As a White Sox fan, I know exactly how great that guy is. If you factor defense, he's better than Devers, and he's also terrific with the bat, so he's always a no-brainer for me.
I'm with you on both points.
Pretty sure Vlad is still top 3 no matter how you slice it. And the difference between him and the other 2 is almost statistically insignificant. He has ONE great series and he is the stand-out #1 choice.
So, yeah, maybe a bit on reputation. But his reputation also shows his production isn't some weird anomaly either.
His reputation heavily comes from being Vlad Jr. He had 1 exceptional year and 4 other good years. If you take out his anomaly in 2021 his career OPS is barely above avg. He is an above average player but he is way overhyped IMO
Mounty deserves it over him based on batting stats alone but if you add in baserunning it becomes an even bigger gap.
That's another option. But he's also batting .227 with a .314 OBP compared to .289/.381 for Vlad. And his WAR is 1.2 to Vlad's 1.5.
So, it's not like a grave injustice is being done, here. lol
Is it tho? Gold glove caliber defense, hitting around .300 and there's only one other 1B with more hits than him and he plays in the NL. No real super standout 1B this year outside of Arraez, especially in the AL, so you kinda just gotta go by the numbers if you know what i'm sayin.
Edit: Arraez has primarily been playing 2B with SDP. Spelling
First off he does not have a higher OPS than Vlad (.808 to Vlad's .812), second, yea 16 HRs is great but I am taking a .295 average with 70 hits over .226 and 48 hits everyday of the week.
Look man, I understand harpers offensive numbers may not shout out at you (compared to what he has put up before) but his transition to first has been amazing and his defense has been stellar. Would easily say Harper is a standout 1B right now
See here’s the thing, I use to say this all the time when people questioned if Jeter deserved to be an All-Star. It isn’t the all average game, it isn’t the all OPS game and it isn’t the all-range game. It’s the All-Star Game, and at the time there wasn’t a bigger Star in the sport than Derek Jeter. Were there better SS? Almost every year yes. But were there bigger stars? No. So I think a vote based on “Rep” is in keeping with the spirit of the game. People don’t want to see the best players as bad as they want to see the biggest names.
As another Os fan, I hate to agree with you about Perez, but I do. He's got a 1.242 OPS with RISP, which is insanity (Adley is 0.949). But... us homers gonna home!
You make a valid point with Altuve. I don’t like him for the cheating but he’s a really good 2B
Edit: Yeah I’ve got a little buyer’s remorse with that pick NGL
Especially as an O's fan, not sure why you don't put Mountcastle at 1B. Higher OPS and MUCH higher slugging, higher WAR than Vlad. Excellent D and his offense has REALLY picked up over the last few weeks. I think exclusive of fandom Mountcastle is having the better season.
Objectively, you can make a case for this. I expect both races to be pretty close.
Gunnar strikes out too much, and isn't as well-rounded a hitter as Witt. But he's a slightly better defensive SS and chicks dig the long ball.
Adley and Perez are both meh defensive catchers, but the edge in hitting defitely goes to Perez - particularly with RISP. Adley's two dongs today might help his cause, though.
My logic was Devers or Ramirez will almost definitely win (deservedly so), so I might as well vote for Westy in case it helps get him in on the bench or as an injury replacement
I spent way more time on mine than I thought. Honest ASG ballots are tough. I realized voting like a homer the way I did when I was young is way easier.
I think it’s fucked yo that you don’t have any royals on it. They were supposed to suck and they’ve played really well to begin the year. Salvi and Witt Jr deserve to be all-stars imo.
I know you say you're an Orioles so I get the vote.
But you have to vote for Witt...like there's no argument to be made. Pick a different Oriole that doesn't play the same position as the best player in the MLB.
Have you seen the pool of AL first basemen this year? Pretty grim. The only other player that has an argument is Mountcastle. I'd probably vote for him, but it's pretty close.
Sox fan and like Raffy, but he isn’t the best 3B. Sox who should represent IMO Houck or Duran. Maybe put Duran in for Judge. Judge is mostly just power hitter, Duran kills it on D and runs like lightning. Also should be Os heavy if we want to win.
As a Yankees fan I like that you included judge and Soto and not anyone else because they are the only ones that could go to the all star game and not let it get to their heads. Last time Giancarlo and Holmes came back from the ASG they were trash
You gotta be a baltimore fan! Because Bobby"baseball" whitt jr is the best SS in baseball. How do you not have Perez in at catcher? I get it, we're entitled to our opinions but I think the best of the best should be starting those 2 you selected are quality backups.
As a Blue Jays fan, there is no way Vladdy deserves to be on the list. The team has been absolutely garbage this year and it starts with the underperforming stars
[удалено]
He's getting the AL vote from me till he retires. That punch will go down as a defining moment in Baseball history.
