MLB All-Star Game: These 9 American League Players Should Start

MLB All-Star voting is now in its second stage of voting, and voting will run through Thursday, June 29.

Major League Baseball announced the All-Star finalists last week. The top two vote-getters at each position now square-off head-to-head in the final round of voting this week. As always, fans vote on position players for the All-Star Game, while pitchers are selected by the Player Ballot.

As is usually the case, the fans were on the money for some positions, and off-base for others.

Here are our selections for who should start at each position in the All-Star Game for the American League:

Catcher — Jonah Heim, Texas Rangers

The fans got this one right. A pair of sophomore catchers on the cusp of stardom will square off this week in the final round of voting. Both catchers were drafted by the Orioles, believe it or not. The O's snagged Jonah Heim in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft out of Amherst Central High School in Amherst, New York. but dealt him to the Tampa Bay Rays for Steve Pearce August 1, 2016. Heim would also spend time in the Oakland A's' farm system, before he was acquired by the Rangers in a trade for Elvis Andrus in early 2021. In the two years since, he has blossomed into one of baseball's best defensive catchers, while shining offensively. Heim not only has better defensive numbers than former no. 1 overall pick Adley Rutschman, but he also has 33 more RBI, a higher batting average and a higher OPS. Vote Heim this week!

Jonah Heim: 68 games, .283/.332/.814, 11 HR, 55 RBI, 2 SB, 5 DRS, 2.4 WAR

Adley Rutschman: 73 games, .265/.376/.791, 10 HR, 32 RBI, 0 SB, 0 DRS, 1.7 WAR

Salvador Perez: 71 games, .263/.297/.772, 15 HR, 39 RBI, 0 SB, -7 DRS, 0.8 WAR

Yainer Diaz: 39 games, .276/.289/.801, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 0 SB, 2 DRS, 0.8 WAR

Matt Thaiss: 53 games, .275/.384/.790, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 1 SB, -2 DRS, 1.0 WAR

First Base — Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays

Yandy Diaz and Vladdy Jr. will vie for the starting position at first base this week. However, I would have Josh Naylor in front of Vladdy. Their numbers are quite similar, but Naylor has more RBI, despite playing for a club that has scored 59 fewer runs than Vladdy's team has.

Naylor's 57 RBI have been extremely valuable to a Guardians club that has struggled to score runs this season. Whereas, Vladdy Jr. is one of many big bats in Toronto's lineup which averages 4.57 runs per game. Naylor's Guardians are averaging 3.92 runs per game, which is partly why the reigning AL Central champs remain under .500 as they approach the month of June.

Either way, Yandy Diaz deserves the nod here. He has the highest WAR, Batting Average, On Base Percentage and OPS totals among all qualified options.

Yandy Diaz: 66 games, .316/.404/.922, 12 HR, 38 RBI, 0 SB, -1 DRS, 2.6 WAR

Josh Naylor: 69 games, .291/.332/.801, 10 HR, 57 RBI, 5 SB, -1 DRS, 0.7 WAR

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.: 76 games, .284/.354/.807, 11 HR, 49 RBI, 3 SB, -3 DRS, 1.2 WAR

Nathaniel Lowe: 76 games, .273/.366/.793, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 0 SB, 6 DRS, 2.3 WAR

Anthony Rizzo: 72 games, .270/.353/.786, 11 HR, 37 RBI, 0 SB, 2 DRS, 1.2 WAR

Ty France: 75 games, .276/.346/.764, 7 HR, 34 RBI, 1 SB, 1 DRS, 1.5 WAR

Second Base — Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers

Don't sleep on the season Brandon Drury is having. He's followed up his impressive 2022 campaign very nicely, and has been a key part of an Angels' offense that seems to have turned a corner from years past. Drury's offensive numbers aren't too far off from Marcus Semien's, but Semien has been significantly better defensively. I'll give the nod to Semien.

Drury didn't reach the final round of voting. Blue Jays' second baseman Whit Merrifield did, though.

