Before I get into the specifics of who'll be occupying my city in a couple weeks, a word on how asinine the system of roster reveals is. A couple days ago, someone posted on Twitter that the streets of Philadelphia were already laden with banners depicting the all-star selections and nominees, guys like James Wood and Matt Olson and Nick Kurtz, two days before the 'official' release. So if the people that make the banners know ahead of time....and the teams know ahead of time....why draw it out so the fans, who this is FOR, know last? It's the same energy of holding a wedding right above a train station in 100 degree heat. Not even pretending it's about the common folk anymore.
Alright, alright, so they did announce the rosters tonight, for the benefit of us, and they had to act surprised as if everybody in the industry hadn't known for a week. When they do the Oscars, only the people in the back know what's in the envelopes. It's not like you cut to Timothee Chalamet and he mouths 'I lost' to the camera. There's speculation, but it doesn't come off like a badly kept secret. That's what this feels like now.
Anyway. The thing I do every year. Right.
Last week I made a bunch of predictions of who'd make the roster, which would inform my reactions to the actual decisions made. They were based on who was having the best seasons, who would be picked by the league AND the players, and who was the most deserving from each squad. These picks were made with enough of the voting of the starting lineup having elapsed, so I guessed all of those pretty much, and was spot-on. Everybody else I took some wild guesses with, and now we're gonna see how far off I was.
So, let's start with the AL:
Starters:
C: Shea Langeliers, A's. Love that it's happening, more deserving than Kirk. Way ta go.
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays. So...so the A's fans could vote Langeliers, but they couldn't vote for the guy who's having an MVP season?? That's the part that vexes me. Vladdie starts every year, most of the time he deserves to, this year he's been kinda meh. Nick Kurtz deserves to start. The Jays massive outweighed even the most sensible of the already-small A's fanbase, which is wild because Jacob Wilson started last year. Anyway, Vlad I kinda get but...really should have been Kurtz. Or Rice. [UPDATE: Apparently Vladdie seems to know this, and is sitting this one out. Kurtz gets to start in his place. As it should have been all along.]
2B: Ernie Clement, Blue Jays. This is where the Jays voting massive made themselves the most clear, as he led the AL. Honestly, good for him. Deserves an accolade for how great he's been.
SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals. No brainer.
3B: Junior Caminero, Rays. If J-Ram hadn't been hurt it'd have been closer, but Caminero's EARNED this after the last week of power.
OF: Mike Trout, Angels. Absolutely. I'm glad he seems to be healthy enough to make the game.
OF: Aaron Judge, Yankees. Yes, but won't be playing, which we kinda knew and could have maybe resulted in a different final 3. Cody Bellinger should take his spot.
OF: Byron Buxton, Twins. So happy this is happening. Deserves it.
DH: Yordan Alvarez, Angels. Of course. Who else, other than Yandy Diaz, deserved it more?
Reserves:
C: Dillon Dingler, Tigers. Called this one, he's been excellent.
C: Adley Rutschman, Orioles. Did not call this one, I A.) thought Gunnar Henderson would be the O's nod and B.) thought Rice would negate the need for a third catcher. But fine with this.
1B: Ben Rice, Yankees. Deserves it.
1B: Nick Kurtz, A's. Deserves to start.
2B: Travis Bazzana, Guardians. Called it. What a year from the rookie.
SS: Kevin McGonigle, Tigers. I thought Gunnar Henderson would get this spot, can't be too mad at McGonigle getting his due though.
3B: Miguel Vargas, White Sox. Called it. Him being the only White Sox rep is an absolute travesty and proof of league bias.
OF: Cody Bellinger, Yankees. Duh. Should start.
OF: Randy Arozarena, Mariners. I thought they'd give it to Julio but Randy's honestly had the better season. Like Vargas, him being the only Mariner, especially when two last place teams get two reps apiece, is a CRIME.
OF: Riley Greene, Tigers. This is a pretty savvy pick, but I honestly thought Wilyer Abreu would go here. Fine with this though.
DH: Yandy Diaz, Rays. It'd have been a shame if he didn't the way he's been hitting.
Pitchers:
SP: Dylan Cease, Blue Jays. A shoo-in, for sure.
SP: Parker Messick, Guardians. I actually guessed Gavin Williams would get the nod, but this makes more sense.
SP: Drew Rasmussen, Rays. Called it.
SP: Joe Ryan, Twins. Called it, deserves it.
SP: Cam Schlittler, Yankees. Absolutely, and he should start.
SP: Ranger Suarez, Red Sox. DID NOT CALL THIS ONE. I had this spot going to Nick Martinez.
SP: Michael Wacha, Royals. I don't agree with this one at all. You mean to tell me that you didn't have room for Tarik Skubal but you had room for Michael Wacha? Not to disparage Wacha, he's having a fine season, but I thought Skubal deserved a spot. OR. OR HOW ABOUT LOGAN GILBERT? OR ANY MARINERS PITCHER? Either of those guys would have fit better than a Wacha rep. Schneider only wanted to carry 7 starters. Alrighty.
RP: Bryan Baker, Rays. This one surprised me. Martinez doesn't get it but Baker does. I do think it does ultimately make sense, I just don't know if I'd have included as many relievers as it entails to get to him on the list.
RP: Aroldis Chapman, Red Sox. At the last moment I swapped Jacob Latz to his spot but he was deserving of it.