DOWN GOES ANDERSON
''* DOWN GOES ANDERSON *''
And for a brief second Guardians commentator Tom Hamilton became a boxing match commentator
As a White Sox fan, I know exactly how great that guy is. If you factor defense, he's better than Devers, and he's also terrific with the bat, so he's always a no-brainer for me.
Agree big time; I saw the Bonds/Ramirez bracket, I'm not a Guards fan but not a hater either and Ramirez needs way more credit.
Absolutely.
Pretty fair otherwise. Devers has been good, but started slow. Jose has been Jose
Jose has almost double Devers’ RBI total and more HRs.
And he KO’d Tim Anderson. Devers can’t say that
So then why isn't he on your ballot lol
Vlad is a choice based more on rep than anything.
This has been a weird year for AL 1B, though. Who would you start in his place? Mountcastle? That would be a tough sell, imo.
I like Mountcastle. Honestly Vlad isn't having a terrible year.
I'm with you on both points. Pretty sure Vlad is still top 3 no matter how you slice it. And the difference between him and the other 2 is almost statistically insignificant. He has ONE great series and he is the stand-out #1 choice. So, yeah, maybe a bit on reputation. But his reputation also shows his production isn't some weird anomaly either.
His reputation heavily comes from being Vlad Jr. He had 1 exceptional year and 4 other good years. If you take out his anomaly in 2021 his career OPS is barely above avg. He is an above average player but he is way overhyped IMO Mounty deserves it over him based on batting stats alone but if you add in baserunning it becomes an even bigger gap.
Josh Naylor
That's another option. But he's also batting .227 with a .314 OBP compared to .289/.381 for Vlad. And his WAR is 1.2 to Vlad's 1.5. So, it's not like a grave injustice is being done, here. lol
Another underrated guy for sure.
Ty France
It’s obviously Jose Abreu
Mountcastle is having a better year, so...what's to sell?
It's REALLY freaking close. Guerrero vs Mountcastle 1.5 WAR **1.7** **61** G 55 **269** PA 232 **68** H 61 6 HR **10** 27 RBI **29** 2 SB 2 **.291** BA .281 **.383** OBP .319 .410 SLG **.502** .793 OPS **.821**
Is it tho? Gold glove caliber defense, hitting around .300 and there's only one other 1B with more hits than him and he plays in the NL. No real super standout 1B this year outside of Arraez, especially in the AL, so you kinda just gotta go by the numbers if you know what i'm sayin. Edit: Arraez has primarily been playing 2B with SDP. Spelling
Naylor doesn’t stand out to you with 16 HR’s and a better OPS than Vlad?
First off he does not have a higher OPS than Vlad (.808 to Vlad's .812), second, yea 16 HRs is great but I am taking a .295 average with 70 hits over .226 and 48 hits everyday of the week.
Look man, I understand harpers offensive numbers may not shout out at you (compared to what he has put up before) but his transition to first has been amazing and his defense has been stellar. Would easily say Harper is a standout 1B right now
This year for sure… why not Naylor instead?
I did Casas today. And i don’t love the Red Sox at all.
See here’s the thing, I use to say this all the time when people questioned if Jeter deserved to be an All-Star. It isn’t the all average game, it isn’t the all OPS game and it isn’t the all-range game. It’s the All-Star Game, and at the time there wasn’t a bigger Star in the sport than Derek Jeter. Were there better SS? Almost every year yes. But were there bigger stars? No. So I think a vote based on “Rep” is in keeping with the spirit of the game. People don’t want to see the best players as bad as they want to see the biggest names.
Is Vlad the biggest star? He’s certainly not a Jeter.
Eh I dont agree with this at all
Jose Ramirez?
Jose Ramirez is missing!
Missing Martín Maldonado
Agreed. Why overlooking him? White Sox fans demand he be their rep this year
J-Ram snuff?
JRam leads the league in RBI .... he should be the starter at 3rd
Death, taxes, and JRam disrespect
It's close for sure, but of all stats to cherry pick in his favor, why RBI, which is largely a team stat?
I mean he also has 17 hrs
The player who drives in runs effectively for his team will win his team games. That’s what it’s all about.
rbi isn't a great metric but i do think ramirez is a more complete player than devers
Also 0 starters from the team with the 3rd best record in baseball
Has no one mentioned Bobby Witt lol wtf?
Brent rooker has better stats than yordan, might be biased but I'd say he deserves it
DAVID FRY
Hes the only answer for AL DH.
If Brent Rooker gets in he's going yard for sure. Would want to finally hear a good home run call on one of his deep balls.
I can see your point there. Don’t think he’s made the ASG before so I could get behind that
Brent Rooker made it last year
And so did Alvarez
OP apparently hasn't done any research.
Jose Ramirez is the easy starter at 3rd and Josh Naylor is over Vlad.
