My Ballot for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game

The ballot for the 2015 Major League Baseball All-Star game has been out for awhile now, but I’ve been holding off with casting my votes for who I’d like to see in the game up in Cincinnati on July 14th. With it seeming like the ballot is coming out earlier and earlier each year, I wanted to give players enough time to put up quality numbers before I made any decisions. But I finally feel there are enough stats to make a logical decision.

Voting is simple. Although there are no longer paper ballots that you can pick up and fill out at your local ballpark, you can head over to MLB.com and fill out an online ballot with the player you feel most deserves the honor for each position. You can vote up to 35 times for the players of your choice. (Voting is open until July 2nd.)

I cast my maximum 35 votes a few days ago. Although the All-Star game is still just under two months away, I figured I’d go ahead and go over the players I picked for the Midsummer Classic. A lot of things can change, with my picks subsequently changing as well, but these are the players I went ahead and voted for to make the All-Star game:

FIRST BASE: Miguel Cabrera (AL), Adrian Gonzalez (NL)

It came down to Miguel Cabrera, Eric Hosmer and Mark Teixeira for me in the American League portion of the first base spot. While Teixeira leads in homers and RBI’s, his batting average was too low for me to select him. In addition, Eric Hosmer has fewer homers and RBI’s than Cabrera in more at-bats, and thus, I picked Miguel Cabrera.

In the National League, it was another tough decision. While Paul Goldschmidt is producing another year worth of MVP caliber numbers, and although Anthony Rizzo is getting better and better, I voted for Adrian Gonzalez. Getting off to a hot start to begin the year, Gonzalez holds the second highest batting average in baseball and deserves to make it.

SECOND BASE: Jose Altuve (AL), Dee Gordon (NL)

Jose Altuve leading all of American League second baseman in stolen bases, sitting second in average and third in homers was enough to get him selected by me to make the All-Star game. Although Devon Travis of the Blue Jays has been a highlight reel each night, Altuve is one of the most exciting second basemen in baseball.

The National League race for All-Star second baseman was an easy decision on my part. Dee Gordon is deserving of the spot, no question about it. Gordon doesn’t have any home runs, but that’s not his game. He leads all NL second basemen in stolen bases, and holds a batting average above .400. That’s deserving of All-Star recognition.

SHORTSTOP: Marcus Semien (AL), Brandon Crawford (NL)

I’ll be honest — I had to double check Marcus Semien’s stats when I was casting my vote for American League shortstop. I knew he was having a good year, but I didn’t realize how good. Leading the American League shortstops in homers and stolen bases, Semien is the unlikely frontrunner for the honor.

It was no easy task to choose a shortstop that had the best stats for the All-Star game. There are a ton of them with good numbers in one category or another. But while names such as Zack Cozart, Jhonny Peralta, etc., stood out, I went with Brandon Crawford, who has good numbers as well as the amazing defense to match.

THIRD BASE: Josh Donaldson (AL), Todd Frazier (NL)

You could make cases for Manny Machado, Mike Moustakas, Josh Donaldson and even Evan Longoria for the American League third base spot in the All-Star game. But I went with Donaldson, who is having a fantastic year. Sitting second in homers but first in RBI’s among AL third basemen, Donaldson should be in Cincy in July.

The first and only Red on my list — likely to be a favorite with the Reds hosting the All-Star game — is Todd Frazier, who I selected for NL third base in the midsummer classic. His batting average isn’t the best, but he is at the top in homers and is deserving in my mind of the honor.

CATCHER: Stephen Vogt (AL), Buster Posey (NL)

This is somewhat of a shocking pick, but a very deserving one. Stephen Vogt wasn’t all that well known as recently as a year ago, but his bat is making him more of a common name. Vogt leads AL catchers in average, home runs and RBI’s, and should lead them in voting when all is said and done.

I could’ve easily picked Miguel Montero or Yasmani Grandal to make the start behind the plate for the National League, but I went with the always consistent Buster Posey instead. Posey leads AL catchers in homers, and should be adding another All-Star game to his already impressive resume.

DESIGNATED HITTER: Nelson Cruz

Although the designated hitter role in the All-Star game goes to David Ortiz the majority of the time, there is simply no other choice for DH this year than Nelson Cruz. It’s not even close. Cruz leads all designated hitters in homers, runs batted in and average, and will be in the All-Star game up in Cincinnati.