RP: Jacob Latz, Rangers. Only Rangers nod. I'd have thought Ezequiel Duran would have squeaked in but I guess not.
RP: Cade Smith, Guardians. Shoo-in, of course.
RP: Louis Varland, Blue Jays. Nobody's been doing it better, so of course he's here.
NL:
Starters:
C: Drake Baldwin, Braves. I do think he deserves this, I'm just worried because he's gone very cold since coming off the IL.
1B: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers. Matt Olson deserved this but I can't stay too mad at Freddie.
2B: Ozzie Albies, Braves. Can't really argue with that.
SS: C.J. Abrams, Nationals. With the season he's having, absolutely.
3B: Max Muncy, Dodgers. I guess so. I don't know if there was anybody that deserved it more, I just feel like the Dodgers fans really made their voices heard this year.
OF: Brandon Marsh, Phillies. I am 100% here for this. I dunno how we got Philly to vote for this, especially considering Harper, Schwarber and Turner couldn't get the votes. But I'm grateful.
OF: Juan Soto, Mets. Very much atones for last year's snub.
OF: Andy Pages, Dodgers. I was thinking Acuna would win the vote and just hand the position to Pages, but we cut the middleman out here.
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers. Again, Schwarber might have deserved this more but we've gotta have Ohtani there. In his prime, with LA, we have to have him represent the sport.
Reserves:
C: William Contreras, Brewers. Called it, deserves it.
C: Hunter Goodman, Rockies. Called it, also deserves it. Only Rockie, as predicted.
1B: Matt Olson, Braves. Should be starting.
1B: Bryce Harper, Phillies. This is a surprise. Good surprise though. This was apparently Rob Manfred's 'legend pick'. Let's examine that. Last year, Rob Manfred came into the Phillies clubhouse with his pro-salary-cap propaganda, and Bryce Harper told him to leave, and the idea from the league was that the worker advocating for better wages was being the bad guy. So...what do we make of this??? Is Manfred trying to extend an olive branch before ensuring a lockout? What the hell is this move? I'm happy about it, Harper's having a great year, but...it's such an odd choice, making THIS the 'legend' pick. Cause it also reinforces the Dombrowski 'oh he's past his peak' thing, expressly calling him a legend. Like, you know if Verlander was healthy, Manfred would have advocated for him, but in lieu of that, we have...this really awkward move. I dunno, man. It gets stranger..
1B: Sal Stewart, Reds. Okay, so, Harper's shoehorned in, right? So that means we are carrying FOUR first baseman. Five if you count Muncy, who's fundamentally a first baseman. Stewart plays first AND third, but first is his primary position. I think Stewart deserves this, but I had Matt Chapman in this spot because ideally, at some point, a third baseman should play third base. Like...
2B: Luis Arraez, Giants. Like, we do have Luis Arraez, who could play third....and also he's the SIXTH first baseman here. But like...you've got to get at least someone who's good at playing third, right? Matt Chapman's your guy. Or get Bregman or Arenado or somebody like that. No disrespect to Arraez, who deserves this, but if there's a lot of errors at third, don't be shocked.
SS: Otto Lopez, Marlins. Deserves it.
OF: Corbin Carroll, D-Backs. Called it, here for it.
OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs. Called it, and called he'd be the only Cub.
OF: Jordan Walker, Cardinals. Did not call this! Thought it'd be J.J. Wetherholt. Happy for Walker though.
OF: James Wood, Nationals. Didn't call this either, figured Michael Harris would have his spot. This honestly makes more sense though. Would have preferred Chourio making it in any case.
DH: Kyle Schwarber, Phillies. Wouldn't make sense without him. Remember, there could be a tiebreaker swing-off.
Pitchers:
SP: Chase Burns, Reds. Deserves it, for sure.
SP: Max Meyer, Marlins. Absolutely called it, deserves it.
SP: Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers. Is not going to play. Which is fair, he's starting next sunday. If there's suddenly a vacancy...might I suggest adding Zack Wheeler, like you should have all along???
SP: Eduardo Rodriguez, D-Backs. Didn't expect this one. To me, Kyle Harrison deserves this spot.
SP: Chris Sale, Braves. Absolutely.
SP: Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies. Should start now that the Miz isn't.
SP: Paul Skenes, Pirates. Would ya believe I actually thought Braxton Ashcraft would be here in his place? I guess Skenes kinda does have to be there though.
SP: Logan Webb, Giants. I had Wheeler in his spot, but Webb's such a good pitcher that I can't be too mad.
SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers. 100%. Wrobleski should have had a chance, but Yoshi's something special.
RP: Jhoan Duran, Phillies. In Philadelphia? That's a no-brainer.
RP: Raisel Iglesias, Braves. At the last second I swapped Aaron Ashby into his place, but Iglesias is having a terrific year. Maybe Ashby slides in to replace a guy pitching sunday.
RP: Mason Miller, Padres. Absolutely deserves it. Wild that he's the only Padre.
So yeah, aside from one or two really painful omissions [Wheeler, NL third baseman, the rest of the Mariners], this is pretty spot on. But of course, people are gonna start getting injured and the second and third team guys are gonna land on here, and I'm not gonna vibe with all of them. So I hope for prolonged health and sunday rainouts for all of these folks, and for a really fun Philly-set ASG. Is that too much to ask?? Probably.
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