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As the Atlanta Braves continue their long-term rebuild, Erick Aybar is among a few veterans the team may move before the Aug. 1 non-waiver trade deadline.

Continue for updates.

Braves Making Aybar Available

Sunday, July 24

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal spoke to an MLB executive who said Sunday the Braves are “aggressively shopping” Aybar, along with Jeff Francoeur and their left-handed relievers.

Moving Aybar won’t be an easy task. He’s mired in the worst offensive season of his MLB career. He’s batting .208 with one home run and 17 RBI in 288 plate appearances. According to FanGraphs, his .262 slugging percentage is the second-worst in the league among hitters with at least 250 plate appearances.

Aybar’s contract situation makes trading him a little bit harder for Atlanta as well. He’s set to be a free agent at the end of the year, and few teams will bite for a half-season rental whose numbers are as bad as Aybar’s are.

In March, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution‘s David O’Brien reported that Braves general manager John Coppolella “made it clear” the team wasn’t going to settle for a small return in the event it dealt Aybar.

Atlanta likely banked on the 32-year-old rebounding following the 2015 season and then cashing in at the deadline. Instead, his decline has become even more pronounced, severely diminishing his trade value.

Offloading Aybar is clearly in the Braves’ best long-term interests, but Coppolella will either have to get creative or accept little back in order to get any deal done.

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St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Jhonny Peralta continues to have thumb problems this season, causing him to miss more time. 

Continue for updates.

Peralta Placed on DL   

Tuesday, July 19

The Cardinals announced via Twitter that they placed Peralta on the 15-day disabled list and brought up Jeremy Hazelbaker and Miguel Socolovich from Triple-A. 

St. Louis held Peralta out of the lineup on Monday against the San Diego Padres because of his thumb problems. 

“Jhonny’s sore,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said at the time, per David Wilhelm of the Belleville News-Democrat. “We needed to get him out (Sunday). With some of the check swings or the swings and misses, something’s still kind of grabbing there. He had it looked at (Monday), and the doctors can see it’s still flared up a bit.”

Peralta had surgery on his left thumb to repair a torn ligament in March that kept him out until June 7. He’s struggled in the 30 games since his return, hitting just .221/.258/.416. 

MLB.com’s Steve Dorsey reported at the time the three-time All-Star was expected to be out for 10 to 12 weeks:

Peralta’s most recent injury would present a problem for the Cardinals were it not for the emergence of Aledmys Diaz, who has been excellent at shortstop. Diaz is batting .315 with 13 homers and 49 RBI, so Matheny will feel confident installing him back in the lineup to replace Peralta.

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Anchored at the bottom of the American League East standings, the Tampa Bay Rays will be sellers at the MLB trade deadline on Aug. 1, and a big question is whether franchise stalwart Evan Longoria could be on the move.

Continue for updates.

Report: Longoria Trade More Likely in Offseason

Monday, July 18

According to MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi, the Rays are discussing potential deals with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of the trade deadline. Morosi threw out Longoria as one of the players included in the discussions but added the chances of him playing in L.A. this year are slim:

[Justin] Turner is among the biggest barriers to a Longoria trade over the next two weeks. He’s popular in the clubhouse and integral to the lineup, with a .942 OPS since June 1. It’s unclear if the Dodgers would be willing to move Turner to second base for the remainder of the season in order to clear room for Longoria, a two-time American League Gold Glove Award winner at third base.

The Dodgers may calculate — reasonably — that there’s little chance of Longoria being dealt to another team prior to Aug. 1. The Astros had been in the market for a third baseman, but that is no longer the case following Friday’s deal with Cuban free agent Yulieski Gurriel. The Giants have had interest in Longoria before, but they’re not believed to be engaged in active talks with the Rays about him now.

Trading a franchise cornerstone is never easy. And Longoria is one of the few players remaining from the Rays teams that regularly contended for the playoffs.

At the same time, Tampa Bay is going nowhere in the short term, and trading Longoria could return an asset or two who could further the team’s long-term rebuild. The Rays would also be wise to strike while the iron is hot in the event they envision parting ways with their starting third baseman anytime soon.

Longoria, 30, is putting together a strong 2016 season. Through 89 games, he’s has a .286/.336/.533 slash line to go along with 21 home runs and 49 runs batted in. According to FanGraphs, Longoria’s 3.5 WAR has him on pace to have his best year since 2013.

