The Sports Lowdown For All Your News and OpinionsYesterday evening, the Major League Baseball All-Stars were announced live on ESPN in preparation for the big game at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park on July 15th.
The reveal gave fans only the starters being named last night, and the reserves and pitches being announced later on in the week, but nonetheless, the fans had some surprises, some unanswered questions and plenty of intrigue, seeing as it is the All-Star Game after all.
The American League starters:
Catcher: Salvador Perez- Kansas City Royals
First Base: Miguel Cabrera- Detroit Tigers
Second Base: Jose Altuve- Houston Astros
Third Base: Josh Donaldson- Toronto Blue Jays
Shortstop: Alcides Escobar- Kansas City Royals
Outfield: Mike Trout- Los Angeles Angels
Outfield: Lorenzo Cain- Kansas City Royals
Outfield: Alex Gordon- Kansas City Royals
Designated Hitter: Nelson Cruz- Seattle Mariners
First of all, the fact that there was only 4 starters from the Kansas City Royals, rather than the potential 8, which many noticed as soon as the voting opened. If it weren’t for Miguel Cabrera, Josh Donaldson, Jose Altuve and Nelson Cruz, then we would have had a whole infield of Royals, but thankfully the fans avoided that embarrassing moment.
And if anyone reading this managed to vote and voted for Nelson Cruz and Jose Altuve, thank you. Mainly because the American Leagues best batter will be a second base over a guy who has .547 OPS, and Cruz beats Kendrys Morales of the Kansas City Royals deservedly so, as Morales can’t match the 21 Home Runs that Cruz has posted this season.
Another big thing to come out of the vote was the selection of Miguel Cabrera, as the batter has been ruled out for the next 6 weeks. A possible replacement for Cabrera would be LA Angels batter Albert Pujols, or even yet another Royal player Eric Hosmer who came second in the public voting.
National League Starters:
Catcher: Buster Posey- San Francisco Giants
First Baseman- Paul Goldschmidt- Arizona Diamondbacks
Second Baseman- Dee Gordon- Miami Marlins
Third Baseman- Todd Frazier- Cincinnati Reds
Shortstop- Jhonny Peralta- St. Louis Cardinals
Outfielders- Bryce Harper- Washington Nationals
Outfielders- Giancarlo Stanton- Miami Marlins
Outfielders- Matt Holliday- St. Louis Cardinals
Very few surprises here, as this is essentially what the voting looked like a week ago. Except from Todd Frazier surpassing Matt Carpenter at 3rd on the final day of voting. Of course, being a Cincinnati hometown hero helped Frazier, but his .946 OPS and 25 homers certainly helped the nudge the voters to his camp just like Altuve and Cruz.
However, it is important to note that just because these players won the voting doesn’t actually mean they will start. For example, Giancarlo Stanton is still recovering from a broken hand, which means he is out, whilst Matt Holliday is still recovering from his quad injuries. Despite this though, Holliday could possibly play as he is getting healthier and he still intends on playing the All-Star Game.
If Holliday was to be replaced, then it could be possible that either Pittsburgh Pirate superstar Andrew McCutchen or LA Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson could replace him in the center field position. As the stats go, Pederson could get the nod, as his left-handed bat could be the deciding factor. His 20 home runs could replace the power that would be missing from Stanton.
Make sure to follow @TheSportLowdown for more news on Major League Baseball and other American Sports!
Follow Tom Scholes @TomScholes316 for more news and opinions!
