The 2010 All-Snubbed Team

For the past two or three days, sportswriters and fans alike have been checking and re-checking the 2010 All-Star rosters to make sure they didn't read them wrong, and for good reason. Questionable selections on this year's roster include Omar Infante, Arthur Rhodes, CC Sabathia, John Buck, Jose Bautista, and David Ortiz, among others. Some of these guys didn't statistically deserve to be on the team, and others were selected because of the popularity of their name. In this space, I'm going to roster a team full of All-Star snubs from both leagues that I believe would have a great chance at beating either All-Star club in this game.

I will follow the same positional rules for the All-Star game except for Designated Hitter, but only because that position is so generalized. Another caveat will be that if a player has experience at other positions in recent years of his career that will help me fill out the team, I will definitely use him at that position to help me fill the needs of the team.

Disclaimer: I am writing this before the "Final Vote" selections have been made for each All-Star team, which means that the ten players on each ballot are very much in play for this team, regardless of whether or not they get voted on or not.

First Base: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds 19/57/.312, .984 OPS (tops in NL)

Analysis: Easily the most egregious snub on either roster, Votto has become a household name thanks largely in part to his being snubbed, despite his outstanding production this season. He's having an MVP-caliber year, and about an hour before I started writing this, he hit yet another home run, this time against the Mets at Citi Field, the same field that makes Jason Bay look like Pablo Sandoval, circa 2010 (okay maybe not that bad). Those sounds you hear are Giants fans throwing themselves off of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Bench: Paul Konerko (CWS), Adam Dunn (WSH)

Second Base: Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins 16/49/.271, .839 OPS

Analysis: It's pretty much a toss up between the remaining second basemen, but I chose to go with Dan Uggla, the poor man's Adam Dunn of second baseman. I realize he strikes out a lot, but not nearly as much as Rickie Weeks, who was my second choice and will consequently make this team; the one guy that won't make this team will be Kelly Johnson. After having an April line of 9/18/.313, he has come back down to Earth in the last two months with a paltry line of 4/18/.245. The defense might be lacking a bit at this position, so I'll include a defensive replacement on the bench, just to be safe.
Bench: Rickie Weeks (MIL), Ben Zobrist (TB)

Third Base: Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox 17/54/.299, 1.000 OPS

Analysis: Yeah, Youkilis only has a couple of games at the hot corner this year, but he played there almost half the time last season, so not only is he fantasy eligible for 3rd, he's eligible for this piece as well. It's nothing short of a travesty that this guy didn't make the All-Star team, but his snubbing has been completely overshadowed by the aforementioned Votto getting the shaft. Currently Youkilis is 11th in WAR, 4th in OPS, 5th in ISO, and 1st in runs scored among all major leaguers. He's the only reason Boston has stayed afloat despite the plague that seems to have hit the Red Sox; the only way things could get worse is if they all lost their first-born males.
Bench: Michael Young (TEX), Mark Reynolds (ARI)

Shortstop: Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers 4/28/.338 (51 GP), .889 OPS, 12 stolen bases, 1st in WAR among SS.

Analysis: He's been injured this year, but when he's out there, he's been nothing short of fantastic. Right now he's in the midst of an 8-game hitting streak in which he's batting .575 with 13 runs scored, 2 home runs, 8 RBI, and 2 steals. At times this year he has carried the Dodger offense while still showing off his cannon arm at shortstop. If he wasn't injured this year, and assuming he would have produced somewhere close to this (which is entirely possible), he most likely would have taken Jose Reyes' position on the team, but probably could not have challenged Hanley Ramirez for the starting spot. (Side-note regarding my bench selections: I've been a believer in Erick Aybar all season long, and that still remains true. Since May 18th, he is hitting .338 as the Angels' leadoff batter.)
Bench: Alex Gonzalez (TOR), Erick Aybar (LAA)

Catcher: Miguel Olivo, Colorado Rockies 11/39/.307, .901 OPS (higher than any other catcher on the All-Star team)

