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by Julian Spivey Last month I made my selections for the MLB All Star starters before the ballots were released on MLB.com. Then I used an array of statistical categories to make my choices. Now that the All Star ballot is available for voting on MLB.com I’ve made my second selections, this time using merely the four statistical categories offered on the online ballot (average, home runs, RBI and OPS). MLB All Star balloting is done in two sections. All eligible candidates are on the ballot from June 5-27. The top two players from that first round then square off for the All Star starting job from June 30-July 3. Here are my current selections for American League starters: *any stats used in this article are as of June 21. Catcher When I made my selections last month it was Kansas City Royals veteran backstop Salvador Perez that made my cut at catcher. Perez’s numbers are still All Star Game worthy but he’s since been surpassed by the young Baltimore Orioles star Adley Rutschman, who’s hitting .305, with 14 home runs, 53 RBI and a .837 OPS. Rutschman will likely be for Baltimore over the next decade what Perez has been the Kansas City over the past. First Baseman Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the current vote leader for the position in the A.L. and I understand it. I almost picked him myself and he has higher name recognition than my selection. But for the second time I’m going with Josh Naylor of the Cleveland Guardians. I don’t like that Naylor’s batting average is 40 points lower than Guerrero’s, but Naylor has Vlad Jr. beat by a good margin in the other three categories listed on the online ballot. The only problem for Naylor is that he’s not currently in the top 2 in the voting and likely won’t have a shot at being the starter. Second Baseman My selection at second base last month was Marcus Semien of the reigning champion Texas Rangers. He’s struggled since then and has been surpassed on my ballot by his instate rival Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros, no stranger to All Star games. Altuve is hitting .301 with 11 homers, 32 RBI and a .811 OPS. Third Baseman You would think that Rafael Devers by putting up consistently good numbers and playing for such a big fan base as the Boston Red Sox would have more support in the All Star ballot but he’s not one of the top-2 vote getters right now at the position, despite most of his numbers being similar to the No. 1 vote-getter Jose Ramirez of the Cleveland Guardians. Still, the one statistical category where Ramirez has nearly doubled Devers is RBI where Ramirez has 65 to Dever’s 38, which makes his selection easier. My pick last month was Isaac Paredes of the Rays, who’s still putting up big numbers and also not in the top 2. Shortstop The Baltimore Orioles seem primed to have at least two All Star Game starters with Gunnar Henderson looking like the obvious choice to start at shortstop and join teammate Adley Rutschman in the midsummer classic lineup. Henderson is second in the American League with 24 home runs, tied with Rutschman for fifth with RBI and third in the league with a .991 OPS. Outfield Aaron Judge is the likeliest contender for American League Most Valuable Player nearing the midway point of the 2024 MLB season. His closest competition may be his own outfield teammate Juan Soto. Both those guys should be locks to start in the A.L. outfield at the midsummer classic. Judge leads baseball with a 1.113 OPS, leads baseball with 27 homers and leads baseball with 67 RBI. He’s also hitting .301 and on pace for one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history something he’s done before. Soto is keeping pace with Judge in most offensive categories. He’s hitting .304 with 18 homers, 56 RBI and an OPS of .995. No 1-2 duo in baseball should put fear into opposing pitchers as Soto and Judge, so good luck to whoever the National League starting pitcher at the All Star Game will be. My third A.L. outfield selection could go to several folks and my selection might be slightly controversial because he doesn’t have enough at-bats to yet qualify for the batting title but I’m going to go with Cleveland Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan, who is hitting .387 in 47 games. He’s added five home runs, 21 RBI and .993 OPS to go with that stellar average. Designated Hitter My choice for designated hitter in the American League this month is Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez. Alvarez is hitting .293 with 15 homers, 39 RBI and a .882 OPS. He’s currently the leading vote-getter on the ballot. My pick last month was Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who’s No. 2 on the ballot. 
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