Here's a quick rundown of the AL Reserves for the 2011 All Star Game. The AL will have 11 players on their bench with 6 of them making their all star debut. The Rangers are the only team with more than one player on the AL Bench as the other 9 bench players represent 9 different AL teams.
BENCH:
Third Base - Adrian Beltre - Texas Rangers - 2nd Selection
Though his overall numbers aren't quite as they were last year when he hit .321 with the Redsox, he's still making a tremendous impact with the Rangers and has played a key role in getting them the AL West division lead. Beltre is hitting .276 with 16 home runs and 67 runs batted in and he's on track for just his third 100 rbi season.
Shortstop - Asdrubal Cabrera - Cleveland Indians - 1st Selection
With all due respect to Derek Jeter, in my mind this is the guy who should be starting at short for the American League in the All-Star Game. The 25 year old Venezuelan is in the midst of a career year for the Indians batting .292 with 14 home runs (he had 18 in his career in parts of 4 seasons before this year) 49 runs batted in and 12 stolen bases. Cabrera's improvement has been one of the keys in Cleveland's race to the top of the AL Central this year.
First Base - Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers - 6th Selection
Cabrera continues to pound the baseball as he's in the midst of his third straight season hitting over .320. The 28 year old Venezuelan has been hitting for power as well as average leading the team with 18 home runs and driving in 58. He's on pace for his 5th straight 30+ homer season and should drive in 100+ runs for the 8th straight year. He also has more walks (64) than strike outs (47) for the first time in his career.
Outfield - Michael Cuddyer - Minnesota Twins - 1st Selection
One of the better stories in this year's All-Star game the 32 year old Cuddyer, in his 11th season with the Twins, is finally going to be playing in his first All-Star Game. Cuddyer is hitting .291 for the Twins this year with 12 homers and 37 runs batted in. Though listed as an outfielder he has also made starts at first base and second base for the Twins this year, and last year he started 13 games at third base.
Outfield - Jacoby Ellsbury - Boston Red Sox - 1st Selection
The 27 year old speedster has successfully bounced back from a dreadful 2010 in which he batted just .192 and appeared in only 18 games. This year he's already hit a career high 10 home runs and he's batting .310 with 28 stolen bases. With Carl Crawford's struggles, Ellsbury's value at the top of the Boston lineup cannot be underestimated.
Outfield - Matt Joyce - Tampa Bay Rays - 1st Selection
The 26 year old is in the midst of his breakout season already setting career highs in runs (44), hits (76), doubles (20), steals (4) and he's hitting nearly 40 points higher (.291) than his previous career best. Joyce has been a pleasant surprise for the Rays for were thought to be rebuilding this year after losing Matt Garza, Carl Crawford, Carlos Pena, Jason Bartlett and Rafael Soriano among others. Now they find themselves just 4 games out of first place in the AL East.
Second Base - Howard Kendrick - Los Angeles Angels - 1st Selection
The 27 year old Kendrick finally became an every day player for the Angels last year and this year he'll be appearing in his first all star game. Kendrick is hitting .307 this season with 8 home runs (just 2 shy of his career high) and he's driven in 28 while adding 9 stolen bases. Defensively he's made just 2 errors in 48 starts at second base while also seeing time at first base (9 starts) and in left field (15 starts) for the Halos.
Catcher - Russell Martin - New York Yankees - 3rd Selection
The 28 year old Martin was an all star twice with the Dodgers before making the AL team this year in his first season as a Yankee. Martin, who has taken over as the Yankees every day catcher is hitting just .220 but has 10 home runs and has driven in 35. Defensively Martin has thrown ad 27.9% of would be base stealers and Yankees pitchers have a 3.58 ERA when throwing to him.
Outfield - Carlos Quentin - Chicago White Sox - 2nd Selection
The 28 year old Quentin is having his best offensive season since his breakout 2008 campaign. He currently has 17 home runs and 50 runs batted in while batting .253. Ironically his teammate Paul Konerko, who leads the team with 22 home runs, did not make the team.
Catcher - Matt Wieters - Baltimore Orioles - 1st Selection
The 25 year old former top prospect out of Georgia Tech is the 3rd catcher on the AL roster and will make his all star debut in 2011. Wieters is hitting .269 with 8 home runs and 34 runs batted in and is a big part of Baltimore's youth movement as they work to get out of the AL East cellar. Defensively Wieters has thrown out 44.2% of base stealers and Orioles pitchers have a 4.18 ERA when he's behind the plate.
Infield - Michael Young - Texas Rangers - 7th Selection
The Rangers weren't even sure if they were going to have the 34 year old Michael Young on their roster this spring after they added Adrian Beltre to play third base, but I'm sure they're glad they kept him now. Young is hitting .328 with 113 hits, 25 doubles, 7 home runs and 58 runs batted in and he's on pace for his first 200+ hit season since 2007. Young is also on track to drive in over 100 runs for just the second time in his 12th major league season. Young has served primarily as a designated hitter this season, but has made 25 starts at first base, 11 at second and 2 at third.
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