Analysis: It's a wonder why this guy isn't on the team. He has the highest OPS among major-league catchers and leads them all in WAR as well. Sure, he splits time behind the dish in Colorado, but he still has 212 at-bats this year, which more than qualifies him for all-star catching duties. If I was Jim Tracy, I'd seriously consider trying out Olivo at first base on some of his days off; with Todd Helton's corpse on first, it's really a no-lose situation. (On a side-note, I'm shocked that it took as long as it did for Mike Scoscia to figure out that he NEEDS to get Mike Napoli regular at-bats. If the Angels weren't going to re-sign Vladimir Guerrero, they should have just allowed Napoli to inherit the DH slot. Sure, he'll probably bat somewhere around .260, but he is fully capable of hitting 30 home runs as long as he's healthy. Currently he leads all catchers [and-ironically-his team] in home runs, and that's really only after Jeff Mathis, Bobby Wilson, Hideki Matsui, and Kendry Morales had gotten injured to open up playing time for Napoli. I guess it's fitting that John Buck got the replacement spot on the team instead of the hometown guy.)
Bench: Mike Napoli (LAA), Geovany Soto (CHC)

Outfield: Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals 16/40/.278, .916 OPS, 5th among all outfielders

Alex Rios, Chicago White Sox 13/45/.303, 22 SB, .867 OPS

Josh Willingham, Washington Nationals 15/46/.281, .413 OBP, leads all outfielders

Analysis: So Rasmus has more home runs, runs scored, stolen bases, and RBI while maintaining a higher ISO, OPS, and SLG than his teammate Matt Holliday, who choked away Game 3 of the NLDS last season, grossly underperformed this season, and yet, made the All-Star team ahead of Rasmus. Holliday has a higher WAR than Rasmus because of the disparity in fielding, but still, Rasmus deserved the spot.

Can anyone tell me the only outfielder to have more than 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases while still batting .300 this year? Your answer should be Alex Rios. He is literally the only outfielder to do that this season (the only other players to currently have .300-10-10 are David Wright and Brandon Phillips), a season that the Blue Jays knew Rios was capable of, but were tired of waiting for. After a very mediocre 2009, Rios has rebounded quite nicely to help out the White Sox and fantasy owners alike.

Not only does Willingham lead outfielders in OBP, he is also 6th in WAR and third in OPS among outfielders, checking in at .926. He's helped the Nationals try to make some noise in the NL East, but it seems like that Washington club has gotten back to their sub-par ways, even with the promotion of Stephen Strasburg.

Bench: Nick Swisher (NYY), Aubrey Huff (SF), Brett Gardner (NYY), Andrew McCutchen (PIT)

Starting Lineup

1. Rafael Furcal SS
2. Alex Rios CF
3. Kevin Youkilis 3B
4. Joey Votto 1B
5. Josh Willingham LF
6. Miguel Olivo C
7. Adam Dunn DH
8. Dan Uggla 2B
9. Colby Rasmus RF

Starting Pitcher: Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 8-3, 2.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 124:26 K:BB ratio in 108.2 IP

Analysis: This one for me is a no-brainer. Weaver has emerged as the ace that the Angels knew he could be, and this game is being played in his home stadium. His K/9 leads all major league starters at 10.27, and his xFIP of 3.26 ranks sixth in the league among starters. His ERA is a full run better than Phil Hughes, and a half run better than CC Sabathia, both of whom made the All-Star team ahead of Weaver. I guess the pinstripes cloud the minds of players, coaches, and fans alike.

