Simply looking at the rosters for the MLB All-Star Game should get fans excited for the Midsummer Classic.
Between young superstars and veterans who can still play at a high level, there is tons of variety on both the American League and National League squads. The first few innings should be especially enjoyable with a deep pair of starting lineups that didn’t feature much drop-off even after injury replacements.
Meanwhile, very few people could have predicted the starting pitchers for this showcase when the season started, but both are deserving of the honor.
Although most players will find a way to get into the game eventually, here is a look at the starting lineups for each squad, as announced by the managers.
The big story here is the announcements of the two starting pitchers. Both Bruce Bochy and Ned Yost had difficult decisions with plenty of reasonable options, but Zack Greinke and Dallas Keuchel ended up winning out.
Jon Heyman of CBS Sports is one person who agrees with the choices:
Max Scherzer wasn’t eligible for selection in the National League after pitching on Sunday, although you could argue he still hasn’t been as good as Greinke, even with a no-hitter on his resume. Gerrit Cole also had a legitimate case thanks to his major league-leading 13 wins with a 2.30 ERA.
However, Bochy explained the difference in his decision:
Greinke leads the majors with a 1.39 ERA and hasn’t allowed a run in the last 35.2 innings, a run that spans five games. Although he doesn’t rack up the strikeouts like Scherzer or others, he has been almost unhittable this season, allowing just a single hit in eight innings his last start.
Coming out of the other dugout will be Keuchel, who currently ranks second in the AL with a 2.33 ERA. This came as a bit of a surprise for someone who came into the year as a relative unknown despite a 2.93 ERA last season.
As the Houston Astros star pointed out, the new-age stats have helped him become a star:
Considering he trails only Clayton Kershaw among pitchers with a 4.7 WAR this season, per Baseball-Reference.com, he might be on to something with this assessment. It helps that Sonny Gray—like Scherzer—wasn’t eligible after pitching Sunday, but Keuchel deserves plenty of credit for his incredible run to this point.
As far as the lineup is concerned, fans should be ready for a lot of power from each side.
Between Mike Trout, Josh Donaldson, Albert Pujols and Nelson Cruz, the AL lineup begins with four players who have all hit at least 21 home runs this season. Fans in the outfield better be ready for the possibility of a lot of souvenirs.
In the NL, we have a few more well-rounded hitters in Bryce Harper, Paul Goldschmidt and Buster Posey, players who can hit for a high average as well knock it out of the park.
There are some downsides, as fans were robbed of a chance to see top players such as Miguel Cabrera, Giancarlo Stanton and others, but we will be just fine with Pujols, Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen and Joc Pederson as replacements.
While he’s not a household name, DJ LeMahieu will also get a chance to shine as a late replacement for the injured Dee Gordon.
With the All-Star Game counting toward home-field advantage in the World Series, these players should provide a quality effort for as long as they are in the game. No matter who wins, though, fans should be ready for quite a show.
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