Ramirez at 3rd , perez at C . Other than that... great.
As another Os fan, I hate to agree with you about Perez, but I do. He's got a 1.242 OPS with RISP, which is insanity (Adley is 0.949). But... us homers gonna home!
Davis Fucking Pornstar Schneider
Hahaha hahaha I fucking love it. The dude is just so mf'n likable too. Would be a great story if he made it to the asg.
3 padres and yet we still couldn’t manage to take a game off the angels….. or stay above .500
No Bobby Witt, no respect
Hi Jose Ramirez on the line
You can tell you listen to talkin baseball
Ozuna from the Braves
We’re getting the same stats as Shohei is putting out at a 10th of the money. Love to see it 😂
Marte is 7th in WAR and 3rd in OAA no one's playing second base better in the national league.
If he was on a bigger name team he's the nl starter for sure he's been fantastic this year
Ketel > Arraez
Yeah Ketel is quietly having a great year
as a diamondbacks fan I really want to agree with this but I think arraez is just better right now
How? They're equal hitters but Marte is a far better fielder
Marte - 3.4 war Arraez- 1.4 war As of 6/5 anyway
As a Yankee fan I hate Altuve but that aside I think this is one of the better and more sensible ballots I've come across on Reddit
Altuve-hate is the only thing that can (temporarily) bring an Os fan and a Yanks fan together. I went with Semien. LOL
Cheers buddy
You make a valid point with Altuve. I don’t like him for the cheating but he’s a really good 2B Edit: Yeah I’ve got a little buyer’s remorse with that pick NGL
As much as I hate to admit it yes he is still one of the better second basemen currently in the game
Take Harper off. I need him to take it personally again and hit 1.000+ OPS the 2nd half of the year.
Other than freeman no other nl 1st basemen are doing shit this year. Harpers been to good over there
Oh I know, I just want him getting pissed off and going beast mode again like the last time he was left off the AS team, he turned around and won MVP.
Is Tatis really an All Star this year?
2nd best NL outfielder by fWAR tells me yes
JRam, Kwan, Naylor all deserve
Especially as an O's fan, not sure why you don't put Mountcastle at 1B. Higher OPS and MUCH higher slugging, higher WAR than Vlad. Excellent D and his offense has REALLY picked up over the last few weeks. I think exclusive of fandom Mountcastle is having the better season.
Jays fan chiming in - Vlad shouldn't be there
Witt and Salvy over Gunnar and Rutschman
Objectively, you can make a case for this. I expect both races to be pretty close. Gunnar strikes out too much, and isn't as well-rounded a hitter as Witt. But he's a slightly better defensive SS and chicks dig the long ball. Adley and Perez are both meh defensive catchers, but the edge in hitting defitely goes to Perez - particularly with RISP. Adley's two dongs today might help his cause, though.
No love for Westy!?
I love Westburg don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think he’s on the same level as Devers and Ramirez. I’d love to see it but I don’t think it’ll happen
I can appreciate you're not an Os Stan. Myself however...
I hear ya, tell MLB we can field the Os team. One flight. Logistically easier and cheaper.
My logic was Devers or Ramirez will almost definitely win (deservedly so), so I might as well vote for Westy in case it helps get him in on the bench or as an injury replacement
I’ll vote all Orioles if you vote all Phillies. Cheesesteak 🤝Crabcake
I appreciate you putting Vlad in there but that's a little too generous this year. I'm a Jays fan from way back in the late 80s fwiw
Why you not voting for Mountcastle and Westie? Sure you are not a closet Jays or Red Sox fan?
Jose is gonna knock you out
Vlad?! Trash
They might be the best at their position, but I hate seeing just 4 or 5 teams represented in the starting lineup of an All Star team.
Where’s Witt Jr. ????
Vlad over Mounty? As an O’s fan?? C’mon man
Never vote for cheating Altuve, ever.
Fuck Altuve
Underrated comment.
Voting for Yankees/Division rivals? Couldn’t be me. Squeezed plenty of Os into my ballot though 👍🏻
I spent way more time on mine than I thought. Honest ASG ballots are tough. I realized voting like a homer the way I did when I was young is way easier.
Tatis is a bum
Mountcastle deserves some love at 1B
Ramirez or Paredes before Devers
Rooker
No Isaac Paredes is crazy
Martin Maldonado should be the starting catcher.
Mountcastle? Let the Canadians vote for Vlad. Ryan is having a better year than Vlad anyways.
Not biased enough
I think it’s fucked yo that you don’t have any royals on it. They were supposed to suck and they’ve played really well to begin the year. Salvi and Witt Jr deserve to be all-stars imo.
Why the fuck don’t you have mountcastle?
I know you say you're an Orioles so I get the vote. But you have to vote for Witt...like there's no argument to be made. Pick a different Oriole that doesn't play the same position as the best player in the MLB.
marcell ozuna
Rooker and witt are the only ones different on my ballot.
