I have decided to give my own opinion on how the starting lineups should shape up for the National league in the 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota.
National league starters:
C- Johnathan Lucroy.
He has been the most consistant hitting catcher so far in 2014. He may not have the catching skill set that Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, but he has vastly improved the past few years. Many people make the argument that Molina should be the starter because he has so many gold gloves, world series rings, and so on, but that has nothing to do with the All-Star game. The game is supposed to show the best players at each position from both leagues so far that year. It boggles my mind why what Molina has done the past few years has anything to do with his All-Star appearance this year. I do appreciate what Molina does daily, he is the best fielding catcher in baseball. Lucroy however is hitting .330 8HRs 39RBIs .403 OBP. Molina is batting .284 6HRs 27RBIs .334 OBP. Evan Gattis should be considered heavily for backing up these two as he has had an amazing June.
1B- Paul Goldschmidt
This one was easy, Goldschmidt has been a consistant hitting machine as he has done for most of his young career. Being a Giants fan I have gotten a few looks at him and he has impressed me greatly. He leads all of baseball with 28 doubles already this year and is hitting .301 15HRs 53RBIs .381 OBP, on a team that at the moment is going nowhere, but he that has not stopped him from continuing to produce. The sneaky choice that should be also considered is Justin Morneau of the Colorado Rockies who has turned it on of late and is driving in a ton of runs 57RBIs this season.
2B- Chase Utley
After having a super fast start for the seemingly ageless Utley, he has come back to earth in the past couple months, but he has continued to gather hits which convinces me he is deserving of the start at 2nd base. He is batting .293 5HRs 34RBIs 41Rs .354OBP. I also believe that Dee Gordon should get a strong consideration because he is stealing bases at an unbelievable pace, he has 40 steals through 74 games this season.
SS- Troy Tulowitzki
This was by far the easiest choice of any of the NL starters, Tulo has been the best hitter in all of baseball to start the 2014 season and just does not stop hitting. He is hitting .351 18HRs 45RBIs 60Rs .443 OBP. He has been producing steadily for the Rockies who were in the thick of the NL West race before hitting a wall a month and a half ago.
3B- David Wright
He is the easy option in the NL for third base, he has been consistant for the Mets and despite the Mets woes of not making the playoffs, that has not stopped Wright from taking that role as the face of the franchise. He is batting .278 6HRs 40RBIs .334 OBP.
OF- Yasiel Puig
The Dodgers young star has been just continuing to hit and drive in runs ever since he got called up last year almost mid season. He has had fantastic offense and defensive help for the Dodgers. Batting average has been the name of the game for Puig ever since he broke into the big leagues, and has been a hitting machine. He is batting .313 11HRs 45RBIs 40Rs .402 OBP.
OF- Andrew McCutchen
The NL MVP only a year ago has just picked up where he left off last year for the Bucs, hitting for average and power, drving in runs and then saving them with his stellar CF defense. Arguments can be made for Carlos Gomez, who has had a great year in CF for the Brewers, but Cutch has been pushing the envelope and producing a little more. McCutchen is batting .315 12HRs 48RBIs 41Rs .420 OBP.
OF- Giancarlo Stanton
This man has unreal power, he can hit balls farther and harder that you will ever see, but he is not just power, he has been hitting for average and has locked in that 3 spot in the lineup for the Marlins and keeping them in the race in the NL East. He is hitting .307 20HRs 58RBIs 54Rs .399 OBP.
Sleeper pick for All-Star game:
Casey McGehee- newly acquired third baseman for the Marlins who spent all of last season in Japan trying to get his swing and production back has done so. He has the chance to be the first player since 1944 to have 50RBIs by the All-Star break with only 1HR.
As far as the Giants are concerned, it looks like it may be Michael Morse who has the best shot at the All-Star game, especially with Pagan bitten by the injury bug. For pitchers it should be Madison Bumgarner and Tim Hudson, maybe Sergio Romo and hopefully Jean Machi who has had an unbelievable year in the Giants pen.
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