cueto	SP

New York Mets manager Terry Collins faced an extra decision. The fans don't select the National League's designated hitter, but the game will utilize one despite taking place in the San Diego Padres' home. 

He could have selected former Mets star Daniel Murphy, who has tormented his old club with seven home runs and 21 RBI this year (after finishing with six apiece in 2011 and 2012). The Washington Nationals second baseman boasts an MLB-best .348 batting average with a career-high 17 homers and .985 OPS.

Instead, local attendees will get something to cheer for when Padres first baseman Wil Myers starts and bats in the cleanup spot. With most of his early career marred by injuries, the 25-year-old has enjoyed a breakout year with 19 homers, 15 steals and an .873 OPS.

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press

Collins' entire infield can relate to his Murphy-induced pain, as all four members represent the Chicago Cubs. Although the injured Dexter Fowler (hamstring) won't join them, the team will still have an unusually big impact on the Midsummer Classic, as the USA Today's Bob Nightengale noted:

Voted into the starting lineup, Fowler and Yoenis Cespedes will sit out to the benefit of Carlos Gonzalez and Marcell Ozuna. The Colorado Rockies outfielder, who was eliminated in the first round of Monday night's Home Run Derby, will hope to find better success away from Coors Field than his .737 first-half OPS. Ozuna, meanwhile, deserved to start all along with a 3.3 WAR, which is tied with Harper for the second-best among NL outfielders.

The reigning MVP has an opportunity to sway home-field advantage in the World Series on Tuesday night. But he told MLB Network on Monday night that he wishes he didn't, courtesy of Rotoworld's D.J. Short:

At first, Collins had the easiest starting pitching choice in the world thanks to Clayton Kershaw's unbelievable first half. But then he landed on the disabled list (back). Madison Bumgarner, Noah Syndergaard and Stephen Strasburg were all enticing alternatives before getting replaced. Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester are slumping too much to join their Cubs teammates.

That left Johnny Cueto and Jose Fernandez as the top aces standing, and Collins selected the San Francisco Giants veteran. Let's just pretend Cueto earned the nod on his 2.47 ERA and 2.70 FIP rather than his 13-1 record.

It's probably for the best, as letting Fernandez loose for one inning later in the game should spark magic.

Note: All advanced statistics courtesy of FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.