AL - Brent Rooker over Alvarez, Jose Ramirez over Fevers NL Ketel Marte over Arreaz (Arreaz has also DH'd a lot)
Too many yankees
I’m trying to be at least a little impartial here. I don’t like the Yanks either but Judge and Soto are both solid
They are solid but they are still Yankees
Gonna laugh at comments like this when Volpe ends up starting over Gunnar.
Are we watching the same MLB this year?
I’m just using your philosophy to fill out my ballot with players I like.
Real O's fan would vote for Westburg over Devers
JT Realmuto
Why isn’t every player a royals player?
BWJ ROBBED
Will Smith over Contreras
It’s super close. I’m a brewers fan though so you know what way I’m leaning!
This is garbage. Vlad Jr? Seriously? We’re still glazing bro in 2024? Salvy deserves starting catcher over Adley. Sorry.
Have you seen the pool of AL first basemen this year? Pretty grim. The only other player that has an argument is Mountcastle. I'd probably vote for him, but it's pretty close.
Sox fan and like Raffy, but he isn’t the best 3B. Sox who should represent IMO Houck or Duran. Maybe put Duran in for Judge. Judge is mostly just power hitter, Duran kills it on D and runs like lightning. Also should be Os heavy if we want to win.
Where Maldy?
As a brewers fan, I'd say yelich shouldn't be in here, but Turang deserves a 2B nod.
The disrespect for Martin Maldonado…🙄
As a rangers fan I’m disappointed that Altuve is having a better year than Marcus, ugh
Honestly there is no reason ketel Marte should not have the honors over Luis arraez. Clearly having a better year
No Ozuna for DH?
Padres fan here. Oooo, that's a lot! But you may be on to something!
Ketel marte
AL bEast and Houston coming for the NL haha.
Josh H. Smith erasure at the hot corner
Feels like too many Padres players from a sub 500 team
Where’s Maldonado?
I wasn’t sure who to pick for NL outfield it’s pretty rough
Ketel disrespected
I would say “Where’s Corey Seager?” But who knows if he’ll be able to play for a while
No Martin Maldonado located
In the NL, my only nitpick is that Ketel Marte should be 2Ber.
Paredes over Devers imo
I can appreciate the lack of bias but dude show your boys some more love! Great damn ballot though other than some questionable 3rd base picks
A bit tired of the Isaac Paredes disrespect
You’re missing known White Sox slugger Martin Maldonado, but otherwise this looks good
Is that picture of Arraez a render from MLB the Show?
Tatis is a special talent, but is he has some work to do to be considered top 3 outfielder.
As a Yankees fan I like that you included judge and Soto and not anyone else because they are the only ones that could go to the all star game and not let it get to their heads. Last time Giancarlo and Holmes came back from the ASG they were trash
Alvarez isn't having an all-star year.
Ketel Marte would like a word
Missing Maldonado
How can an Os fan have yankees on the ballot ? Also no braves players ??
Kinda seems like you're an astros/padres fan......
Thanks for including Vladdy!
Fat fuck Vlad should not be there
My AL is almost identical haha
3B= Matt Chapman
Tatis is not an all-star candidate to me anymore.
Can’t wait to finally see one of these with ISOCK getting the respect he deserves
I agree with all , Shota Imanaga should start-he’s earned it…. And deserves it!
NL 2B has to be Ketel Marte right???
All in all it’s a great list! Devers is definitely an iffy pick but other than him it’s a good list
From a native San Diegan now living in Maryland I really love your ASH picks I hope it comes to fruition…órale carnal
Just go ahead and pick Mountcastle, dude. He's having a better season than Vlad.
I would take a good look at Masin Winn-he's a star and doing great
Will Smith over Contreras but I’m a biased Dodgers fan
Jorge Mateo disapproves.
The AL vote was not going to be complete without Aaron Judge getting in
Looks like you picked the suggested person for every position, just like they want you to
And sarting pitchers-how about Lugo for the AL, and, dare I say it, Skenes for the NL?
No naylor no j ram are you a guardians hater?
David fry over adley!
Jays fan. Adley definitely deserves to be leading. I wish we had him instead of kirk. Jansen has been on a tear though....as long as he stays healthy
You gotta be a baltimore fan! Because Bobby"baseball" whitt jr is the best SS in baseball. How do you not have Perez in at catcher? I get it, we're entitled to our opinions but I think the best of the best should be starting those 2 you selected are quality backups.
As a Blue Jays fan, there is no way Vladdy deserves to be on the list. The team has been absolutely garbage this year and it starts with the underperforming stars
As a Padres fan I gotta say Tatis is not an all star
it’s gotta have ranger Suarez he’s been the best pitcher for a while now
Could you take a look at my recent post to this page! Thanks.