No Royals Fans Here: Who The Real AL All Stars Should Be

What has generally been a good system for All-Star selection has turned into a joke this year thanks to fans of the Kansas City Royals. With 10 days remaining in the vote, 7 of 9 spots are occupied by KC players, and almost every spot if not every spot is wrongfully occupied. The likes of Omar Infante, Alcides Escobar and Alex Rios belong nowhere near the all-star game, but for some reason are. So let’s take a look now at who the real all-stars should be comparatively to the current leaders.

Catcher: 

Who it is: Salvador Perez, Kansas City, .282/.293/.470 11 HR, 30 RBI

Who it should be: Stephen Vogt, Oakland, .294/.393/.545 12 HR, 51 RBI

This is a great example of how ridiculous this voting has been. In every single category, Stephen Vogt is better than Salvador Perez, most notably in OBP and RBI where Vogt has a 100 point advantage and 21 more RBI. But for some odd reason, Perez is leading the vote, and Vogt wrongfully falls behind Perez and Russell Martin.

First Basemen:

Who it is: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit, .350/.456/.593 15 HR, 52 RBI

Who it should be: Cabrera

This one is actually correct, as Cabrera is pretty simply the best pure hitter in the American League if not all of baseball. Hosmer led the vote up until this week, and the fact that he is even close to Cabrera is ridiculous. Luckily, Cabrera holds a pretty solid lead and should be able to remain the leader to win the starting job.

Second Basemen:

Who it is: Omar Infante, Kansas City, .232/.239/.314 0 HR, 20 RBI

Who it should be: Literally anyone else, but specifically Jason Kipnis, Cleveland, .346/.422/.511 5 HR 30 RBI

As much of a joke this all is, this is actually the biggest joke of it all. Almost any other starting 2nd basemen would be a better option than the putrid Infante, who is yet to hit a HR or steal a base. The funniest part is that most KC fans actually want Infante replaced as their 2B by Christian Colon. Wouldn’t that be something? The starting 2B in the all star game, doesn’t even start for his own team. Jason Kipnis has been one of baseball’s very best this year and it’s pure robbery that he isn’t leading the vote here.

Third Basemen:
Who it is: Michael Moustakas, Kansas City, .329/.382/.473 6 HR, 28 RBI

Who it should be: Josh Donaldson, Toronto, .302/.363/.548 17 HR, 46 RBI

This one isn’t terribly appalling. Moustakas has been horrid in recent years, but has totally turned it around this season putting up some terrific numbers. It’s just that Josh Donaldson has been better. Moose does have the advantage in average and OBP, but Donaldson has the clear advantage in power, and is also far superior in the field. Moose deserves an all-star nod, just not the starting spot.

Shortstop: 

Who is it: Alcides Escobar, Kansas City, .276/.315/.368 2 HR, 26 RBI

Who it should be: Jose Iglesias, Detroit, .325/.378/.390 1 HR, 9 RBI

This vote is incredibly close. Escobar has really solid numbers, and is a magician with the glove, but while Iglesias has zip in terms of power, his average is much higher and isn’t too shabby in the field himself. You could argue Escobar should at least be an all-star considering how weak the SS position is, but he shouldn’t quite get the start over Iglesias.

Outfielders:

Who it is:
Mike Trout, Anaheim, .302/.383/.576 18 HR, 41 RBI

Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City, .294/.347/.445 6 HR, 32 RBI

Alex Gordon, Kansas City, .269/.385/.442 8 HR 31

Who it should be: 

Trout

Jose Bautista, Toronto, .260/.401/.543 15 HR, 50 RBI

Yoenis Cespdes, Detroit, .308/.340/.508 10 HR, 39 RBI

Gordon and Cain are solid players, but neither deserve their spots. Cain is a good leadoff man, and solid hitter but has nothing on the likes of Yoenis and Joey Bats. Gordon is really only a decent hitter with a great glove, but again he doesn’t deserve it more than the other two. Bautista’s average is only okay this year, but his power numbers and RBI are great and his OBP is unreal for a guy with only a mediocre average. Cespedes has an average advantage over both Cain and Gordon along with more HR and RBI. Oh, and that cannon arm from left field is pretty good too.

Designated Hitter:

Who it is: Kendrys Morales, Kansas City, .287/.347/.459 8 HR, 45 RBI

Who it should be: Nelson Cruz, Seattle, .313/.380/.568 19 HR, 44 RBI

Cruz has quieted down the last few weeks, breaking a span of 83 plate appearances without a HR on saturday, but still is having a much better year than Morales. While Kendrys has the edge in RBI, you can easily attribute that to the fact that Morales plays for a very good team, while Cruz plays for the most offensively inept team ever. Morales deserves an all-star nod like Escobar and Moustakas, but not the starting job over Cruz.