Breaking Down the NL All-Star Voting Totals

National League:

1B: Joey Votto leads by a landslide. The fact that he is batting .353/.478/.643 makes him the easy choice, especially because the NL has a lack of productiveness out of the first base position this season.

2B: This one is a question mark. Dan Uggla leads Brandon Phillips by over 700,000 votes. The only edge Uggla has over Phillips is one more home run (eleven to ten). Uggla has committed four times as many errors as Phillips (eight to two). While Brandon Phillips is hitting a respectable .289, Uggla is sitting at .232, which would have to be one of the lowest batting averages for an all-star the game has ever seen.

3B: David Wright leads Pablo Sandoval by a few hundred thousand votes. Batting .357 makes that well deserved on its own.

SS: Rafael Furcal and Troy Tulowitzki are in a close race, with Furcal leading. With Tulo not going to be be off the DL for the Midsummer Classic, the nod will likely go to Furcal. I have no problem with Furcal instead of Starlin Castro, as Castro's defense has been inconsistent, and his overall offensive stats are not even with Furcal's.

C: Backstop is currently the NL voting's biggest mistake so far. 

Player A: .300/.366/.483/.850
Player B: .364/.428/.591/1.019
Player C: .316/.367/.518/.885

Player A is leading Player C by almost 200,000 votes and Player B by almost 700,000. If you follow baseball intently you probably know who these three are. While Carlos Ruiz (B) is leading all of Major League Baseball in hitting, Buster Posey (A) is in line to start the All-Star Game. Yadier Molina (C) is also having a better year than Posey. Both Ruiz and Molina are far better defensively than the young phenom, but in this voting none of that seems to matter.

OF: Matt Kemp leads all outfielders, and while he is currently on the DL, he aspires to return to play in the ASG. Carlos Beltran is in a deserving second, replacing Albert Pujols with 20 HR and 59 RBI to go along with a .312 average. Melky Cabrera and his .351 average have surpassed Ryan Braun for third. If not for the steroid allegation, Braun's popularity probably would have had him leading this vote. Following these four are Andre Ethier, Matt Holliday, Hunter Pence, Michael Bourn, Angel Pagan, Andrew McCutchen, Carlos Gonzalez, and Jason Heyward. A few of these guys will be snubbed, as many are having similarly terrific seasons. It appears the Giants are stuffing the ballots somewhat, as Pagan has no business being on this list. Heyward is a stretch as well. To put them in order, I'd go:

Beltran, McCutchen, Bourn, Cabrera, Kemp, Gonzalez, Braun. The rest shouldn't make the roster.

AL will be done tomorrow.

Top 25 Baseball Players (20-25)

20) Yadier Molina, C, St. Louis Cardinals

Why is Yadi ranked above Joe Mauer, Alex Avila, Victor Martinez, and the rest of MLB's catchers? Hitting wise, Mauer and Martinez are better, no questions asked (although Molina outhit Mauer last year by a landslide). Avila will be. But defensively, Molina is the best the game has to offer. He manages a pitching staff far better than Martinez, and pretty much everyone else outside of Carlos Ruiz. He possesses a cannon for an arm. And a .309 postseason average, where's he been the battery mate of two World Series-winning pitching staffs? Not bad.

21) Justin Upton, RF, Arizona Diamondbacks

One of baseball's brightest rising stars, Upton is still just 24 years of age. In 2010, he had an awful strikeout rate (152 in just 492 ABs), but he cut it down to 126 in 100 more at-bats in 2011. He was an MVP candidate for a D'Back team that surprised all by making a run into the playoffs. By the time his career is done, his fireplace mantel could possess that hardware.


22) Felix Hernandez, P, Seattle Mariners

Though tying a career high with fourteen wins last year (one more than his 2010 Cy Young season, proving wins to a starter don't signify anything), King Felix took a step back from the past two years. His ERA jumped 1.2 points to 3.47, and he threw sixteen fewer innings. That being said, the stuff was there (222 Ks), and 2011 shows all the signs of a slightly off year (and it was still a very impressive season). By the time his career is done, he'll possess a Hall of Fame resume.


23) Jose Reyes, SS, Miami Marlins

Yeah, he won the batting title this past season. He steals bags, too. But Reyes plays a shaky shortstop, and I'm not going to lie, sitting out the last game to preserve his batting title definitely hurt his ranking. He hasn't been clutch or produced much RBI-wise out of the leadoff hole, but heading this potent Marlins lineup could do him wonders.


24) Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston Red Sox

Boston fans love the grit and grind the little guy plays with. He'll probably never again touch his 2008 numbers at the plate, maybe due to the fact he goes out of his way to hit home runs. Nonetheless, Pedroia is a wonderful player, and he'll play an integral part of the Red Sox' attempt to return to the postseason.


25) Michael Young, 3B, Texas Rangers

Certainly his batting stats were inflated by his the protection of Texas' explosive lineup. But still, it takes elite skill to hit .338 under any circumstance. And 213 hits at age 34? Ridiculous. And while this doesn't pertain to rankings, he showed he's an excellent team guy (see: Stranded in Texas) by accepting his role as everyday utilityman. Young's a true professional with a ton of skill (and 2061 career hits).

Honorable mentions: Alex Avila, C, Detroit Tigers; Matt Cain, P, San Francisco Giants; Hunter Pence, RF, Philadelphia Phillies; Joe Mauer, C, Minnesota Twins; Adrian Beltre, 3B, Texas Rangers; Cole Hamels, P, Philadelphia Phillies; Mariano Rivera, P, New York Yankees