Which Hitters in Baseball Are Likely to Make the All-Star Game
The All Star game in baseball is approaching quickly. Do you know which players will make the All Star game? It is time to find out. Here are the best hitters in baseball and how they have performed so far and are likely to make the All Star game. The position players are chosen by the fans who start the All Star game. Here is a breakdown of the best players and fan favorites at each position.
1st Base: The MVP of the National League has already been decided. Albert Pujols is clearly the best hitter in baseball and is a fan favorite. He currently has 25 homers and is on pace to break or come close to Barry Bonds’ home run record of 73 homers. Pujols is batting over .300 and plays gold glove defense at 1st base.
Last year Derek Lee was the second player chosen to play 1st base but he has been injured for most of the entire first half of the season. Carlos Delgado will likely occupy the second 1st base spot as he has 15 homers and has close to 30 RBIs for the Mets who are in 1st place. Another choice might be Lance Berkman of the Astros who is having a good season and is also eligible to play the outfield.
In the American League, the 1st Base position wil likely be held by David Ortiz who doesn’t play much 1st base for the Red Sox but qualifies for the 1st base position. Jim Thome will most likely be voted by the fans to start at first base. Thome already has 18 home runs to lead the American league and he has over 40 RBIs. Thome is carrying his team’s offense and looks like his old All Star self.
At 2nd base: In the National League the two second basemen are Chase Utely of the Phillies who is batting over .300 and has 9 home runs. The other man will probably be Jeff Kent of the L.A. Dodgers who started slowly but is on a recent tear and doing very well.
In the American league the 2nd base position is very weak and Taguchi of the White Sox might make the All Star team. Placido Polanco of the Detroit Tigers is quietly having a good season and could make the All Star team.
Shortstop: The two men from the American league who will probably fill the two spots are Derek Jeter of the NY Yankees and Miguel Tejada. Tejada is carrying his team’s offense and Derek Jeter simply does it all and is a fan favorite. He plays good defense and racks up hits and demonstrates great leadership on and off the field. Texas shortstop Michael Young only has 2 homers but he does have an average of .340 and has a ton of hits and gets on base a lot.
In the National league two surprise candidates are doing well: Felipe Lopez of the Reds and Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins who has 16 stolen bases. Both of these men have high stolen base totals and high averages. NY Met Jose Reyes might be a fan favorite pick to represent the National League with his incredible speed and good defense.
3rd Base: One of the leading vote getter and by far the best 3rd baseman is NY Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez who won the American league MVP last year. Troy Glaus on the Blue Jays is also having a great year with his 14 homers and clsoe to 40 RBIs as well. Athletics 3rd baseman Chavez is also producing well from the plate after starting slowly.
In the National league the best 3rd baseman is NY Met David Wright who has 10 homers and over 30 RBIs while playing gold glove defense and batting over .300. Chicago Cubs 3rd baseman Aramis Ramirez is having an average season in his poor hitting team offense.
In the outfield, Johnny Damon is having a good season for the NY Yankees from the lead off position and center outfield position. Toronto Blue Jays outfielders Alex Rios is among the league leaders in batting average while Vernon Wells is also having a great season. Florida Marlins outfielder Miguel Cabrera might get an All Star spot as the only Marlins representative in the game. Devil Rays outfielder Johnny Gomes has 14 homers and is having a good offense season from the plate. Athletics outfielder Nick Swisher is having a good season from the plate in his sophmore season.
In the national league, Carlos Lee on the Brewers is carrying his team’s offense as he has 14 homers and a ton of RBIs. NY Met Carlos Beltran is having a good season with 14 homers and 35 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. An interesting pick might be Barry Bonds who does not deserve to make the All Star game but he did break Babe Ruth’s home run record of 715 home runs. Reds hitter Adam Dunn has 16 homers but has a poor average and strikes out a lot. Pirates outfielder Jason Bay will defintely make the All Star team as his only team’s representative as he has hit a homer in his last 6 games and is on a tear. He is carrying his team’s offense. The greatest surprise from the outfield has been Alfonso Soriano who is on a hitting hotstreak. He has homered in each of the last 9 series that the Nationals have played and he has 20 home runs already. The National’s stadium is one of the hardest baseball fields to hit home runs, yet Soriano has the power to hit the ball over the fense. Soriano is single handedly carring his team. In addition Soriano has more than 10 steals and has a lot of runs scored already.
Finally the catcher position is filled with a bunch of solid but no great candidates. Braves catcher Brian McCann was having a good season and was among the league leaders in batting average but this past week he got injured. Yankees catcher Jorge Posada is having an average season. Mets Catcher Paul Lo Duca is also a good candidate as he bats in the #2 position in their lineup.