Brandon Drury: 71 games, .273/.317/.815, 13 HR, 42 RBI, 0 SB, 1 DRS, 1.4 WAR

Marcus Semien: 77 games, .278/.339/.792, 10 HR, 54 RBI, 7 SB, 7 DRS, 3.3 WAR

Whit Merrifield: 71 games, .292/.350/.723, 2 HR, 29 RBI, 18 SB, -1 DRS, 1.3 WAR

Mauricio Dubon: 60 games, .289/.312/.725, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 5 SB, 5 DRS, 1.6 WAR

Third Base — Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians

Jose Ramirez might be the most underrated superstar in sports, as evidenced by the fact that he didn't advance to phase two of All-Star voting.

Ramirez is an elite player. He's one of the best players on the planet, and might one day have his bust enshrined into Cooperstown. He is outperforming Josh Jung and Matt Chapman in BA, OBP, OPS, RBI, SB and WAR. Guess that isn't good enough, huh? J-Ram was snubbed, and it wasn't the first time.

Jose Ramirez: 73 games, .293/.358/.872, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 6 SB, 4 DRS, 2.8 WAR

Josh Jung: 74 games, .274/.328/.814, 15 HR, 44 RBI, 1 SB, 1 DRS, 2.2 WAR

Matt Chapman: 76 games, .265/.346/.805, 10 HR, 36 RBI, 2 SB, 7 DRS, 2.9 WAR

Isaac Paredes: 71 games, .259/.362/.840, 13 HR, 50 RBI, 0 SB, -3 DRS, 1.8 WAR

Shortstop — Wander Franco, Tampa Bay Rays

At first glance, Bo Bichette looks like the guy here at shortstop. With higher BA, OPS, home run and RBI totals than Wander Franco, one might think Bichette is in line for his first career start in the All-Star Game. I, however, lean towards Franco, given the exponential greater value he provides on the base paths (25 SB) and in the field (12 DRS). His WAR total is higher for a reason!

Oh, wait, what? Franco isn't a finalist? Corey Seager is instead? Look, I love Corey Seager. He might be the best shortstop in baseball currently. But Seager has played 32 fewer games than Bichette. Even in a smaller sample size, Seager has virtually the same RBI numbers and only four fewer home runs than Bichette does. His RBI and home run totals will continue to go up as he plays more games, but his slash line is less likely to stay as high as it is. I favor durability. The best ability is availability.

Bo Bichette: 78 games, .318/.348/.856, 14 HR, 47 RBI, 3 SB, 2 DRS, 3.5 WAR

Wander Franco: 74 games, .287/.350/.811, 9 HR, 36 RBI, 25 SB, 12 DRS, 4.0 WAR

Corey Seager: 46 games, .349/.410/1.028, 10 HR, 46 RBI, 1 SB, 1 DRS, 2.8 WAR

Outfield — Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays; Austin Hays, Baltimore Orioles; Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox

The AL outfield is a crowded group, featuring finalists Yordan Alvarez, Randy Arozarena, Adolis Garcia, Aaron Judge, Kevin Kiermaier and Mike Trout.

First things first, Alvarez has played 57 games this season. Only 22 of them have been in left field; the rest he was DH-ing. I wouldn't have Alvarez qualified for an outfield spot. He should be up for DH instead.

Judge is injured and isn't going to be able to play, so he's off my list. Kiermaier is very good, but he wasn't on my radar. I think we can do better than that.

Arozarena leads the way for qualified outfielders, and I have Austin Hays and Luis Robert Jr. behind him. Robert has smashed 21 home runs while playing Gold Glove-caliber defense in center field. He also has the highest WAR total among this group. Hays has the highest BA among qualified outfielders, while still compiling power numbers and extra base hits, too. Admittedly, Arozarena is my top outfielder, and after that, there are a number of guys that I don't think you can go wrong picking.

