My 2012 Baseball All-Stars

The 83rd MLB All-Star Game will be played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri on Tuesday, July 10, 2012 at approximately 8PM.

For me, the All-Star game is about 2 things:

1) rewarding the best players for an outstanding first half, and
2) entertaining the fans.

I prefer the All-Star game to showcase the best hitters at each position. Defense is extremely important, but other than the odd play or two it isn't "exciting" or "sexy" the way power hitting and electric base stealing are. Also, I don't care to get into back-ups. Let the fan voting determine the back ups.

With that in mind, here are my 2012 MLB All-Star hitters (pitchers to follow):

American League

C - Joe Mauer - The guy can hit, and in a different stadium, he'd have more bombs.
1B - Paul Konerko - If it was 2001, I'd be suspicious, but he's aging like fine wine.
2B - Robinson Cano - No Brainer. He's improved his power and his patience, and he's the best.
3B - Miguel Cabrera - Like I said, I'm rewarding offense, but his patience at the plate could be better.
SS - Asdrubal Cabrera - So I guess his 2011 wasn't a fluke afterall.
RF - Mark Trumbo - Defense is bad, plate discipline is OK, power and contact are AMAZING!
CF - Mike Trout - Over/under on the number of times you see his name on this list--7.
LF - Josh Hamilton - He loves to swing, and all-universe talent usually lets him get away with it.
DH - David Ortiz - Lots of good candidates here, but few do it better than Big Papi.
Omission - Jose Bautista - By season-end I fully expect him to be worthy, but April hurt him.

National League

C - Carlos Ruiz - Shocking. Park/competition adjusted, he's been the 2nd or 3rd best hitter in the NL.
1B - Joey Votto - So you mean he might actually earn that contract. Wow. The best bat in the game.
2B - Aaron Hill - 2 cycles in one season (not steroids). I liked the trade at the time for the Jays. hm...
3B - David Wright - Yes, he is still good. Yes, he is worthy of his contract. No, he will not be traded.
SS - Jed Lowrie - It was him or Ian Desmond, and I prefer Lowrie's patient approach.
LF - Ryan Braun - Who needs steroids? Not Ryan Braun.
CF - Andrew McCutchen - Why pitch to him? Nobody on his team is half the hitter he is.
RF - Carlos Gonzalez - He would hit in any stadium. He could also be the CF.
DH - Giancarlo Stanton - He broke a scoreboard with a home run. His power is the gold standard.
Omission - Matt Kemp - You have to play the requisite number of games to make this team.

Now, with pitchers, I like guys who don't rely too much on their defense (strikeout guys), who do it against the best competition (AL East as opposed to the NL Central), and who do it in tough stadiums (Yankee Stadium, as opposed to Petco Park). That doesn't mean I won't give credit to guys who don't fall into those categories, it just means it's harder for me to take their numbers seriously. Also, a guy can get really lucky on the balls he allows into play, or his defense can bail him out a lot--I want the guy to have really earned his production.

Since it's an all-star game, managers don't want a pitcher throwing more than an inning. Thus, I'm choosing 9 pitchers; 7 starters and 2 relievers. I figure that is an appropriate ratio, while also giving a couple of guys on each side the chance to come into the game in the 8th or 9th inning and "do what they do."

Here are my 2012 MLB All-Star Pitchers:

American League

SP - Justin Verlander - Simply the best. It's a potential no-no every time he takes the mound.
SP - Chris Sale - So far his conversion from reliever to starter has been a big success.
SP - Jake Peavy - He's great again. No wonder the White Sox are so good.
SP - CJ Wilson - Another guy off to a good start under a big new contract. ERA is a bit misleading.
SP - Felix Hernandez - Easier stadium and weaker opponents, but the King is still royalty.
SP - Jared Weaver - Even a DL stint can't keep him off this list. The guy is a stud.
SP - David Price - One of the best, night in and night out, pitching in the toughest division by far.
RP - Joe Nathan - He's back, and as good as ever. Not a bad signing so far, Texas.
RP - Fernando Rodney - Until the Rays got their hands on him, I thought he was mediocre. Wrong.
Omission 1 - C.C. Sabathia - He's hurt, otherwise bye bye CJ Wilson.
Omission 2 - Colby Lewis - Again, he's hurt. But that K/BB ratio is outstanding.

National League

SP - Zack Greinke - If Milwaukee trades this gem, they're dumb.
SP - Stephen Strasburg - Watching this guy pitch is a treat. Please let him be healthy long-term.
SP - Gio Gonzalez - This is what can happen when strikeout guys learn to harness their stuff.
SP - R.A. Dickey - When he's on, he's unhittable. I don't think that can be stressed enough.
SP - Matt Cain - It's time for the statnerds to accept that he really is this good. Stupid nerds.
SP - Clayton Kershaw - Last year's Cy Young winner is still bringing it.
SP - Cole Hamels - Please God let him get traded to the Blue Jays, PLEASE!
RP - Aroldis Chapman - He's stumbled a little lately, but he's been great thus far in 2012.
RP - Craig Kimbrel - For relievers, there's Kimbrel, then a big gap, then everyone else.
Omission 1 - John MacDonal - Another guy who finally learned to control his arsenal.
Omission 2 - Johnny Cueto - Not enough Ks, and I think he's been luckier than good.

So there you have it. Feel free to hit me up with your comments. Please try to keep them reasonable, rather than tell me that Ricky Romero and Clay Buchholz' 8-2 records warrant spots.