His value may never be higher than it is right now, so the upcoming winter may be a good time for the Rays to seriously consider moving him.

Longoria will be owed $100 million over six years starting in 2017, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. While teams generally shy away from trading for players signed to long deals, Longoria won’t be earning so much that his contract dissuades every potential suitor.

Longoria is no longer the hitter he was in his first four years in MLB, but he’d almost certainly command a lot of interest throughout the league if the Rays ever made him available.

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With the team going nowhere this year, the San Diego Padres cashed in one of their biggest trade chips. The Padres sent starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday, the Red Sox announced.

Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune first reported the news. Evan Drellich of the Boston Herald noted the Red Sox will part with right-hander Anderson Espinoza. Nick Friar of CSNNE.com reported Pomeranz will take the mound on July 20 against the San Francisco Giants. 

Fox Sports’ CJ Nitkowski believes Boston is assuming some risk with the trade:

Boston paid a premium to add Pomeranz. In his midseason update, ESPN.com’s Keith Law ranked Espinoza as the 14th-best prospect in baseball and wrote “the fact that Pedro Martinez comps aren’t laughable is a pretty good indicator of what Espinoza could be.”

Only 18 years old, Espinoza has made 17 starts for the Greenville Drive, Boston’s Single-A affiliate. He’s 5-8 with a 4.38 ERA, 72 strikeouts and 27 walks in 76 innings pitched.

Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski discussed the trade with reporters: 

Considering the circumstances, that’s a nice return for San Diego. Sports Illustrated’s Joe Sheehan was among those surprised at how well Padres general manager A.J. Preller did:

Preller discussed the decision to trade Pomeranz with reporters:

Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan tweeted the Padres benefited from a major seller’s market but added the trade has positives for each team:

Pomeranz was one of the few things to go right for the Padres in 2016. When San Diego acquired the veteran left-hander last December, nobody expected him to put together an All-Star season.

The 27-year-old spent most of 2015 as a reliever for the Oakland Athletics after having struggled in a starting role. He also underwent shoulder surgery last October.

In an interview with Lin during the All-Star break, Pomeranz explained that Padres manager Andy Green’s faith and a newfound cutter have helped him put together a career year:

I always knew I needed to develop a third pitch, but nothing would ever break through until this offseason. I think that’s really pushed me over the edge this year.

I’ve had such a more consistent role, being a starter, and then Andy ran me out there and let me throw 100-and-whatever pitches. I haven’t been allowed to do that in a while. Early on in your career, you haven’t really proven yourself, and that’s understandable. I really hadn’t proven myself. Andy really just gave me a chance to prove myself and leave me in some of those situations I normally would get pulled out of.

According to Brooks Baseball, Pomeranz had never thrown a cutter before 2016. It has since become his third-most frequent pitch, with Pomeranz throwing it 11.18 percent of the time. He’s also throwing his curveball more than ever (38.15 percent).

The cutter and curve have been Pomeranz’s two most effective pitches. Below are opposing hitters’ batting average, slugging percentage and isolated power against each of Pomeranz’s six pitches, per Brooks Baseball:

Based on his success, Pomeranz was a lock to be moved by the August 1 trade deadline.

The Padres already offloaded James Shields to the Chicago White Sox, and Rich Hill’s trip to the disabled list for a groin injury dented some of his trade value for Oakland. Julio Teheran is another trade candidate. Since he’s signed through 2019 with a 2020 club option, though, the Atlanta Braves don’t need to move him now.

Pomeranz is under team control for two more years, but unlike Atlanta, San Diego had far more incentive to capitalize on its ace’s value now.

The Padres aren’t a contending team, and they won’t be for the foreseeable future based on their thin minor league talent pool. Baseball Prospectus ranked the club’s minor league system 18th to start the year.

And Pomeranz’s trade value may never be higher. The Padres maximized his breakout season by acquiring Espinoza.

Despite some red flags, trading for Pomeranz makes sense for the pitching-needy Red Sox. It’s not as if top-end starting pitchers are readily available, especially in the middle of the year.

Boston’s rotation has been dreadful this season, ranking 19th in starters ERA (4.72) heading into the second half. This is a team with the best offense in baseball, so finding additional arms to support that lineup was essential for president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. 

Calling Pomeranz an elite pitcher would be a stretch, but he’ll be in that category if he carries his strong performance through to the second half.  

