Creating MLB's Most Dominant Division-by-Division Superteams

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is pretty cool. Nobody is here to say otherwise.

But, man, how cool would it be if instead of one game featuring All-Stars from the American and National League, MLB held an All-Star tournament consisting of squads from all six divisions?

It'll never happen, but the idea is an excuse to imagine what each division's All-Star team would look like in 2017.

So that's the name of the game here. Ahead are artist renderings of superteams from the AL East, AL Central, AL West, NL East, NL Central and NL West. The term team in this case covers just the basics: a starting lineup (with a designated hitter for the AL clubs), one starting pitcher and one relief ace.

And in the end, a once-and-for-all determination of which superteam is the most super.

AL East

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Starting Lineup

Spot	Player	Team	POS	Bats
1	Dustin Pedroia	BOS	2B	R
2	Mookie Betts	BOS	RF	R
3	Chris Davis	BAL	1B	L
4	Josh Donaldson	TOR	3B	R
5	Mark Trumbo	BAL	DH	R
6	Andrew Benintendi	BOS	LF	L
7	Gary Sanchez	NYY	C	R
8	Xander Bogaerts	BOS	SS	R
9	Kevin Kiermaier	TBR	CF	L

Some of these picks are no-brainers.

For instance, Mookie Betts is the best right fielder in baseball. No one in the division can match the track records of Chris Davis and Dustin Pedroia. And while Gary Sanchez may not have achieved as much as Russell Martin, he blows away Martin and indeed all other AL catchers in upside.

Easily the hardest choice is at third base. It's Josh Donaldson in one hand, Manny Machado in another and Evan Longoria in the background going, "Hey! I'm pretty good too."

Why Donaldson over Machado? Well, Machado didn't become a truly great player until 2015. And even since then, Donaldson has him beat in wins above replacement:

• Donaldson: 16.2 WAR
• Machado: 13.8 WAR

Elsewhere, Troy Tulowitzki is not as good a shortstop as Xander Bogaerts. Adam Jones and Jackie Bradley Jr. are darn good center fielders, but Kevin Kiermaier's defense-fueled value is simply too great. And with respect to Hanley Ramirez and Kendrys Morales, Mark Trumbo is the reigning MLB home run champ.

Then there's the position worthy of a shrugging emoji: left field. In lieu of an established star, No. 1 prospect and AL Rookie of the Year favorite Andrew Benintendi will have to do.

Starting Pitcher: Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

The Tampa Bay Rays have Chris Archer. The New York Yankees have Masahiro Tanaka. The Toronto Blue Jays have Aaron Sanchez. And the Boston Red Sox have reigning Cy Young winner Rick Porcello.

However, the Red Sox also have Chris Sale. Although he plays second fiddle to Porcello in their rotation, Sale's track record of dominance extends much further. Since 2012, only Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer have racked up more WAR.

Relief Ace: Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles

Every team in the AL East has a good closer. And indeed, there's a strong case to be made for Yankees flamethrower Aroldis Chapman as the best of the best.

It's just not quite as strong as Zach Britton's case. The 0.54 ERA he posted in 2016 is the lowest ever by a relief pitcher, and he has a 1.36 ERA and a frankly obscene ground-ball percentage since 2014.

AL Central

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Starting Lineup

Spot	Player	Team	POS	Bats
1	Francisco Lindor	CLE	SS	S
2	Miguel Cabrera	DET	1B	R
3	Brian Dozier	MIN	2B	R
4	Edwin Encarnacion	CLE	DH	R
5	J.D. Martinez	DET	RF	R
6	Jose Ramirez	CLE	3B	S
7	Justin Upton	DET	LF	R
8	Salvador Perez	KCR	C	R
9	Lorenzo Cain	KCR	CF	R

That Donaldson v. Machado debate is a good one, but which player to choose among the AL Central's second basemen is a humdinger.

Ian Kinsler, Brian Dozier and Jason Kipnis account for three of the AL's five most valuable second basemen since 2015. Kinsler takes the cake with 12.1 WAR, so why not him?

Well, Dozier had the better season in 2016, clubbing 42 dingers and finishing with 6.5 WAR. And since he's 29 and Kinsler is 34, he has a better chance of continuing to perform like a superstar.

