by Julian Spivey
We are just a month away from the 2021 Major League Baseball All Star Game from Coors Fields in Denver and I’ll be sharing my current All Star game ballot of players from each league that I believe are most worthy of starting that game. There are two ways to fill out your MLB All Star ballot: 1) choose the players you believe to be the worthiest based on their play in the first half of the season (which is the method I prefer and use) or 2) simply select your favorite players. The interactive MLB All Star game ballot, which can be found HERE, shows each players numbers thus far this season in these four statistical categories: batting average, home runs, RBI and OPS. These four categories are all the research I used to make my choices. First Base American League: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays) Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has certainly been living up to the hype for the Toronto Blue Jays thus far this season. He’s currently leading the American League in all three Triple Crown categories with a .344 batting average (seven points higher than the next closest), 21 homers (four more than the next closest) and 55 RBI (six more than the next closest). He’s the current American League M.V.P. in my opinion. This choice was a no-brainer. National League: Max Muncy (Los Angeles Dodgers) The choice for first baseman in the National League is a bit wider open than it is right now in the American League. I ultimately went with Max Muncy of the reigning champion Los Angeles Dodgers, but his case to make the game will likely be hampered by the fact that he was just placed on the injured list with a right oblique strain. Muncy is hitting .264 with 14 homers and 33 RBI this season. Second Base American League: Marcus Semien (Toronto Blue Jays) I likely would’ve chosen Chicago White Sox second baseman Nick Madrigal for this spot if I had done this a week ago, but unfortunately, he’s likely out for the season with a recent hamstring tear. Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Marcus Semien is not a shabby replacement though with a .294 average, 15 homers and 37 RBI this season. The Blue Jays lineup is certainly scary and Guerrero and Semien won’t be the last Jays to make my ballot either. National League: Jean Segura (Philadelphia Phillies) This was a toss-up for me between Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Jean Segura and Pittsburgh Pirates second baseman Adam Frazier. The numbers of the two are very similar. Ultimately, I gave Segura the advantage because he plays for the better team. The Phillies are currently 32-31 as of this writing, whereas the Pirates are 23-41. Third Base American League: Rafael Devers I’m staying in the American League East Division for my third baseman pick and taking Rafael Devers of the Boston Red Sox. Devers is hitting .272 on the season with 15 homers and his 49 RBI are tied for second in the league. National League: Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs) There are a handful of good choices that could be made at third base in the National League, but I’m going with 2016 N.L. M.V.P. Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs. Bryant is hitting .298 this season with 13 homers and 39 RBI. He’s helped lead the Cubs to a 37-27 record thus far, which has them just a half game behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central Division. Shortstop: American League: Xander Bogaerts (Boston Red Sox) The entire American League infield on my ballot comes from the A.L. East with Boston Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts taking the final spot. Bogaerts is hitting .325 this season with 12 homers and 39 RBI. Bogaerts is also one of the best defenders in baseball. National League: Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres) Fernando Tatis Jr. is a human highlight real for the San Diego Padres both at the plate and in the field. He’s the type of personality that should be playing in primetime during the All Star game and his numbers back it up. Tatis is hitting .279 this season with 19 homers (which leads the league), 44 RBI and a 1.008 OPS. Catcher American League: Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals) Salvador Perez of the Kansas City Royals has been far and away the best catcher in the American League so far this season. Perez is hitting .286 with 16 home runs and 42 and is no stranger to being the Royals representative at the midsummer classic. National League: Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants) San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, the 2012 National League M.V.P., has had quite the resurgence this season after a handful of years where it seemed like his best play was behind him. He’s played a huge role in the Giants having possibly the most surprising season of any team in baseball. Posey is hitting .329 with 11 homers and 23 RBI. Outfield: American League: Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), Teoscar Hernandez (Toronto Blue Jays) The Minnesota Twins have been a big disappointment this season, but Byron Buxton hasn’t been hitting .370 (he doesn’t have enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title yet) with nine home runs and 17 RBI. Aaron Judge has always shown that when he’s healthy he’s a beast and one of the best players in all of baseball. This season he’s stayed mostly healthy and is hitting .289 with 15 bombs and 35 RBI. Teoscar Hernandez is my third representative from the Toronto Blue Jays. He’s hitting .294 with 10 home runs and 40 RBI. National League: Nick Castellanos (Cincinnati Reds), Jesse Winker (Cincinnati Reds), Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta Braves) The Cincinnati Reds have potentially the two hottest hitters in all of baseball thus far this season with Nick Castellanos and Jesse Winker one and two in batting average for all of baseball. Castellanos is hitting .361, in a season when the league average is done severely, and Winker is hitting .344. Castellanos has 13 homers and 36 RBI this season with a 1.051 OPS. Winker is third in the N.L. with 17 homers. He has 40 RBI and an OPS of 1.056. The Atlanta Braves have been a huge disappointment so far in 2021, but Ronald Acuna Jr. certainly has not hitting .282 with 18 homers (second in the N.L.) and 39 RBI. Acuna is on 40/40 watch this season, as he also has 12 stolen bases too. Designated Hitter: American League: J.D. Martinez (Boston Red Sox) I really want to see Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels in the All Star Game and I’m sure he’s going to make it (and I really want to see him both hit and pitch in the game, which he deserves), but I had to go with J.D. Martinez as the DH for the American League right now. Martinez and Ohtani’s numbers are even in most categories, but Martinez’s batting average is 40 points higher than Ohtani’s now and as an old school fan that means a lot to me.
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