On Friday, MLB officially began the voting for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game in Washington, D.C. Now, I have been watching my Red Sox pretty extensively, but I don't really know much about how everyone else in the MLB is doing. So, I took a couple days to think about who I felt deserved to be on the All-Star team. Certain guys like Didi Gregorius who seemed like a shoe-in a month ago have completely fallen flat while other guys have made surprisingly strong cases for themselves.
I've decided to start with the American League starting 9 and will get to the National League tomorrow. Specifically, I'm starting by announcing my starting designated hitter for the AL, Boston's own J.D. Martinez. Let me be clear, I'm trying not to be biased, but there's no way I can ignore J.D.'s talent. He's currently hitting .315 and is tied for the league lead in home runs with 19 and has the league lead in RBI with 50 just 1/3 of the way into the season. Assuming he keeps this up, there's no one more worthy of the spot than J.D.
Due to his abysmal .205 batting average, I simply cannot vote Gary Sanchez as the AL starting catcher for the All-Star game. Wilson Ramos is an interesting choice, but his .301 batting average leads me to believe he is the right choice. Additionally, with 29 RBI under his belt already, Ramos appears to be having a year similar to his 2016 season with the Nationals where he was also an All-Star, so it's likely we'll see history repeating itself.
Before you get too skeptical as to why I chose Mitch Moreland of all players, please hear me out. Yes, I know he plays for the Red Sox and I may seem biased, but the fact is Moreland has done more in not even 150 at-bats than some players have in over 200. Despite having limited playing time until recently due to Hanley Ramirez playing almost every night, Moreland is hitting .305 with 10 homers and 30 RBI. His OPS is outstanding and he's a Gold Glove-caliber defensive player. If I had my way, Moreland would be an All-Star, but due to not being a super well-known player, I don't think that will happen.
The reigning AL MVP is back at it again and isn't showing any signs of slowing down anytime soon. He has a .329 batting average as I speak with 29 RBI and 8 stolen bases on the year. Granted, his stats aren't jumping out at you the way they did in 2017, but he has plenty of gas left in the tank. With that being said, the competition at 2nd base is not close to enough to threaten Altuve's All-Star starting spot.
Manny Machado is playing shortstop this season, making the competition at that position more stiff than it's been in years. However, he's without a doubt the best choice for the position. Given his .327 batting average (10th in baseball) as well as his 18 homers (tied for 3rd) and 47 RBI (2nd in baseball), Machado could be on-pace for an MVP season if he wasn't playing for a team that is somehow already 23 games out of 1st place. Not only will we see Machado in the All-Star game, but he'll also be on a new team by the trade deadline if he keeps going at this rate.
Last season, Jose Ramirez finished 3rd in the AL MVP voting behind only Jose Altuve and Aaron Judge. This season, he's still proving he deserves to be up there with those guys. He's currently hitting just under .300 at .299 and has the same number of homers as Machado with 18 and already has over 40 RBI along with some solid speed given his 7 stolen bases. Over the past few seasons, Ramirez has only improved year after year after year. If he keeps putting up numbers like this and improving the way he has been, we might not just be looking at an All-Star. He could realistically win MVP in an upcoming season or 2.
As for the outfield, it's pretty predictable in terms of who I chose, and that's a good thing. In my opinion, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and Mookie Betts are all currently top 10 players in baseball with Trout and Betts cracking the top 3. They all have been hitting homers and driving in runs like it's nobody's business while Mookie Betts is leading all of baseball with a .359 batting average despite being injured right now. Point is, all 3 of these guys have been nearly unstoppable, so if things keep going the way they're going, these 3 will all be All-Star starters.
Now that is one scary outfield to have to face.
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