On Monday, the reserves, pitchers, and final man candidates were announced. Both teams were extremely well balanced, there are even more set up men going to this game than ever before, showing how important these guys are becoming in today's game. We even learned who was going to replace injured starters Giancarlo Stanton and Miguel Cabrera.
So without further ado, here are the 2015 MLB All-Star Game rosters as announced on Monday night (with 2015 Topps Card # and retail team set # if applicable, for those of you playing along and putting them into your All-Star Binders):
American League Starters
1B-Miguel Cabrera, Tigersº (#200, DT-1)
2B-Jose Altuve, Astros(#620, HA-1)
3B-Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays (#5 with the Athletics, TBJ-12)
SS-Alcides Escobar, Royals (#137, KCR-4)
OF-Mike Trout, Angels (#300, A-1)
OF-Lorenzo Cain, Royals (#516, KCR-12)
OF-Alex Gordon, Royals (#456, KCR-11)
C-Salvador Perez, Royals (#39, KCR-5)
DH-Nelson Cruz, Mariners (#411, SM-17)
American League Pitchers
P-Chris Archer, Rays (#324, TBR-7)
P-Sonny Gray, Athletics (#305, OA-1)
P-Dallas Keuchel, Astros (#477, HA-16)
P-David Price, Tigers (#550, DT-16)
P-Chris Sale, White Sox (#376, CWS-10)
RP-Dellin Betances, Yankees (#532, NYY-4)
RP-Wade Davis, Royals (#454, KCR-16)
RP-Glen Perkins, Twins (#197, MT-8)
P-Felix Hernandez, Mariners (#325, SM-3, selected by MGR)
RP-Brad Boxberger, Rays (#538, selected by MGR)
RP-Zach Britton, Orioles (#190, BO-5, selected by MGR)
RP-Kelvin Herrera, Royals (selected by MGR)
RP-Darren O'Day, Orioles (#670, BO-6, selected by MGR)
American League Reserves
1B-Albert Pujols, Angels (#600, A-10, will start for Cabrera)
2B-Jason Kipnis, Indians (#221, CI-8)
3B-Manny Machado, Orioles (#136, BO-7)
SS-Jose Iglesias, Tigers (#239, DT-7)
UT-Brock Holt, Red Sox (selected by MGR)
1B-Mark Teixeira, Yankeesª (#307, NYY-11, replaces Cabrera)
OF-Jose Bautista, Blue Jays (#25, TBJ-1)
OF-Adam Jones, Orioles (#169, BO-1)
OF-J. D. Martinez, Tigers (#148, DT-5)
DH-Prince Fielder, Rangers (#422, TR-6)
C-Stephen Vogt, Athletics (#652, OA-9)
C-Russell Martin, Blue Jays (#436, TBJ-4, selected by MGR)
American League Final Man Candidates
SS-Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox (#327, BRS-6)
OF-Yoenis Cespedes, Tigers (#120 with the Red Sox, #DT-8)
2B-Brian Dozier, Twins (#259, MT-2)
OF-Brett Gardner, Yankees (#21, NYY-3)
3B-Mike Moustakas, Royals (#461, KCR-10)
National League Starters
1B-Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (#203, AD-1)
2B-Dee Gordon, Marlins (#559, MM-14)
3B-Todd Frazier, Reds (#42, CR-5)
SS-Jhonny Peralta, Cardinals (#311, SLC-5)
OF-Bryce Harper, Nationals (#207, WN-1)
OF-Giancarlo Stanton, Marlinsº (#150, MM-1)
OF-Matt Holliday, Cardinals (#361, SLC-10)
C-Buster Posey, Giants (#275, SGF-12)
National League Pitchers
P-Gerrit Cole, Pirates (#671, PIP-15)
P-Jacob deGrom, Mets (#129, NYM-17)
P-Zack Greinke, Dodgers (#267, LAD-5)
P-Shelby Miller, Braves (#220 with the Cardinals, AB-2)
P-Max Scherzer, Nationals (#586, WN-14)
RP-Aroldis Chapman, Reds (#268, CR-9)
RP-Mark Melancon, Pirates (#124, PIP-6)
RP-Trevor Rosenthal, Cardinals (#286, SLC-6)
P-Madison Bumgarner, Giants (#20, SFG-1, selected by MGR)
P-A.J. Burnett, Pirates (#466, #PIP-2, selected by MGR)
P-Michael Wacha, Cardinals (#60, SLC-7, selected by MGR)
RP-Jonathan Papelbon, Phillies (#143, PHP-8, selected by MGR)
RP-Francisco Rodriguez, Brewers (selected by MGR)
National League Reserves
1B-Anthony Rizzo, Cubs (#47, CHC-1)
2B-DJ LeMahieu, Rockies (#438, COR-10)
3B-Nolan Arenado, Rockies (#62, COR-8)
SS-Brandon Crawford, Giants (#159, SFG-7)
1B-Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers (#328, LAD-4, selected by MGR)