Also tough to figure are third base, left field and center field. There, the respective nods go to Jose Ramirez, Justin Upton and Lorenzo Cain pretty much by default.

Ramirez is coming off a quiet breakout as a versatile regular. Upton is past his prime but is still powerful and doesn't have the questions that Michael Brantley and Alex Gordon have. Cain has questions of his own, but Byron Buxton and Tyler Naquin don't overshadow him yet.

Thankfully, the remaining positions are easier to fill.

Miguel Cabrera is a future Hall of Famer at first base. At shortstop, Francisco Lindor is already on his way to Cooperstown, New York. Edwin Encarnacion, Salvador Perez and J.D. Martinez top weak lists of names at DH, catcher and right field respectively.

Starting Pitcher: Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians

The Chicago White Sox have an underrated ace in Jose Quintana. And with the Detroit Tigers, Justin Verlander deserves a hearty "Welcome back!" to the aces club after his dominant 2016.

But it's the Cleveland Indians' Corey Kluber who's most established among AL Central aces. He won the Cy Young in 2014 and has continued to dominate in two seasons since. In all, he owns more WAR since 2014 than any other American League starter.

Relief Ace: Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians

Since 2014, Andrew Miller has a 1.80 ERA, whiffed 14.7 batters per nine innings and racked up more WAR than all but three other relievers, none of whom reside in the AL Central.

The only thing he can't claim to be is a closer. But...meh.

AL West

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Starting Lineup

Spot	Player	POS	Team	Bats
1	Jose Altuve	2B	HOU	R
2	Mike Trout	CF	LAA	R
3	Kyle Seager	3B	SEA	L
4	Nelson Cruz	DH	SEA	R
5	Carlos Correa	SS	HOU	R
6	Khris Davis	LF	OAK	R
7	Jonathan Lucroy	C	TEX	R
8	Mike Napoli	1B	TEX	R
9	Kole Calhoun	RF	LAA	L

Hey, look! It's Mike Trout in center field. Betcha didn't see that coming, eh?

Anyway, on to the tough choice: Jose Altuve or Robinson Cano at second base? They've been two of the AL's best second basemen since 2014, and there's only a small difference between their value in this span:

• Altuve: 18.2 WAR
• Cano: 17.1 WAR

However, one reason why this gap is so small is because Cano had a huge season in 2016. But even then, he wasn't quite as good as Altuve, who won a second batting title and hit 24 homers with 30 stolen bases.

Kyle Seager vs. Adrian Beltre at third base is another good one. But while Beltre has been the better of the two recently, Seager gets a Dozier-like bump for being in his prime and coming off a career year.

The picks that exist in a gray area between hard and easy are at first base and right field. Mike Napoli gets the nod at the former because he's the only name-brand first baseman the AL West has. Kole Calhoun isn't a name-brand player, exactly, but he's a solid right fielder who deserves more credit.

This just leaves the easy ones. Beside Trout in center field, those are Jonathan Lucroy at catcher, Carlos Correa at shortstop, Khris Davis in left field and Nelson Cruz at DH.

Starting Pitcher: Yu Darvish, Texas Rangers

With Felix Hernandez seemingly in the twilight of his career, this one is a contest between 2015 Cy Young winner Dallas Keuchel, longtime ace Cole Hamels and strikeout maestro Yu Darvish.

The pick here is Darvish by a nose. Where Keuchel and Hamels are coming off rocky 2016 seasons, Darvish returned from Tommy John surgery to look like the dominant pitcher he was before. 

Some context for that dominance: No other starter has a higher strikeout rate since 2012.

Relief Ace: Ken Giles, Houston Astros

Edwin Diaz is the rising star among AL West relievers, but for now he's basically a less experienced clone of Ken Giles.

Giles has been putting his hard fastball and slider to work since 2014, racking up a 2.45 ERA and 12.7 K/9. His one bad season was 2016, but he had more of a bad month than a bad year.

