On the All-Star Starters: Regional at Best

 

This is Will Smith. He's not the NL's starting catcher for this year's All Star Game. Honestly, he should be.

The one downside of the fan voting for ASG starters in the past decade or so is that regional bandwagoning shakes up what could be a clear picture of the first half of the season. In 2015, all of Missouri banded together to shoot almost all of their starters to the top of the leaderboards, and since then regional bias has multiplied the cases of serviceable-at-best teams. While I will admit that a lot of this bandwagoning wouldn't exactly happen to bad teams, they can definitely happen to less than ASG-worthy seasons. Robbie Grossman came higher in the ASG voting this year than several outfielders I voted for, and it's solely because Rangers fans went crazy at the polls. I haven't seen Texans so quick to defend mediocrity since...well, since the last gubernatorial election. But I digress.

And though the four-day 'final vote' process did curtail some bandwagoning, as several Braves starters were outdone in several spots this week despite ruling the preliminaries, it only helps so much. By the end of round one, you're stuck with two choices for several positions that are either the result of regional bandwagoning or a star who's having a good but not classic season. I can't vote for Juan Soto or Fernando Tatis, but I can vote for Lourdes Gurriel. And my choice at NL SS is between a very okay Francisco Lindor season or Orlando Arcia, who's having a great season but is a very risky pick for 'best shortstop in the NL' considering that Willy Adames, Dansby Swanson and Gerardo Perdomo also exist. 

So all of this in mind, we're left with a group of ASG starters that are valid picks but odd answers for questions that I thought ability itself had already made certain. 

As we wait three extra days for the rest of the rosters, which is yet another step in the direction of infuriating that these ASG roster reveals have taken since some MLB asshole decided that just posting the rosters online was too simple, I'll record my thoughts on the starting lineups as they stand at the moment.

AL:

C: Jonah Heim, Texas Rangers. I voted for Adley Rutschman. Rutschman seemed like the more logical choice. Not that Heim's not having the better season. I just take ASG voting very literally, and Rutschman is the STAR there. Heim is fine, and is a perfectly valid pick, it just caught me off guard.

1B: Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays. The most flagrant victim of the Blue Jays fans not showing up for the final vote. It's honestly infuriating. They got these guys into the final round but were clobbered at every position in this vote. I voted for Vladdie here, but Yandy got the edge, probably just for having the more dominant first half.

2B: Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers. The only Rangers starter I actually voted for that made it on. Semien's having an incredible year, why bet against him?

SS: Corey Seager, Texas Rangers. I voted for Bo every chance I got. Seager's a good choice too, I'm glad he's figured it out in Arlington.

3B: Josh Jung, Texas Rangers. Another shocker, as I voted for Chapman. Jung's rookie numbers definitely speak for themselves, as does the overwhelming Texas vote tallies. I'm just glad they didn't show up as much in Houston.

OF: Aaron Judge, New York Yankees. As valid as this pick is, the business with his toe is making me worried he's not gonna make the game, meaning this actual good pick is gonna be upended by Dusty Baker pulling some asinine replacement pick like Kyle Tucker. 

OF: Randy Arozarena, Tampa Bay Rays. I voted for Adolis Garcia here, mostly cause I like him better, but Randy's for real, and he deserves it.

OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels. Duh.

DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels. Duh.

NL:

C: Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves. Though the Braves' bandwagoning died down tremendously during the final vote, they did come through for Murph, which is funny because he's one of the few Braves I didn't consciously vote for. I thought Will Smith was the more logical choice, and at the very least he deserves to be a reserve member. Murph's still awesome this year, so I get it.

1B: Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers. I think everybody felt bad he didn't get on last year. Deserves the hell out of it though. 

2B: Luis Arraez, Miami Marlins. An out-of-left-field choice I wholeheartedly approve of. Dude's chasing .400, he'd OUGHT to be here. Also weird that we've had two straight 2B Marlins starters, and it's two different guys but they're both still on this team. 

SS: Orlando Arcia, Atlanta Braves. Baffling. Extremely baffling. But as I've said, I sorta get it.

3B: Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals. Easy choice. There's injury rumors so it's not certain he'll make the game, but he's a forgone conclusion for 3rd at the ASG anyhow.

OF: Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves. Yeah, like I'm disputing this. Especially this year.

OF: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks. See above. The shoulder injury worries me a little, but the team seems to be optimistic. I hope he doesn't miss the game, he's from Seattle after all.

OF: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers. Another easy one. 

DH: J.D. Martinez, Los Angeles Dodgers. This one I still don't understand. J.D. Martinez is only having an okay season. So is Bryce Harper, but...Arenado still got on while putting up 'okay' numbers, why not Harper too? Is it because he's not at full Harper yet cause he's still DHing? I think that after all the ASGs JD has started, it sort of makes sense, but...I don't see why Harper didn't dominate this vote. 

This is at least a solid start, but several of these picks come off like fans with diehard allegiances were able to overlook mediocrity in favor of brand loyalty. I think a lot of these guys could earn this distinction if their full seasons keep impressing me, but a lot of these picks I have to squint to understand.

Full rosters on Sunday night. No shenanigans please, this time. Rob, let the managers put up who they want, put your silly suggestions away.

Coming Tonight: In Judge's absence, one of the highlights of the Yankee lineup.