While MLB won’t announce the starters until Tuesday night, the latest voting results provide a good indication of which players will represent their leagues in the 2016 MLB All-Star Game.
MLB Communications released the latest tally as of June 27, three days before the voting closed on June 30. The winners at each position will then be announced Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Although the official lineups, including pitchers and the National League designated hitter, will be up to the managers for each team and may not be known for some time, we can project what each team will look like for the game on July 12.
Here is a look at what to expect for the Midsummer Classic.
National League
The Chicago Cubs had dominated throughout the voting process, and unless something dramatic happened in the final couple of days, they should end up with five starters offensively.
Dexter Fowler hasn’t played while dealing with a hamstring injury, but he will apparently do what he can to make it back in time for the All-Star Game, per Carrie Muskat of MLB.com:
If he is in the lineup, it only makes sense for him to lead off, which he has done for the majority of his career.
Fellow Cubs Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo should make up the meat of the order after outstanding starts to the year, as they possess the type of power that can change a game with one swing of the bat. When you add in Yoenis Cespedes, this is almost as good of a middle of the order as you can produce in the National League.
While middle infielders Addison Russell and Ben Zobrist haven’t been quite as stellar as their teammates, the voters have made their preferences known, giving both players spots in the starting lineup.
Perhaps the biggest question mark is at catcher, where Yadier Molina is battling Buster Posey in a close race. While Molina has had an excellent career, Posey is the clear better option this season. Although emotion plays a big part in these types of races, the difference in numbers could be the deciding factor.
It remains to be seen who will be the team’s designated hitter, with two quality options in Nolan Arenado and Daniel Murphy. However, Murphy might have the edge as the league leader in batting average (.348). The second baseman has also been especially dominant against his former team this year, per ESPN.com’s Adam Rubin:
New York Mets manager Terry Collins will have the last call. He can either be vengeful or realize just how good his former player has been this season. We will bet on the latter.
Clayton Kershaw would be the obvious starter at pitcher if he was healthy, but since he’s on the disabled list, the likely choices are Jake Arrieta and Madison Bumgarner. While both are quality options, Bumgarner has been more reliable, especially recently.
Arrieta has failed to reach six innings in five of his last eight starts, while Bumgarner hasn’t pitched less than six since April. He won’t need to pitch more than two innings in the All-Star Game, but his ability to keep opponents off the board is worth the start.
American League
The top of this lineup is as good as you will find. While the NL will have some questionable starters, the American League will come at pitchers without many holes from top to bottom.
Jose Altuve and Mike Trout at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, combine high batting averages, elite speed and solid power. With Manny Machado and David Ortiz behind them, there is a high likelihood at least one or two runs go up on the board right away.
Meanwhile, the combination of top players from the Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals will ensure a lot of problems for the NL pitchers.
You could probably expect a few Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers players to come off the bench as well, once the full rosters are announced.
At pitcher, there appears to be a two-man race between Danny Salazar and Chris Sale. While Salazar has put up strong numbers all year long, Sale is the clear option after an impressive first half of the season.
The Chicago White Sox star has a 2.93 ERA and 0.98 WHIP, but the truly incredible number is his 14 wins in 17 starts.
Meanwhile, the team is going to make sure Sale actually gets a chance to play this time after he sat out a year ago. His manager, Robin Ventura, explained the value in the pitcher taking advantage of this opportunity, per Dan Hayes of CSN Chicago:
I don’t see that as an issue of him being able to pitch in the All-Star Game. I would like to see him do whatever he wants to do. He’s earned the right to do it. Whether they ask him to do it and he does it is another thing. It’s always an honor to play in the All-Star Game and to be the guy who is asked to start it is special. It doesn’t come around very often for a lot of guys and to do it is a feather in your cap.
Based on Sale’s ability to keep runners off base, the first couple of innings could be a challenge for the NL.
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