NL East

Matt Hazlett/Getty Images

Starting Lineup

Spot	Player	POS	Team	Bats
1	Trea Turner	SS	WAS	R
2	Freddie Freeman	1B	ATL	L
3	Yoenis Cespedes	LF	NYM	R
4	Bryce Harper	RF	WAS	L
5	Daniel Murphy	2B	WAS	L
6	Anthony Rendon	3B	WAS	R
7	Christian Yelich	CF	MIA	L
8	JT Realmuto	C	MIA	R

Like in the AL West, most of the picks in the NL East were easy.

Freddie Freeman is emerging as an elite first baseman. Daniel Murphy has a bigger rake than the NL East's other second basemen. Anthony Rendon is the only true star among the division's third basemen. Ditto Yoenis Cespedes among the left fielders. And while he's short on experience, Trea Turner showed in 2016 that he's large on upside.

Elsewhere, things get a little fuzzy.

Whom would you rather have in right field: Bryce Harper, a slugger with amazing talent but an up-and-down track record, or Giancarlo Stanton, a slugger who's relatively consistent but often hurt?

The vote here is for Harper because he's a more complete player than Stanton when he's right. And as his MVP-winning 2015 season goes to show, he's really right when he's right.

There's a different sort of conundrum in center field. Christian Yelich, Adam Eaton, Odubel Herrera and Ender Inciarte are all stars but not quite superstars. But with a bat that's always been good and is getting better, Yelich at least has superstar potential.

Behind the plate, Matt Wieters only has name value at this point, and Travis d'Arnaud is always hurt. Coming off a year in which he quietly hit .300, this is J.T. Realmuto's moment.

Starting Pitcher: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

New York Mets ace Noah Syndergaard was arguably the best pitcher in baseball last year, and that was just the start of what should be an impressive reign of power.

But he's no Max Scherzer just yet. The veteran right-hander picked up his second Cy Young in 2016 and has been one of baseball's elite starters for four years.

Relief Ace: Jeurys Familia, New York Mets

Jeurys Familia may have been lucky to only get a 15-game suspension for a domestic-violence incident, but when he returns, the Mets will be welcoming back one of baseball's nastiest relievers.

Familia owns a 2.20 ERA over the past two seasons. Armed with high-velocity stuff that moves all over, he's whiffed 9.4 batters per nine innings and, per Baseball Savant, been incredibly difficult to barrel up.

NL Central

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Starting Lineup

Spot	Player	POS	Team	Bats
1	Starling Marte	CF	PIT	R
2	Kris Bryant	3B	CHC	R
3	Joey Votto	1B	CIN	L
4	Ryan Braun	LF	MIL	R
5	Ben Zobrist	2B	CHC	S
6	Andrew McCutchen	RF	PIT	R
7	Addison Russell	SS	CHC	R
8	Yadier Molina	C	STL	R

The NL Central superteam comes with a handful of no-brainers.

Kris Bryant is one of baseball's best players. Fellow Chicago Cub Addison Russell stands out at shortstop with his tremendous defense and developing offense. Yadier Molina is still ticking on both sides of the ball as well. After flying under the radar in left field, Starling Marte is ready to shine in center.

The other two outfield spots are tougher to make calls on. But in lieu of better options, we might as well give the benefit of the doubt to a couple ol' standbys. 

Occasional injuries aside, Ryan Braun is still going strong in left field. And although Stephen Piscotty is making a name for himself, it's too soon to hold him in equal regard with former MVP Andrew McCutchen.

The tough call is at first base, where it's Joey Votto vs. Anthony Rizzo. There's barely a divide in their WAR since 2015:

• Rizzo: 12.0 WAR
• Votto: 11.6 WAR

That's too close to let WAR decide, so offense it shall be. And with a .993 OPS to Rizzo's .913 OPS, that's where Votto has a sizable advantage.

That just leaves second base, where, well, would you rather have Javier Baez's insane upside or Ben Zobrist's steady hand?

Either choice would be fine. But since this particular lineup leans heavily to the right, Zobrist's switch-hitting bat is a deal-maker.

Starting Pitcher: Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs

Jake Arrieta has a Cy Young. Carlos Martinez has Cy Young potential. Gerrit Cole is none too shabby.

But if Jon Lester is good enough to start on Opening Day for baseball's reigning champs, then he's good enough to get the nod here. And don't call it a cop-out. With a 2.73 ERA over 632.1 innings, the veteran left-hander has been one of baseball's best and most consistent aces since 2014.