2B-Joe Panik, Giants (#503, SFG-8, selected by MGR)
3B-Kris Bryant, Cubsª (#616, replaces Stanton)
OF-Andrew McCutchen, Pirates (#400, PIP-1, will start for Stanton)
OF-Joc Pederson, Dodgers (#192, LAD-9)
OF-A. J. Pollock, Diamondbacks (#572, AD-11)
OF-Justin Upton, Padres (#69 with the Braves, #SDP-6, selected by MGR)
C-Yadier Molina, Cardinals (#647, SLC-11)
C-Yasmani Grandal, Dodgers (#338 with the Padres, LAD-12, selected by MGR)
National League Final Man Candidates
SP-Johnny Cueto, Reds (#375, CR-13)
RP-Jeurys Familia, Mets (#402)
SP-Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers (#100, LAD-1)
SP-Carlos Martinez, Cardinals (#527, SLC-9)
SS-Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies (#125, COR-1)
º Injured, will not participate
ª Named as replacement
The rosters once again will consist of 34 active players. Each team is already at 34 players and we haven't even gotten the final man voting in yet. Why is that?
Andrew McCutchen of the Pirates will start in place of Stanton on the NL team, and Cubs wunderkind Kris Bryant will take Stanton's spot on the roster (and possibly the Home Run Derby...we'll see).
On the American League side, Albert Pujols of the Angels will start at 1st in place of Cabrera, and Mark Teixeira of the Yankees takes Cabrera's spot on the roster.
Including the players on the Final Man balloting, only three players do not have cards in the eponymous Topps set or any of the retail sets. Those players include Kelvin Herrera and Brock Holt on the AL side, and Francisco Rodriguez on the NL. Each should have cards in the expanded Update series. In the meantime, every other player has a card that at least features them on their current team as long as you count the retail sets.
As it seems to be the case these past few years, there is a lot of youth on both rosters, as well as a ton of first-time All-Stars to boot (about 26 at last count). If you look at the Final Man Nominees, all five AL candidates are hitters, (compared to five starting pitchers the year before and five relievers the year prior to that). The NL includes 4 pitchers and Tulo. How deep is the NL starting staff? I know he's having a down year, but when Clayton Kershaw is relegated to Final Man balloting, you know that if the starters on the NL roster were all on the same team, they'd be nothing short of dominant.
Chicago is well represented this year with three players between both teams (Rizzo, Bryant, Sale). Thanks to the early Royals voting surge, KC brings six players to Cincinnati, and Moustakas could be number 7 as he's on the final man ballot. The Cardinals, who have the best record in baseball, send 5 players, and a sixth, Martinez, is also on the final man ballot.
Now I didn't get a chance to hear which of the starting pitchers are scheduled to pitch for their respective teams this Sunday. The rule is in effect that if any of them are in line to pitch that day, they will have to be replaced. This is just the beginning. If history is an indicator, expect both active rosters to dramatically change by the time July 14 comes. As always, I'll make sure to help you add cards to your All-Star binders by providing card numbers for the players added onto the All-Star teams.
Let's hear the answers to these questions:
Who do you think should have been chosen that wasn't (not even for the Final Man ballot)?
Of the players selected, who shouldn't be going to the game?
Were the guys you wanted from your team chosen?
If not, then who should have represented your team?
Let the debates begin.
Sincerely,
JayBee Anama
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