Here's a quick rundown of the AL Starters for the 2011 All Star Game. Boston and New York claim 6 of the 9 spots and only one player, Alex Avila is making his all star debut. Here's what you should know:
STARTERS:
Catcher - Alex Avila - Detroit Tigers - 1st Selection
The 24 year old has already set career highs in runs, hits, doubles, triples, home runs and runs batted in this season. After hitting .228 in his first full season, he's raised his average to .297, hit 10 home runs and driven in 46. Defensively he's thrown out 37.1% of would be base stealers.
First Base - Adrian Gonzalez - Boston Red Sox - 4th Selection
The 29 year old has made a smooth transition back to the American League (few know he started with the Rangers before making a name for himself with San Diego) and currently leads the league in hitting (.348). He's already got 28 doubles after hitting 33 in 160 games last season and he is on pace to drive in 145 runs, what would be a new career high.
Second Base - Robinson Cano - New York Yankees - 3rd Selection
The 28 year old in his 7th year with the Yankees is looking to collect 200 hits for the 3rd straight season. Currently batting .294 with 14 home runs, Cano is on track to score and drive in at least 100 runs for the 2nd consecutive year. Cano has already set a career high this season with 6 stolen bases.
Third Base - Alex Rodriguez - New York Yankees - 14th Selection
The 35 year old's numbers aren't as good as they used to be, but Rodriguez is still hitting .295 with 13 home runs. If he doesn't finish the year with at least 30, it will mark the first time since 1997 back when he was still a Mariner that he didn't eclipse that mark. 1997 was also the last time that Rodriguez didn't have at least 100 runs batted in in a season. He currently stands at 52 which puts him on pace for exactly 100.
Shortstop - Derek Jeter - New York Yankees - 12th Selection
A bit of a surprise here as the Yankee Captain is having his worst statistical season batting just .256 with just 12 extra base hits in 63 games. Still, he's closed to within 6 hits of 3000 for his career entering play tonight and regardless of whatever else might be true about his diminishing abilities, he's still Derek Jeter.
Outfield - Jose Bautista - Toronto Bluejays - 2nd Selection
After breaking out last year with 54 homers for the Jays, the 30 year old Bautista is proving that it wasn't a fluke. He leads the majors in home runs with 27 and unlike last year when he batted just .260, this year he's hitting .329 and he has 70 walks to just 50 strike outs giving him an on base percentage just below .470.
Outfield - Curtis Granderson - New York Yankees - 2nd Selection
After struggling through his first year in the Bronx, Granderson is having a monster year for the Yankees. The 30 year old former Tiger has just 2 fewer runs, 1 fewer home and 8 fewer RBIs than he did in 2010 despite playing in 54 fewer games. He's currently third in the majors in home runs with 23 behind only Bautista and teammate Mark Teixeira. Coming into this season, Granderson's previous career high for home runs was 30 set in 2009, his last year with the Tigers.
Outfield - Josh Hamilton - Texas Rangers - 4th Selection
The 30 year old's numbers aren't what they were last year when he hit .359, but still at .294 with 10 home runs, he's certainly not having a bad season by any means. Still, injuries have limited him to just 48 games this year, so like Jeter, he's likely in the starting lineup for what he's done before rather than what he's doing now.
Designated Hitter - David Ortiz - Boston Red Sox - 6th Selection
35 year old Big Papi is having his best season since leading the Sox to the 2007 World Series. Ortiz is batting .301 with 17 homers and 49 runs batted in and has really cut back on the strike outs this year (just 37 in 81 games compared to 134 in 2009 and 145 in 2010). He may not be the feared slugger he was during the Sox title runs, but he's certainly deserving of the starting nod here.
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