Bench: Roy Oswalt (HOU), Clayton Kershaw (LAD), Mat Latos (SD), Francisco Liriano (MIN), Felix Hernandez (SEA), Billy Wagner (ATL), Carlos Marmol (CHC), Hong-Chih Kuo (LAD), Heath Bell (SD), Luke Gregerson (SD), J.J. Putz (CWS)

Team Count: San Diego Padres-3, Los Angeles Dodgers-3, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim-3, Chicago White Sox-3, New York Yankees-2, Washington Nationals-2, Chicago Cubs-2, Minnesota Twins-1, Seattle Mariners-1, Atlanta Braves-1, Tampa Bay Rays-1, Boston Red Sox-1, Texas Rangers-1, Colorado Rockies-1, San Francisco Giants-1, Pittsburgh Pirates-1, St. Louis Cardinals-1, Houston Astros-1, Toronto Blue Jays-1, Milwaukee Brewers-1, Arizona Diamondbacks-1, Florida Marlins-1, Cincinnati Reds-1.

NL All-Star Ballot

I released my AL All-Star Ballot about two weeks ago on my site, and yeah, I've been thinking about doing this one for a while, but I've been lazy. Sue me. Before we go into this, I want to reassure everyone that I put my hometown Dodger bias aside for this one.

Stats: Runs/Home Runs/RBI/Steals/Average

My 2010 NL All-Star Ballot

First Base: James Loney (just kidding) Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals. 41/16/52/7/.305

Analysis: Yes, Joey Votto is keeping up with Albert in basically every category this season, maybe even surpassing him in OPS, but the fact remains that Pujols is the most feared hitter in baseball. He has been walked intentionally more times than anyone else in the major leagues, and his BB:K ratio is 55:40. He isn't having his vintage Pujols year, as he's batting a low (for him) .305 with "only" 16 home runs. Baseball fans have come to expect much more than this from him, but that doesn't mean that he's not having an MVP-Caliber year. His glove is still one of the best at first base, and he's seemingly also added a little bit of speed to his game, as evidenced by the seven stolen bases this year. This guy is a lock for another top-5 MVP spot.
Bench: Adrian Gonzalez (SD), Joey Votto (CIN)

Second Base: Martin Prado, Atlanta Braves 54/7/32/3/.331

Analysis: Normally this spot is just kind of an automatic Chase Utley position, but this year not only is he currently injured, but he also has had a bit of a down year, batting .277. Anyway, enough about him. Prado has really come out of nowhere this year to be the current NL batting leader, provide a spark at the top of the Braves' lineup, and pretty much be a swiss army knife-type of player that Bobby Cox can really put anywhere on the infield (although he has yet to play shortstop). He might not run as much as a prototypical second baseman would, but nowadays, if a team can get ANYTHING out of a second-base position, it gives them a very good chance to field a winning team.
Bench: Brandon Phillips (CIN), Rickie Weeks (MIL)

Third Base: David Wright, New York Mets 43/14/61/13/.303

Analysis: He's bounced back nicely from a weird year in which he only hit 10 home runs after averaging around 28 in his previous four years of being in the majors, much to the relief of Mets fans and Wright's fantasy owners alike. He's still striking out at an amazing clip, but it seems like strikeouts are becoming much more accepted as long as the hitter can still hit for average, and that's what he is doing. The only argument I have for him being here instead of Scott Rolen is because of the stolen bases. Rolen has pretty much identical numbers, but trails Wright in RBI and SB. He has hit three more home runs than Wright, but the gap in stolen bases is too wide for three homers to make much of a difference in this argument.
Bench: Scott Rolen (CIN), Ryan Zimmerman (WAS)

Shortstop: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins 42/11/46/14/.295

Analysis: Oh, Hanley Ramirez. How you tantalize everyone with your elite talent level yet half-ass it through several games over the course of a regular season. Whenever I see professional athletes walking their way through a season, it frustrates me to no end, especially the ones that are as talented as Ramirez. Earlier this season he was seen missing a ball, kicking it, then jogging towards it, all while the play was very much alive. After seeing that laziness in the field, I can only imagine the apathy he uses when it comes to how he's doing at the plate. However apathetic that may be, he is still the top shortstop in the National League offensively even though he may be getting by on just talent alone. If this guy put forth the hard work to make himself better, he would probably achieve triple crown numbers.
Bench: Jose Reyes (NYM), Troy Tulowitzki (COL)

