All-Star Game 2011: Rosters, Orioles Rep, Fan Vote, and Players Who Should Have Made It (Poll Included)

As many of you know, the All-Star game rosters have been revealed for the game being played next Tuesday July 12th. Before I get into some, possibly controversial, opinions, let’s start with the facts as to who made the All-Star roster as the starters and the reserves.

American League
Starters:
1B: Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox
2B: Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
3B: Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees
SS: Derek Jeter, New York Yankees (haha, are you effing kidding me? Pathetic choice.)
OF: Jose Bautista, Toronto Blue Jays (Duh. He also has the most votes ever for an ASG player at 7 mil +)
OF: Curtis Granderson, New York Yankees
OF: Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
DH: David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox
C: Alex Avila, Detroit Tigers

Reserves:
1B: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
2B: Howie Kendrick, LA Angels
3B: Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
SS: Asdrubal Cabrera, Cleveland Indians
OF: Michael Cuddyer, Minnesota Twins
OF: Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Red Sox
OF: Matthew Joyce, Texas Rangers
DH: Michael Young, Texas Rangers
C: Russell Martin, New York Yankees (yep, that’s Yankee number 5)
C: Matt Wieters, Baltimore Orioles (yay!)

Pitchers:
RHP Josh Beckett, Boston Red Sox
RHP Aaron Crow, Kansas City Royals
LHP Gio Gonzalez, Oakland Athletics
RHP Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners
RHP Brandon League, Seattle Mariners
RHP Chris Perez, Cleveland Indians
LHP David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
RHP Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees (Yankee #6..)
RHP James Shields, Tampa Bay Rays
RHP Jose Valverde, Detroit Tigers
RHP Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers
RHP Jered Weaver, LA Angels
LHP C.J. Wilson, Texas Rangers

National League
Starters:
1B: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
2B: Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee Brewers
3B: Placido Polanco, Philadelphia Phillies
SS: Jose Reyes, New York Mets
OF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
OF: Lance Berkman, St. Louis Cardinals
OF: Matt Kemp, LA Dodgers
C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves

Reserves:
1B: Gaby Sanchez, Florida Marlins
1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
2B: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
SS: Starlin Castro, Chicago Cubs
SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
OF: Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
OF: Jay Bruce, Cincinnati Reds
OF: Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
OF: Hunter Pence, Houston Astros
OF: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

Pitchers:
RHP Heath Bell, San Diego Padres
RHP Matt Cain, San Francisco Giants
RHP Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals
RHP Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
LHP Cole Hamels, Philadelphia Phillies
RHP Joel Hanrahan, Pittsburgh Pirates
RHP Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves
LHP Clayton Kershaw, LA Dodgers
LHP Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
RHP Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
LHP Johnny Venters, Atlanta Braves
RHP Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants
RHP Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants

So Matt Wieters is the lone Orioles rep for the ASG. How many of you were surprised? I sure was. I was not expecting him to make the team over a few other players who I feel deserve a spot on the roster over him. I really like Wheaties and he’s having a decent season, but other Orioles are having far better seasons. First, let’s look at Wieters numbers. He’s great defensively. He ranks second in runners caught stealing with 23 and tops in fielding percentage at .998 and at assists with 43. As far as the offensive stats go, he’s batting .266 with 8 home runs (including one in tonight’s game) and 34 RBI. He’s also batting .425, going 23-for-54, with runners in scoring position.

Yes, those are good stats but they aren’t the kind of stats people expected him to have as he came up in the minors. 8 home runs and 34 RBI are not power hitter numbers. Now, let’s take a look at 3 players who I think should have gone to the ASG over Matt Wieters.

1. Adam Jones
Luckily, he still has a chance to make the roster in the fans’ Final Vote player. All you have to do is go to mlb.com to vote for the last remaining AL and NL player to make the All-Star Game. There are 5 candidates for each, Adam Jones being one of them for the American League team. As of right now, Paul Konerko is leading the voting for the AL so O’s fans really need to get to work because he’s the most deserving Oriole. Most people don’t realize that he’s having the best season of his career so far. He’s currently batting .287 with 13 home runs and 46 RBI. That means he’s on pace for 25+ home runs (he could hit 30) and 100+ RBI. We also all know about his great defensive skills in center field, especially with his Top 10/Web Gem catches that he makes pretty often.

2. J.J. Hardy
This guy is also having one of the best seasons of HIS career. He’s currently batting .296 with 13 home runs and 32 RBI. That’s not a huge number of RBI but he’s hitting home runs like it’s his job. He’s hit more home runs than the last FOUR Oriole short stops COMBINED. That’s amazing not only for the Orioles as a team but for Hardy as a player. He also has a .356 on-base percentage, which is good since he is the lead-off hitter. He is also having his best defensive season ever with a fielding percentage of .996. Yes, that’s .004 away from a perfect 1.000. His closest best season was in 2006 but his fielding percentage was .986, much lower than what it is now. He only has one error this season.

3. Nick Markakis
He started off the season super slowly and I was one too quick to complain as he’s been red hot this past month. While he only has 7 home runs, he’s batting .294 with 33 RBI. He’s not a power hitter so the low number of homers isn’t a big deal and like I said he started off slow which is why his RBI number isn’t super high like Adam Jones’. In June he hit .371 with 14 RBI and 2 home runs. In the 4 games in July, he’s already hit 1 homer with 2 RBI and is batting .444. Also, don’t forget that 19-game hitting streak he had in June and his career-high 5-for-5 against the Braves. This season, he has a perfect fielding percentage of 1.000 with no errors even with him starting at 1B for one game, a position he hadn’t played since before high school.