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Miami Marlins outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was the home run king Monday night in San Diego. With 20 home runs in the final round, Stanton toppled defending champion Todd Frazier 20-13 in the 2016 MLB Home Run Derby in Petco Park.  

Stanton was a more than deserving winner based on the totality of his performance. Baseball Tonight shared the distances of the longest home runs, and he owned a monopoly on the list:

His 61 homers over the course of the event were also a Derby record, per Baseball Tonight. Jose Fernandez’s pre-Derby prediction pretty much came true, via MLB:

Here’s how the event shook out:

The Derby didn’t take long to get going as Corey Seager and Mark Trumbo combined to hit 31 home runs in the opening matchup of the first round. Seager looked to have one foot in the semifinals with 15 homers until Trumbo clinched passage to the next round with 16. He closed his round with eight straight home runs. His last dinger went 479 feet and narrowly missed hitting the scoreboard in left field:

According to MLB, 10 of Trumbo’s homers traveled more than 440 feet. Fox Sports: MLB provided the perfect reaction for the Baltimore Orioles outfielder:

Sports Illustrated‘s Kenny Ducey noted not everybody enjoyed Trumbo’s show of power:

Stanton stepped to the plate next. Although the Marlins star is tied for 16th in MLB with 20 home runs, he entered the event as many fans’ favorite to win.

And he more than lived up to expectations, hitting 24 homers in the first round. MLB.com’s Daren Willman shared the distance and exit velocities for each of the 26-year-old’s two dozen home runs:

Watching the right-handed slugger simultaneously motivated and discouraged The Ringer’s Robert Mays:

MLB.com’s Michael Clair felt sorry for Robinson Cano, whose matchup in the first round was with Stanton:

In the other half of the bracket, Adam Duvall eliminated Wil Myers, and Frazier knocked Carlos Gonzalez.

The semifinals pitted Stanton against Trumbo, which was a good enough clash that it could’ve closed out the Derby, and nobody would’ve complained.

Occasionally, the break in between rounds can have an adverse effect on hitters. The new format has streamlined the process a bit more to cut into the down time, but there was still a question as to how much Stanton and Trumbo had left in the tank.

Stanton put those doubts to bed early on, picking right up from where he left off in the first round. He socked 17 home runs. San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence couldn’t help but be in awe of Stanton’s impressive physique:

Fernandez came in with the assist to help Stanton celebrate his round, via MLB GIFs:

Trumbo began the semifinals with a bang, sending a moonshot into left field that hit the scoreboard. That was the highlight of his round, though, as his power looked to be slowly receding. He headed into the 30-second bonus time needing five home runs to tie Stanton, and he ran out of time before he could chase down his opponent.

In the other semifinal, Frazier advanced with a 16-15 win over Duvall. Frazier once again benefited from going second. That allowed the Chicago White Sox star to know exactly what he needed to advance to the final.

Frazier also used his one allowed timeout strategically—down 15-12 with 90 seconds remaining. The short break allowed him to recover, and he did just enough to top Duvall.

Last year, 15 homers were enough to give Frazier the Derby title in the final against Joc Pederson. That total wasn’t going to cut it against Stanton, who hit 20 in this year’s final.

Despite having already hit more homers in the first two rounds than he ever has in a single season (37), Stanton looked no worse for wear. BuzzFeed’s Lindsey Adler thought the final was already over at that point:

Frazier got off to a slow start, with just three homers in the first minute. That ultimately doomed him, since he needed to hit for power at a superhuman pace in order to track down Stanton. And without the benefit of the bonus round, he couldn’t repeat as champion.

Neither Stanton nor Frazier will be playing in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, which could be a blessing in disguise. They could use an extra day of rest to recover from the Home Run Derby.

While the 2016 Derby couldn’t match last year’s edition in terms of drama, Stanton’s incredible showing more than made up for it. With any luck, he’ll be back to defend his crown in front of a home crowd in Miami in 2017.

Post-Derby Reaction

For Stanton, a native of Panorama City, California, near Los Angeles, winning this year’s derby was a little more special.

“For sure being on the West Coast and taking the flight out here just for this, you know. I figure it’s a waste if I don’t bring this bad boy home,” he said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). “I had a great time. I had a blast.”