Catcher: Miguel Olivo, Colorado Rockies 33/11/38/4/.303

Analysis: Yes, he's on my fantasy team in my big league. No, that's not the reason he's my choice for the starting catcher position. Catching is hard to come by, especially in the National League. And although Olivo has pretty much only played every other day, he still deserves a spot on this roster. No other catcher in the NL has more than 11 home runs while hitting .300. None. At this point, the rockies would be better served throwing him at first on his catching days off and getting Todd Helton's corpse a day off. This selection isn't as much a choice as it is an obligation, really.
Bench: Brian McCann (ATL), Yadier Molina (STL); Molina was chosen solely for defensive purposes.

Outfield: Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers 36/12/47/1/.313
Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers 48/11/49/11/.303
Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals 46/16/40/8/.276

Analysis: Lots of options in the National League outfield this year, and despite Ethier missing a couple weeks with a knuckle injury, he still gets my vote. He was hitting around .390 before the injury and was red-hot while the Dodgers were killing it. He's only been serviceable since his return, but that's to be relatively expected. However, he should continue to produce, and we're not playing with future numbers anyways, so Ethier gets a spot.

My second vote went to Ryan Braun. He's a legitimate 40/20 guy who will hit for average every year, and right now his power numbers aren't as high as most would like to see, but he's still running and the average is still there, so it's completely plausible that right now his numbers will balloon up sometime in the near future. All of his talents, however, are nowhere near as awesome as his nickname "The Hebrew Hammer". To answer your next question, yes, he is Jewish.

My third vote was a difficult one; I originally had Jason Heyward in this slot, but that was before June started and he fell into his rookie slump that a lot of people were waiting for, so I present to you a little-known but well deserving player in Colby Rasmus. Rasmus currently leads all NL outfielders in OPS and is second in slugging percentage. He has done a nice job protecting Albert Pujols this season, and has had an arguably better year than the other guy in the outfield that the Cardinals just signed to a mammoth contract.
Bench: Andrew McCutchen (PIT), Corey Hart (MIL), Jayson Werth (PHI), Justin Upton (ARI)

The 2010 NL All-Star Starting Lineup

1) Hanley Ramirez SS
2) Martin Prado 2B
3) Albert Pujols 1B
4) Adrian Gonzalez DH
5) David Wright 3B
6) Andre Ethier RF
7) Ryan Braun LF
8) Colby Rasmus CF
9) Miguel Olivo C

Starting Pitcher: Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins 8-3, 1.83 ERA, 107:27 K:BB ratio, 108 IP.

Analysis: Ubaldo Jimenez has been great, no doubt about it. But before we go ahead and automatically give him the starting spot, let's take a look at this guy, who has been better than Jimenez. Right now Josh Johnson has the same ERA as Ubaldo, a higher K:BB ratio, a lower WHIP, and has given up 13 less walks while also owning a higher K/9 than Jimenez. The only thing he doesn't have is a no-hitter, and while that's impressive, should we say that Roy Halladay and Edwin Jackson are better pitchers this season because of their feats? No. The fact is that this guy can bring it day in and day out and is a legitimate ace and as long as he continues to pitch this way, he could be this year's NL Cy-Young Award winner.
Bench: Ubaldo Jimenez (COL), Roy Halladay (PHI), Adam Wainwright (STL), Chris Carpenter (STL), Tim Lincecum (SF), Stephen Strasburg (WAS), Jonathon Broxton (LAD), Luke Gregerson (SD), Billy Wagner (ATL), Carlos Marmol (CHC)

Final Tally
St. Louis Cardinals: 5
Colorado Rockies: 3
Cincinnati Reds: 3
Milwaukee Brewers: 3
Atlanta Braves: 3
New York Mets: 2
Philadelphia Phillies: 2
Washington Nationals: 2
Florida Marlins: 2
Los Angeles Dodgers: 2
San Diego Padres: 2
San Francisco Giants: 1
Arizona Diamondbacks: 1
Pittsburgh Pirates: 1
Chicago Cubs: 1
Houston Astros: 0