Randy Arozarena: 77 games, .292/.405/.890, 14 HR, 54 RBI, 9 SB, 3 DRS, 2.8 WAR

Austin Hays: 76 games, .318/.356/.864, 8 HR, 31 RBI, 2 SB, 3 DRS, 2.0 WAR

Luis Robert Jr.: 76 games, .269/.326/.885, 21 HR, 42 RBI, 4 SB, 9 DRS, 3.6 WAR

Mike Trout: 74 games, .255/.365/.851, 17 HR, 41 RBI, 1 SB, 0 DRS, 2.5 WAR

Alex Verdugo: 71 games, .303/.374/.842, 5 HR, 31 RBI, 3 SB, 9 DRS, 2.8 WAR

Masataka Yoshida: 69 games, .299/.372/.838, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 3 SB, -6 DRS, 0.9 WAR

Anthony Santander: 72 games, .271/.334/.836, 14 HR, 47 RBI, 1 SB, 2 DRS, 1.6 WAR

Leody Taveras: 63 games, .298/.351/.827, 8 HR, 33 RBI, 8 SB, 5 DRS, 2.4 WAR

Adolis Garcia: 76 games, .258/.328/.813, 17 HR, 60 RBI, 6 SB, 6 DRS, 2.6 WAR

Kyle Tucker: 76 games, .274/.352/.794, 10 HR, 42 RBI, 14 SB, -6 DRS, 1.1 WAR

Designated Hitter — Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels

Ohtani. Need I say more?

Shohei Ohtani: 77 games, .297/.377/1.000, 25 HR, 61 RBI, 10 SB, 5.4 WAR

Yordan Alvarez: 57 games, .277/.388/.977, 17 HR, 55 RBI, 0 SB, 2.0 WAR

Brent Rooker: 67 games, .242/.343/.810, 13 HR, 38 RBI, 1 SB, 1.1 WAR

Justin Turner: 75 games, .279/.357/.806, 11 HR, 41 RBI, 4 SB, 1.4 WAR

For more from Jack Vita, follow him on Twitter @JackVitaShow, and subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, iHeartRadio, and wherever podcasts are found.

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Published Jun 27, 2023

JACK VITA

Jack Vita is a writer and contributor to Sports Illustrated's Inside the Astros, and host of the Jack Vita Show, a popular sports podcast available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube and wherever podcasts are found. Jack is a 2017 graduate of Valparaiso University, in northwest Indiana. Since completing his degree, Jack has created his own independent sports media outlet (JackVita.com) and podcast (the Jack Vita Show). He has featured prominent guests from the worlds of sports and entertainment including Brian Urlacher, Scot Pollard, Bob Nightengale, Dan O'Dowd, and Survivor icons Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Cirie Fields, Danni Boatwright and "the Dragon Slayer", Coach Benjamin Wade. While studying at Valparaiso, Jack was the school newspaper's beat writer for the Valpo Crusaders men's basketball team, which won three straight Horizon League championships from 2015-2017. Traveling to cover the team, Jack had a front row seat to one of the nation's best mid-major teams, headlined by future NBA Draft pick Alec Peters and coached by NCAA Tournament hero Bryce Drew. Jack hosted a weekly sports radio show and provided play-by-play and color commentary services for ESPN 3 and the university's student radio station, WVUR-FM, 95.1 The Source, covering Valparaiso men's soccer, women's basketball, softball and volleyball. Jack also covered these sports, in addition to men's and women's tennis, baseball and women's soccer for the school newspaper, The Torch. While he was in college, Jack interned for and co-hosted Jewell On Sports, a sports radio program on AM 1050 WLIP in Kenosha, Wisconsin. There, he interviewed various pro athletes such as Ahman Green, Javon Walker and Javier Arenas, in addition to talking sports with the late, great Brad Jewell. Jack also interned for 22nd Century Media, a now defunct newspaper corporation that provided news to the North Shore of Chicago. With 22nd Century Media, Jack wrote post-game recaps, feature stories about local athletes, reviews of local restaurants and compiled the newspaper's "Pet of the Week" and "Athlete of the Week" sections, while providing copy-editing services. Before attending Valparaiso, Jack enrolled at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he studied for two years before transferring. He is a high school graduate of New Trier Township High School in Winnetka, Illinois. You can follow Jack on Twitter @JackVitaShow, subscribe to his podcast, the Jack Vita Show, wherever podcasts are found, and reach him via email at jack@jackvita.com.

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