bdj610’s 2013 End of Year MLB All-Star Teams…Every Team Needs a Representative

With the pitching staffs set in our last All-Star Team post, the next step is to make sure that every team gets at least one representative. I believe in the All-Star rule that every team, no matter how well or how poorly they did, has at least one person they could tag as an All-Star, based on his performance on the field. If it means that another person gets snubbed, that's sadly the way it goes. It does not matter how many spots there are on an All-Star team, someone always manages to be left out.

Now the pitching staffs from both sides locked in one representative from eight of the NL teams and nine of the AL teams. So that means in this post, I am going to name seven position players in the NL, and six in the AL, to each of their respective league's rosters.

In the NL, the Braves, Reds, Dodgers, Marlins, Phillies, Cardinals, Giants, and Nationals have representatives. These seven players will ensure that the NL has all 15 teams represented:

• 1B Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (.302, 36 HR's, 125 RBI's)
• OF Nate Schierholtz, Cubs (.251, 21 HR's, 68 RBI's)
• OF Michael Cuddyer, Rockies (.331, 20 HR's, 84 RBI's)
• OF Carlos Gomez, Brewers (.284, 24 HR's, 73 RBI's)
• 3B David Wright, Mets, (.307, 18 HR's, 58 RBI's)
• 3B Pedro Alvarez, Pirates (.233, 36 HR's, 100 RBI's)
• OF Will Venable, Padres (.268, 22 HR's, 53 RBI's)

The easiest spots to place players is in the outfield (Schierholtz of the Cubs for example). With nine spots to fill, it's relatively easy to assign a player whose team would not have an All-Star otherwise. The hardest? Probably first base? There is so much talent in that position, it's hard to pick three guys without leaving someone out. Fortunately, there is that one DH position. Two of the three 3B slots are now filled with Wright and Alvarez.

On the American League side, the Orioles, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Yankees, Athletics, Mariners, Rays, and Rangers, have representatives. These six players will ensure that the AL has all 15 of its teams represented.

• 2B Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox (.301, 9 HR's, 84 RBI's)
• SS Alexei Ramirez, White Sox (.284, 6 HR's, 48 RBI's)
• C Carlos Santana, Indians (.268, 20 HR's, 74 RBI's)
• OF Chris Carter, Astros (.223, 29 HR's, 82 RBI's)
• C Joe Mauer, Twins (.324, 11 HR's, 47 RBI's)
• 1B Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays (.272, 23 HR's, 67 RBI's)

Here, two of the three catchers spots have been filled. And while I had no problem putting Chris Carter of the Astros as one of the nine outfielders, selecting Alexei Ramirez as one of the three shortstops leaves me with two very competitive shortstop positions to fill, plus probably another worthy candidate from the Pale Hose off the roster (I haven't finalized this yet, so please breathe slowly before you send in your complaints).

Now before you start to say, "Where's this guy?" or, "Why didn't my guy make the team?" Please keep in mind that I'm not done filling out the final rosters. These 13 guys are only here so that all 30 teams have a player. The best (trust me) is still yet to come.

Sincerely,

JayBee Anama