Stanton also discussed strategy and how he tried to conserve energy for later on in the event: “When I get a few in a row I would kind of bump it up 5 to 10 percent. But most the time I stuck at 80-90 percent. I knew I could do it endurance-wise. I was just hoping my swing didn’t fall about.”

“It was impressive,” said Frazier of the final, per Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “I said it would be an epic home run battle and it stepped up to the name. I thought I had a chance when I needed 20, but he deserved it. He put on a great show. I hope everybody enjoyed it.”

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Boston Red Sox fans are apparently loading up on David Ortiz jerseys while they still can. 

MLB announced Monday that Big Papi is leading the league in jersey sales, while Chicago Cubs third baseman/outfielder Kris Bryant is in second place. The top 10 is listed below:

The rankings aren’t the most accurate measure of how well a player’s jersey is selling, since they only count sales from the league’s official online store, MLBShop.com. Factoring in purchases made at individual team shops and additional online retailers could produce slightly different results.

Still, it’s little surprise to see Ortiz sitting so high on this list after failing to crack last year’s top 10. Not only is the 40-year-old having one of the best seasons in his career, but he’s still planning on retiring at the end of the year. This is the last season Red Sox fans can purchase an Ortiz jersey before it’s designated a throwback.

SportsBusiness Journal‘s Eric Fisher highlighted another interesting note about the 2016 jersey rankings:

Derek Jeter’s retirement has left a void in the New York Yankees from a commercial perspective. The fanbase has never warmed to Alex Rodriguez the way it did to Jeter, and while the Yankees were once the pre-eminent power in free agency, they haven’t landed any major stars of note in recent years.

The San Francisco Giants—coming off their World Series win in 2014—dominated 2015 sales, with Madison Bumgarner, Buster Posey and Hunter Pence Nos. 2, 3 and 7, respectively. Posey is holding strong at sixth this year, but Bumgarner has fallen to 16th and Pence is out of the top 20 altogether.

The Chicago Cubs, meanwhile, have taken the Giants’ place with three players inside the top 10, and that’s unlikely to change next year given how the season is unfolding. In the event the Cubs break their World Series drought, fans will want to savor the victory as much as possible, which means those Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Jake Arrieta jerseys would become even bigger keepsakes.

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Tony Gwynn‘s death left a major impression on Chicago White Sox ace Chris Sale.

Gwynn died in 2014 as a result of salivary gland cancer, a diagnosis he argued in part was due to a chewing tobacco habit.

Speaking ahead of the 2016 MLB All-Star Game, Sale explained why Gwynn’s death pushed him to stop using tobacco, per the San Diego Union-Tribune‘s Kirk Kenney:

He actually made a very big impact on my life. I chewed tobacco from 2007 until the day he passed away. I remember seeing that and just being so shocked. He was a larger than life person. He was an inspiration to the game for many, many people for a lot of different reasons. I quit that day and haven’t touched it since. In a sense I owe him a huge, “Thank you,” not only for myself but for my family. Hopefully, I can sway somebody in the right direction as well like he did for me.

Gwynn was diagnosed with salivary gland cancer in 2010 and continued to use smokeless tobacco.

“In his mind, he knew he couldn’t quit,” said Mike Howder, a video specialist who worked with Gwynn on the Padres, per USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale. “He was so about routine, and chewing tobacco was too about this routine. We both pretty much knew that with the baseball schedule, we weren’t going to quit.”

In May, Gwynn’s family filed a wrongful-death suit against tobacco manufacturers, per the New York Times‘ Tyler Kepner:

There are no damages specified in the complaint, which asks for a jury trial on grounds of negligence, fraud and product liability. Essentially, the complaint says that Gwynn, while in college, was the victim of a scheme to get him, a rising star athlete, addicted to smokeless tobacco, while knowing the dangers it posed to him. The suit says that the industry was undergoing a determined effort at the time to market its products to African-Americans, and that Gwynn was a “marketing dream come true” for the defendants.

“Now that the family understands how he was targeted, they understand that the industry knew they had this highly carcinogenic product and they were marketing it to people like Tony,” said David S. Casey, the lead lawyer for the plaintiffs. “They want to hold them accountable and let a jury make a decision as to what is proper in this case.”

Sale isn’t the first MLB player to quit tobacco in the aftermath of Gwynn’s death. Both Stephen Strasburg and Addison Reed, who played under Gwynn at San Diego State, gave up their habits in the summer of 2014.