Relief Ace: Wade Davis, Chicago Cubs

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Seung Hwan Oh was an overlooked gem in 2016, whiffing 11.6 batters per nine innings and finishing with a 1.92 ERA.

However, Wade Davis has been too good for too long to ignore. Despite a slight stumble in 2016, he still owns a 1.18 ERA and more WAR than every reliever not named Zach Britton dating back to 2014.

NL West

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Starting Lineup

Spot	Player	POS	Team	Bats
1	A.J. Pollock	CF	ARI	R
2	Corey Seager	SS	LAD	L
3	Nolan Arenado	3B	COL	R
4	Paul Goldschmidt	1B	ARI	R
5	Carlos Gonzalez	RF	COL	L
6	Buster Posey	C	SFG	R
7	DJ LeMahieu	2B	COL	R
8	Travis Jankowski	LF	SDP	L

There are some star-studded positions in the NL West, and only catcher, first base, third base and right field lend themselves to easy choices for the division's superteam.

Buster Posey is the best catcher in baseball. Paul Goldschmidt has been the best first baseman in baseball since 2013. Nolan Arenado is an offensive and defensive wizard unlike any in the NL West. And unlike Hunter Pence, Carlos Gonzalez has been effective and healthy in recent years.

The debates begin at shortstop, where it's veteran Brandon Crawford vs. upstart Corey Seager. Granted, there's quite the WAR disparity between the two since 2015:

• Crawford: 10.1 WAR
• Seager: 7.9 WAR

However, Seager has played in 114 fewer games. And while he may not be Crawford's equal on shortstop, he may not have an equal at the position on offense.

Second base and center field are also tough calls. But at the former, it's hard to pick against reigning batting champ DJ LeMahieu. At the latter, there's no ignoring how incredibly talented A.J. Pollock is when he's healthy.

As for left field, well, look, you can take the lack of stars up with the NL West's teams. For lack of better options, Travis Jankowski's speed and defense have more appeal than Yasmany Tomas' hollow power.

Starting Pitcher: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers

San Francisco Giants lefty Madison Bumgarner is something else. He's must-see TV whether he's on the mound or at the plate.

Trouble for him is that Clayton Kershaw is literally Clayton Kershaw. The three-time Cy Young winner is the best pitcher in baseball and one of the best pitchers of any era.

Relief Ace: Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

With a 1.86 ERA since 2013, Giants closer Mark Melancon is no slouch. He's just not Kenley Jansen, who has been an elite reliever for longer.

Go back to 2012, for instance, and Jansen ranks fourth among relievers in WAR. He owns a 2.22 ERA and 13.6 K/9 to go with it. Good stuff for a guy who basically only throws one pitch.

How Do They Rank?

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Seriously, though, good luck to the poor soul who has to rank these teams.

(Editor whispers in ear.)

Oh, right. Clearly, the correct answer for how these teams rank is:

1. AL East
2. NL West
3. NL East
4. NL Central
5. AL Central
6. AL West

The AL West and AL Central teams share a common flaw: lineups that are top-heavy and skewed to the right. The big difference between the two is on the mound, where the Kluber-Miller duo edges out Darvish-Giles—and any other duo the AL West can muster, for that matter.

Mind you, the NL Central team also has a lineup that skews right-handed. But within that are quality players from top to bottom, and the Lester-Davis combo is arguably on par with the Kluber-Miller duo.

The NL East and NL West teams both have more balanced lineups. And while the former has more depth, the NL West has arguably the league's top players at catcher, first base, shortstop, third base and center field. In Kershaw and Jansen, it also has the best pitching duo of any of the teams.

Finally, there's the best of the bunch: the AL East.

The AL East's lineup is both balanced and deep. The only red flag is inexperience at catcher and left field, but it helps that Sanchez and Benintendi have flashed superstar potential in the majors. On the mound, the Sale-Britton duo is arguably as good as any.

Regardless, this is all just one man's opinion. And it's all just for kicks and giggles.

All the same, let the arguing begin.

Data courtesy of Baseball Reference (including WAR), FanGraphs and Baseball Savant.