OUTFIELD

It’s never easy to narrow down several dozen players to three All-Star picks for each league, especially when you could make a strong case for a dozen of the outfield choices for each league, but it’s a requirement when casting a ballot. So, while I voted for the players who I felt were All-Star caliber players at the moment, there are a few more I would’ve liked to vote for, but couldn’t. Keep that in mind when reading the outfielders I selected for the American League and National League:

Mike Trout, Josh Reddick and Adam Jones (AL)

Mike Trout was a nobrainer, as he once again is in the process of posting another fantastic season, but the other two spots were somewhat difficult with all of the great players. In the end, after examining all of the stats, I made the tough choice of Josh Reddick and Adam Jones. I hope to see them in the All-Star game starting lineups.

Bryce Harper, Justin Upton and Giancarlo Stanton (NL)

As with Mike Trout in the AL, picking Bryce Harper for National League outfield was the easiest choice of the three. But after a lot of debate between the candidates to fill the other places, I wound up choosing Justin Upton and Giancarlo Stanton. Upton is having a good year, and despite a subpar average, Stanton is dominating yet again.

Who I’d Like To See In the 2013 Home Run Derby

It was recently announced that Robinson Cano would once again be participating in the home run derby, for the third year in a row. After winning the derby in 2011, Cano failed to hit a single homer in 2012, but it’s highly unlikely that he will let that happen again. Cano was once again named the captain of the American League, with David Wright receiving the honor for the National League. Both now have the task of selecting three more players from their given league to participate in the derby.

With the 2013 home run derby exactly a month away, I figured I’d post this entry on which players I’d most like to see participate.

American League

Chris Davis- After blasting a career high 33 home runs last season, Chris Davis is well on his way to another career season. In just 67 games, Davis has already hit 22 homers, leading all of major league baseball, and I feel he’d be a great player to take part in this year’s home run derby. Not only do I feel Davis would go deep into the derby, cranking out numerous home runs per round, but I feel he would put on a fairly good show. Davis can hit long balls with the best of them, and I hope to see him in the 2013 derby.

Prince Fielder- It’s no secret that Prince Fielder is a major threat to win a home run derby, having won twice in his career. After winning the derby last year, I’d love to see Fielder in this year’s derby to give him a chance to defend his title. It wouldn’t be all that surprising to me if Fielder happened to win the derby once again. He has the power and endurance needed to stay in the derby for a long time, and therefore it would be great to see Fielder participate in July.

Yoenis Cespedes- I’m not sure just how many home runs Yoenis Cespedes would hit in a home run derby, but I’d love to see him take part in this year’s derby, if merely for his power alone. Not many guys in all of baseball can slug a ball as far as Cespedes can–launching balls deep into the outfield seats at the spacious Oakland Athletics ballpark makes it all the more impressive. To me, although I don’t think Cespedes would go to deep into the derby, he’d certainly put on a show. And I’d love to see him take part.

National League

Evan Gattis- One of the best stories of the season–going from janitor to major league baseball player–Evan Gattis isn’t someone you’d necessarily have heard of if you don’t follow baseball fairly closely. But even so, the power he possesses, and the story that goes along with him, is enough for me to want to see Gattis in the home run derby. Gattis has already blasted 14 homers, in this his rookie season, and therefore should at least be considered for the derby in July, in my opinion.

Giancarlo Stanton- It was a major disappointment last year when it was announced that Giancarlo Stanton was planning to participate in the home run derby, only to have him injure himself shortly before the actual event. Stanton would’ve put on a fantastic show, and thus, as long as Stanton is fully healthy, I wouldn’t see why he wouldn’t take part in the derby this time around. If in fact Stanton is one of the eight sluggers in the 2013 derby, I could easily see him making it to the final round, and possibly even winning.

Bryce Harper- After Stanton was forced to forgo the 2012 derby, I wanted to see Bryce Harper as his replacement, but instead the world saw Andrew McCutchen. No offense to McCutchen, but I knew he wouldn’t perform all that well, and by hitting just four home runs, he proved me right. Harper on the other hand, would put on a show; and an amazing one at that. I would love to see Harper (assuming he’s completely healthy by then) take part in this year’s HR derby. Guys with his talent don’t come around all that often.

So, those are my picks for who I’d like to see in the 2013 home run derby, up at Citi Field, on July 15th. Do you agree or disagree with my picks? Who would you like to see participate? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.