Some cities have banned the use of smokeless tobacco at MLB stadiums, a law that extends to players. The league hasn’t prohibited players from using the substance. MLB has, however, mandated players can’t have tobacco in their mouths while they’re giving on-air interviews, nor are they allowed to have tobacco tins or cans in their back pockets during games.

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With Yasiel Puig mired in another disappointing season, it’s reported the Los Angeles Dodgers may look to move the young outfielder ahead of the August 1 MLB trade deadline.

Continue for updates.

Dodgers Weighing Puig’s Future in Los Angeles

Monday, July 11

Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal noted Saturday that the Dodgers could be open to moving the 25-year-old before Aug. 1.

Puig has failed to capture the magic of his 2013 rookie season, during which he finished with a slash line of .319/.391/.534 while mashing 19 home runs and 42 RBI in 104 games. After making the All-Star Game and leading all Dodgers offensive players in WAR (5.3) in 2014, per FanGraphs, Puig started to tail off in 2015.

He appeared in only 79 games last year, batting .255 with 11 home runs and 38 RBI. Through the first half of 2016, Puig’s regression has continued. In 266 plate appearances, he has seven homers, 28 RBI and a .258/.316/.389 slash line.

Puig is still capable of creating moments of magic, such as his impressive throw from right field to nail Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story at third base in April:

However, those highlight-reel plays have become fewer and farther between over the course of his four-year career.

On June 28, the Los Angeles Times‘ Andy McCullough reported MLB executives with whom he has spoken don’t envision Puig ever topping his first year or possibly even his sophomore campaign, which limits his potential trade value.

Puig won’t become a free agent until 2020, so the Dodgers aren’t working against a tight deadline. They can choose to wait until next year to see whether his numbers improve, thus increasing his worth on the trade market.

However, Los Angeles will have a logjam in the outfield when Andre Ethier (leg) and Joc Pederson (shoulder) return from the disabled list. Trading Puig might also bring back a starting pitcher, which the team desperately needs.

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The World Team picked up its first win in the MLB All-Star Futures Game since 2009 on Sunday in San Diego, beating the United States, 11-3.  

Boston Red Sox prospect Yoan Moncada earned MVP honors, per MLB on Twitter. He finished the game 2-for-5 with two runs batted in and one run scored. The 21-year-old, who sits fifth on MLB.com’s prospect rankings, put the World Team ahead in the top of the eighth inning with a two-run home run:

The Boston Herald‘s Jason Mastrodonato noted the homer was somewhat surprising since it came off a left-handed pitcher, Anthony Banda:

On June 13, ESPN’s Jim Bowden reported the Red Sox would listen to trade offers for almost any prospect with the exception of Moncada and Andrew Benintendi, who also played in the Futures Game. After seeing Moncada’s towering homer, it’s not hard to see why Boston would covet the Cuban star so heavily.

Aside from Moncada, nobody else shone brighter than Alex Bregman, whom MLB.com ranks as the 18th-best prospect in baseball. The Houston Astros minor leaguer went 3-for-5 and was a home run short of the cycle. MLB.com’s Daren Willman noted how hard Bregman struck the ball Sunday:

According to the New York Post‘s Joel Sherman, the No. 2 overall pick in 2015 may not need much seasoning before he’s ready for the bigs:

Bregman scored the first run of the game when Cleveland Indians prospect Clint Frazier doubled into center field in the bottom of the third inning. Frazier then came home on a fielder’s choice off the bat of New York Mets prospect Dominic Smith.

Baltimore Orioles prospect Chance Sisco gave Team USA a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run:

Baseball America‘s Kyle Glaser thought the homer must’ve felt extra sweet for Sisco:

The World Team trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the top of the sixth on a double by Eloy Jimenez and a single by Josh Naylor. In the bottom half of the inning, Carson Kelly nearly tacked on another run for the United States. Instead, Manuel Margot, representing the hometown San Diego Padres, reached over the fence and saved a home run:

Baseball America‘s Ben Badler noted Margot has already earned a reputation for his stellar defensive work in the outfield:

His catch proved pivotal, as it allowed Moncada to give the World Team the lead in the top of the eighth. The World then broke the game open in the ninth. It dropped seven runs on the U.S. to go ahead 11-3. Three of the runs came on a mammoth homer from Jimenez, a 19-year-old in the Chicago Cubs’ system.

