Tuesday, July 5, 2011

2011 NL All Stars - Starters

Here's a quick rundown of the NL Starters for the 2011 All Star Game. Unlike the American League that was dominated by big markets New York and Boston, the only National League team with more than one position player starting is the small market Milwaukee Brewers who have three. Additionally, a pair of National League starters will be appearing in their first all star game, compared to just one in the American League.

STARTERS:

Catcher - Brian McCann - Atlanta Braves - 6th Selection


The 27 year old McCann is already appearing in his 6th all star game. He's enjoying one of his better offensive seasons too hitting .312 with 14 homers and 47 runs batted in. Defensively he's thrown out just 20% of runners, his lowest rate since his rookie season, but Atlanta pitchers have a 3.23 ERA when he's behind the plate.

First Base - Prince Fielder - Milwaukee Brewers - 3rd Selection

It's hard to believe that Albert Pujols isn't a lock for this spot every year, but the son of Cecil Fielder has been solid this year for the Brew Crew. Fielder is hitting .302 with 22 homers and 71 runs batted in. During a subpar 2010 season he batted just .261 and only drove in 83 runs in 161 games. Fielder trails only fellow all star Lance Berkman in the National League in homers and is tied with Ryan Howard for the league lead in runs batted in.

Second Base - Rickie Weeks - Milwaukee Brewers - 1st Selection

The 28 year old from Southern University broke out last year with 29 home runs and 83 runs batted in and he's showing those power numbers were no fluke by hitting 15 more this year to go along with 34 runs batted in and 20 doubles. Weeks is also hitting .274 and has scored 60 runs for the high powered Brewers offense. Weeks, now in his 8th season with the Brewers will be making his all star debut.

Third Base - Placido Polanco - Philadelphia Phillies - 2nd Selection

David Wright's injury and Chipper Jones' decreased production opened the door for the 35 year old Polanco. The steady infielder is hitting .274 with 4 homers and 39 runs batted in. Ironically, the .274 average is Polanco's lowest since he was a rookie with the Cardinals back in 1998 when he hit just .254. Polanco is currently 76 hits shy of 2000 for his career.

Shortstop - Jose Reyes - New York Mets - 4th Selection

Reyes is having an absolute monster season for the Mets in his contract year leading the majors with a .354 batting average, scoring 65 runs, hitting 22 doubles, 15 triples and stealing 30 bases. Reyes hasn't eclipsed the .300 mark since 2006 and needs just 4 triples to tie his career high set in 2008. Few players are playing the game at the level that Reyes has been playing this season and all signs indicate that he'll be in for a big raise next season.


Outfield - Matt Kemp - Los Angeles Dodgers - 1st Selection

Kemp joins Rickie Weeks as the other member of the National League starting lineup to be playing in his first all star game. The 26 year old from Oklahoma needs just 6 more home runs to tie his career high that he set in 2010 and has been one of the few bright spots in what has been an otherwise disappointing season for the Dodgers. Kemp is currently hitting .326 with 22 homers and 64 runs batted in to go along with 24 stolen bases.

Outfield - Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers - 4th Selection


The 27 year old Braun will be appearing in his 4th all star game in 5 years since joining the Brewers in 2007. Braun has never scored fewer than 91 runs, hit fewer than 25 homers, driven in fewer than 97 runs, stolen less than 14 bases or batted less than .285 in a big league season, and it doesn't appear any of that will change in 2011. Braun already has 16 homers, 57 runs, 62 RBIs, 19 steals (1 shy of a career high) and is batting .320 this year.

Outfield - Lance Berkman - St. Louis Cardinals - 6th Selection

The 35 year old Berkman looked to be washed up in 2010. He was coming off of a season where he hit .248 between the Astros and Yankees with just 14 home runs and 58 runs batted in. The Cardinals took a shot on him this spring and boy did it ever pay off. Berkman has already surpassed his run totals, home run totals and RBI totals from a year ago and we're not even at the all star break yet. Berkman is currently hitting .294 with a National League leading 23 homers to go along with 62 runs batted in.

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