MLB All-Star Game Rosters Announced

It's that time of year once again. Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, Ohio is the site. July 14th is the date. The 86th Major League Baseball All-Star game is set to take place. With over 100 million votes counted, both starting rosters have been decided, while Ned Yoast of the Royals and Bruce Bochy of the Giants have filled in the rest of the rosters for the midsummer classic. With home field advantage once again on the line, here's what the rosters look like for the game.

First the National League.

Starters
C Buster Posey Giants
1B Paul Goldschmidt Diamondbacks
2B Dee Gordon Marlins
3B Todd Frazier Reds
SS Jhonny Peralta Cardinals
OF Bryce Harper Nationals
OF Matt Holliday Cardinals
OF Giancarlo Stanton# Marlins (Hurt and wont play)

Reserves
C Yasmani Grandal Dodgers
C Yadier Molina Cardinals
1B Adrian Gonzalez Dodgers
1B Anthony Rizzo Cubs
2B Joe Panik Giants
2B DJ LeMahieu Rockies
3B Nolan Arenado Rockies
3B Kris Bryant Cubs (Replaced Stantion in All-Star Lineup)
SS Brandon Crawford Giants
OF Andrew McCutchen Pirates (Replacing Stanton in Starting Lineup)
OF Joc Pederson Dodgers
OF A. J. Pollock Diamondbacks
OF Justin Upton Padres

Pitchers
Madison Bumgarner Giants
A. J. Burnett Pirates
Aroldis Chapman Reds
Gerrit Cole Pirates
Jacob deGrom Mets
Zack Greinke Dodgers
Mark Melancon Pirates
Shelby Miller Braves
Jonathan Papelbon Phillies
Francisco Rodríguez Brewers
Trevor Rosenthal Cardinals
Max Scherzer Nationals
Michael Wacha Cardinals

The National League had, at least amongst its position players anyway, gotten it right. It does stink that Stanton is out with an injury, would have loved to see the guy kill it again in the Home Run Derby. The Right side of the NL infield deserves it, at least among the starters. Goldschmidt has the highest batting average in the NL and Gordon leads all of baseball in hits. In fact, those are the only two guys in the NL, as of this writing anyway, with over 100 hits (Goldschmidt has 103, Gordon 116). Take the injured Stanton out of the equation, and you have every other player in the NL with more than 20 home runs elected to the roster. The fact that Clayton Kershaw, Johnny Cueto and Troy Tulowitzki are on the ballot for the final roster spot in the NL. As for Kershaw, what's surprising me about him is that his numbers are down this year, at least by comparison from what you saw a year ago. Clayton is 5-6 with a 3.08 ERA, which are numbers that are somewhat low for a guy who won the NL MVP and Cy Young Award just last season. Tulowitzki has been having himself a fine year. Sure the power numbers aren't quite there like they have been in the past, but he is hitting .321 and has 44 RBI, which are very respectable numbers. He's also been relatively healthy too, which is something he hasn't really been heading into the break the last couple of years. But its by the skin of his teeth that Crawford and Pheralta are on the Roster ahead of Tulo.

Now the American League

Starters
C Salvador Pérez Royals
1B Miguel Cabrera Tigers (Injured and will be unable to participate)
2B José Altuve Astros
3B Josh Donaldson Blue Jays
SS Alcides Escobar Royals
OF Mike Trout Angels
OF Lorenzo Cain Royals
OF Alex Gordon Royals
DH Nelson Cruz Mariners

Reserves
C Russell Martin Blue Jays
C Stephen Vogt Athletics
1B Albert Pujols Angels (Replacing Cabrera as starter)
1B Mark Teixeira Yankees (Replace Cabrera on Roster)
2B Jason Kipnis Indians
2B Brock Holt Red Sox
3B Manny Machado Orioles
SS José Iglesias Tigers
OF Adam Jones Orioles
OF Jose Bautista Blue Jays
OF J. D. Martinez Tigers
DH Prince Fielder Rangers

Pitchers
Chris Archer Rays
Dellin Betances Yankees
Brad Boxberger Rays
Zach Britton Orioles
Wade Davis Royals
Sonny Gray Athletics
Kelvin Herrera Royals
Felix Hernandez Mariners
Dallas Keuchel Astros
Darren O'Day Orioles
Glen Perkins Twins
David Price Tigers
Chris Sale White Sox

With the American League Roster, there were a few more surprises than their National League counterpart. First off, there are two first time all stars starting for the American League, Escobar and Cain.  It was a bit of a surprise that Escobar got the start at short, when you consider the fact that Jose Iglesias of the Tigers is the top hitting shortstop in the AL (he's hitting .319) and Xander Bogarts of the Red Sox has more power and RBI's than Escobar does. Bogarts isn't even on the roster right now, which is a bit of a surprise (but he is up for final vote). Speaking of the Red Sox, I'm surprised Brock Holt was named to the All Star Game. He's a good ballplayer I'm not taking that away from him, but his teammate Dustin Pedroia has put up slightly better numbers, yet he wasn't selected. When it comes to the Outfield, I'm still a tad surprised that Lorenzo Cain was selected to start, but I think the fact that he's hitting over .300 and the Royals fans stuffed the ballot boxes helped. I think Brand Moss of the A's would have been a better choice for the outfield for the AL than Cain, but Cain has surprised quite a few with his play in the field so it might be worth the selection. When it comes to the pitching, a little surprised that Carlos Carrasco of the Indians was left out, considering the fact that he is one of three pitchers in the Al to have double digits in wins. Otherwise, I think the All Star Selections were nailed!

Should be a fun game to watch. Game will be televised on Fox, first pitch scheduled for 8:10PM