The home run wasn’t even his best play from the day. Jimenez somehow tracked down this foul ball off the bat of Dylan Cozens:

MLB.com’s Mike Petriello revealed how far Jimenez had to run before making the catch:

The Futures Game has been a great showcase for some of the best young talents in the game. Jake Arrieta, Francisco Lindor, Noah Syndergaard, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Nolan Arenado and Clayton Kershaw are among the more notable stars who have played in the event.

Most of this year’s participants are at least a few years away from becoming impact players on their major league teams, but they offered a glimpse of what may be to come down the road.

Postgame Reaction

“It’s an experience I will never forget in my life,” said Moncada of his MVP win Sunday, per Mastrodonato.

He also talked about his go-ahead homer: “I wasn’t looking for a home run or anything, I just wanted good contact and the home run came about. It just came like a normal home run.”

Jimenez also discussed his incredible catch.

“That is the craziest catch I’ve made,” he said, per CSN Chicago’s Dan Hayes. “I was just looking for something up and I saw it and that happened. Very fun. Very, very fun. It was crazy, crazy.”

For Bregman, playing in the Futures Game was an exciting experience, but he also has his eye on the big leagues.

“Not everybody gets this opportunity. I was just trying to soak it in and have fun,” he said, per USA Today‘s Steve Gardner. “I’m excited for the future. I want to help the Astros win games now … I feel like I can contribute and whenever that time comes, I’ll be ready.”

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The rosters are set, and the 2016 MLB All-Star Game is a mere three days away.

While the idea that home-field advantage for the World Series is decided in an exhibition game still rankles some baseball fans, the Midsummer Classic remains one of the biggest days on the MLB calendar.

Since the All-Star Game is meant to honor the best players in baseball, there isn’t generally a big statistical difference between the American and National Leagues. With that in mind, let’s take a look at how they stack up in terms some of the most telling pitching and batting metrics.

2016 All-Star Lineups

Key Stats

In terms of offense, the American League is superior in all but one of the nine categories below (home runs), but it’s worth noting David Ortiz is the AL leader in the lion’s share of the metrics. Still, the dominance of one player doesn’t necessarily speak to the strength of the entire lineup:

In truth, little separates the two. The AL averages 15.1 home runs and 53.9 runs batted in. The NL’s eight hitters average 16.7 homers and 51.5 RBI.

If the voters had selected the National League on starters, the Senior Circuit would also be much better off. Corey Seager leads all NL shortstops in WAR (3.8), and a sizeable margin separates him from All-Star starter Addison Russell (1.6), per FanGraphs.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the two:

Granted, the American League would have benefited from Chris Davis taking Eric Hosmer‘s place in the lineup. Davis may be hitting for a much lower average (.233) than Hosmer (.300), but he has also clubbed more home runs (21) and driven in more runs (56) than the Kansas City Royals first baseman (13 HR, 49 RBI).

One problem for NL manager Terry Collins will be devising a plan to neutralize the American League’s lineup without his best pitcher. The Los Angeles Dodgers placed Clayton Kershaw on the 15-day disabled list back on June 30, so he’ll be unavailable for the All-Star Game.

Excluding the three-time Cy Young winner, here’s how the NL’s aces stack up against their counterparts in AL:

Luckily for Collins, he has an embarrassment of riches at starting pitcher. As if navigating through the likes of Johnny Cueto, Jake Arrieta, Jose Fernandez, Drew Pomeranz and Max Scherzer won’t be difficult enough for AL hitters, they’ll also see Kenley Jansen, Fernando Rodney and Jeurys Familia on the mound at some point in the All-Star Game too.

The American League has some talented arms of its own, especially in the bullpen. With the nature of the All-Star Game—pitchers don’t generally go longer than an inning—loading up on relievers may be a shrewd strategy.

As USA Today‘s Gabe Lacques argued, AL manager Ned Yost will be right at home in San Diego:

Two or fewer runs have decided the All-Star Game on six occasions over the last 10 years. Given the strength of the National League’s pitching staff, two or three runs may be all it takes to win this year’s edition.

In a tight game, having pitchers used to late-inning relief roles could be a massive asset for the AL, though.

Note: American League and National League stats are courtesy of FanGraphs and up to date as of 6 p.m. ET Saturday.

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