My All-Star Ballot

American League

First Base - I'm going with Adrian Gonzalez here. He's hitting .347 with 15 homers and 62 runs batted in. Paul Konerko (.327 18 HR 55 RBI), Toronto's Adam Lind (.339 15 HR 44 RBI) and Miguel Cabrera (.325 13 HR 47 RBI) are all also having really nice seasons, but Gonzalez has been the best player for the best team in the American League and he's the AL leader in batting and runs batted in right now.

Second Base - I'm taking Robinson Cano. With Dustin Pedroia (.261 5 HR 30 RBI) and Ian Kinsler (.236 8 HR 25 RBI) both having down years, Cano's stats really jump off the page (.293 14 HR 46 RBI). He's the only AL second baseman on the ballot with double digit homeruns, and he's got 10 more RBIs than Ben Zobrist, the next best RBI guy. Howie Kendrick is having a nice season (.307 7 HR 23 RBI), but Cano's overall numbers are just better.

Shortstop - In a battle between Cleveland's current and former shortstop's, I'm casting my vote for Asdrubal Cabrera over Jhonny Peralta. Cabrera has played a huge part in Cleveland's strong start leading the team in average (.301), homeruns (12), RBIs (43) and stolen bases (11). Detroit's Peralta's numbers are good too (.305 11 HR 40 RBI), but Cabrera's breakout performance gets the nod here.

Third Base - As much as I don't like doing it, I give the nod to Alex Rodriguez here. Kevin Youkilis (.261 10 HR 47 RBI) and Adrian Beltre (.260 12 HR 51 RBI) have good power numbers but their averages are down. Rodriguez (.282 13 HR 42 RBI) has certainly put up better numbers, but there's not a lot of competition on the ballot here, especially when you've got guys like Chone Figgins (.195), Brandon Inge (.211), Mike Aviles (.213), Mark Reynolds (.207), Danny Valenica (.218) and Kevin Kouzmanoff (.221) on the ballot.

Catcher - Joe Mauer's injury really opened the door here, and there haven't been a lot of guys willing to step up. So in a bit of an upset, Detroit's Alex Avila gets my vote. Avila is the only guy on the ballot hitting over .300 and has a ballot-high 39 runs batted in. Youngsters Matt Wieters and Carlos Santana both aren't quite there yet, and the rest of the ballot is pretty underwhelming.

Designated Hitter - David Ortiz in a landslide. No other DH on the ballot has double digit homeruns and Ortiz has 17 to go along with 45 runs batted in and a .320 average. His former teammate Victor Martinez (.329 6 HR 39 RBI), Travis Hafner (.345 5 HR 23 RBI), Jason Kubel (.310 5 HR 30 RBI) and Michael Young (.308 3 HR 44 RBI) all deserve to be in the conversation, but in the end I'm going with Big Papi.

Outfield - The first one is easy. Jose Bautista (.338 21 HR 46 RBI) has had just a monster year as he proves 2010 wasn't a fluke. Curtis Granderson (.285 21 HR 53 RBI), who's tied for the league lead in home runs with Bautista and Mark Teixeira gets my second vote. The third one's a little tougher. I'm going to go with Jacoby Ellsbury over Tampa Bay's Matt Joyce for the final spot. Ellsbury's got 50 runs and a .311 average and he's added power to his game. After his disastrous 2010 season, he's bounced back strong and considering how much he adds to Boston's lineup, he gets the vote.

National League

First Base - I'm taking Prince Fielder. He's second in the league in home runs with 19 and leads the National League in runs batted in with 60 while hitting .300. With a subpar year from Albert Pujols (.271 16 HR 44 RBI) and with Ryan Howard not hitting for average (.248), Fielder's all around numbers trump the solid performances from Joey Votto (.320 9 HR 43 RBI), Gaby Sanchez (.312 12 HR 43 RBI), and Todd Helton (.314 9 HR 30 RBI).

Second Base - Fielder's teammate Rickie Weeks gets the nod. Chase Utley has missed most of the year with an injury and has just 3 homeruns and the guys with big RBI numbers, Neil Walker (.258 8 HR 45 RBI), Danny Espinosa (.233 12 HR 41 RBI) haven't hit for a high average. Weeks' strong season (.292 14 HR 32 RBI) makes him the easy pick.

Shortstop - I'd love to pick Troy Tulowitzki here, but I can't overlook the year Jose Reyes is having in New York. Reyes leads the National League in hitting (.343) and is a terror on the basepaths. Tulo has 13 homers but is hitting just .272. Cubs youngster Starlin Castro (.317 1 HR 32 RBI) also deserves mention here.

Third Base - Injuries have marred this position. Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Zimmerman, David Wright and David Freese have all been bit by the injury bug. No third baseman on the ballot has double digit homers, so I'm going to go with Placido Polanco (.299 4 HR 38 RBI).

Catcher - Unlike the American League, there's some decent candidates here. Miguel Montero (.284 8 HR 37 RBI) and Yadier Molina (.301 4 HR 28 RBI) deserve mention but in the end I'm going with Brian McCann (.296 11 HR 39 RBI). He leads all catchers on the ballot in homeruns and runs batted in.

Outfield - Matt Kemp is the obvious choice here as he's been doing it all this year (.331 20 HR 57 RBI 16 SB). Similarly I like Ryan Braun for his all around game (.311 15 HR 51 RBI 16 SB). For the final pick, I'm taking ex-Astro Lance Berkman. He's cooled off some after his hot start, but he's still hitting .309 with 17 home runs and 51 runs batted in. Apologies to Jay Bruce (.281 17 HR 48 RBI), Justin Upton (.295 12 HR 37 RBI 13 SB), Hunter Pence (.321 9 HR 51 RBI), Michael Morse (.310 13 HR 42 RBI) and Andre Ethier (.312 6 HR 34 RBI).