Since Keith and Richard have gotten into a little dispute over all-star picks, I decided to pick my own team. Richard uses: BA, OBP, SLG, AVG. w/ RISP, HR, and RBI. I’m more of a “stat geek” and will be taking a different approach. For batters, I will compare: OBP, SLG, OPS, HR, RBI, R, and WARP3. (Wins above average replacement player)      For defense, I’ll compare FRAA (Fielding runs above average)

 

 

AL Catchers

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA	CERA	CS%
Posada	.400	.474	.874	10	30	42	7.0	4	4.21	27
Mauer	.458	.538	.996	5	43	37	10.0	4	4.25	42
Martinez	.364	.462	.826	10	39	50	4.8	-8	5.00	15
Hernandez	.351	.524	.875	15	32	59	7.3	3	5.26	53

 

 

Mauer does deserve to start the game, but it wasn’t as obvious as I thought. Mauer has the highest WARP by a healthy margin. His OPS is EXCELLENT considering he’s a catcher. Mauer also leads the pack in runs scored. Ramon Hernandez is having an excellent year, and he’s doing it quietly. He has the most HR and RBI. He also has a superb CS%

 

Starter- Mauer

 

 

 

NL Catchers

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA	CERA	CS%
Martin	.363	.444	.807	4	23	33	5.0	7	3.86	31
McCann	.416	.512	.928	5	22	23	5.9	3	4.66	36
Barrett	.370	.508	.878	8	26	30	2.8	-11	4.56	20
Estrada	.326	.458	.784	6	25	41	3.7	0	4.32	30

 

This is really tough. It really comes down to either Martin or McCann. McCann’s OBP, SLG, and OPS really blows Martin’s out of the water. However, Martin has produced more runs and is a little bit better defensively. I’m going to give to McCann because of his higher WARP3.

 

Starter- McCann

 

 

 

AL First Baseman

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3
Thome	.413	.603	1.019	24	60	63	6.8
Giambi	.428	.620	1.048	23	49	62	6.1
Hafner	.453	.620	1.073	21	60	62	8.8
Ortiz	.375	.542	.920	22	52	69	5.5

 

 

 

 

As you can tell, I left Konerko off the list. Why? Because both Thome and Konerko play for the same team, and Thome has been better. Thome is a DH, but Konerko has been mediocre at best in the field anyway.  Hafner easily wins the starting role. He leads in 5 out of 7 categories.  The second string choice is much tougher. It comes down to either Giambi or Thome. Giambi leads in the first 3 categories, but Thome leads the last three. Thome’s WARP3 is a tiny bit better than Giambi’s. 

 

Starter- Hafner

 

NL First Basemen

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Garciaparra	.424	.590	1.014	10	46	47	6.0	-3
Howard	.350	.618	.968	27	42	68	4.5	-8
Berkman	.414	.562	.976	22	41	70	8.4	5
Pujols	.436	.712	1.148	26	55	67	10	10

           

 

This really isn’t close. Not only has Pujols been terrific in the batters box; he’s also played an exceptionally well first base. I must say, two things surprised me while I made this chart. A) How well Nomar has played. B) I thought Howard was playing much better than what these numbers show. Garciparra has a pretty impressive OPS. However, he hasn’t produced as much runs as you want out of your first baseman. He also has played a weak first base.  Berkman, on the other hand, has played well all around. He leads the majors in RBI and has a nice OPS to go along with those RBI. He has also played well at first.

 

Starter- Pujols

 

AL Second Basemen

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Cano	.353	.439	.792	4	34	27	7.0	10
Loretta	.365	.407	.772	2	37	32	8.1	1
Iguchi	.349	.430	.779	8	55	37	4.1	-3
Roberts	.383	.415	.798	1	36	30	4.6	-4

 

This is probably the closet race of all the AL positions. Every player leads in at least one category.  To be honest, you could make a case for any of these players, and there wouldn’t be an argument. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. I’m going to take Cano. Hometown bias? Maybe, but I’ll give my reasons. He leads in SLG and is 2^nd in OPS. He has the most FRAA, and the second highest WARP3. He has the least RBI and R, but he has the second lowest amount of At Bats.

 

Starter- Cano

 

 

NL Second Basemen

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Uggla	.365	.530	.895	13	49	43	8.9	9
Utley	.362	.503	.865	15	63	45	8.6	-7
Phillips	.356	.456	.812	7	36	44	4.5	-4
Carroll	.402	.441	843	3	39	13	6.4	12

 

 

This comes down to Uggla and Utley. Uggla is surprising everyone and is probably going to have a career year. He has a robust OPS and leads all the candidates in SLG. He also edges Utley in WARP3. Utley, however, has the most HR, R, and RBI, but his defense hurts him here.

 

Starter-Uggla

 

 

AL Third Basemen

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
A-Rod	.390	.496	.886	15	56	55	5.8	-6
Lowell	.362	.507	.869	9	39	40	7.6	8
Crede	.335	.519	.854	14	44	54	7.0	11
Blalock	.359	.450	.809	11	46	54	3.5	-9

 

Another close race. To me, it comes down to Crede and A-Rod. Crede has played a much better third base, but has he been better offensively? No. A-Rod, on a down year, still produces more runs than Crede. A-Rod leads by a healthy margin in OPS. Crede’s inability to take a walk really hurts him here.

 

Starter- A-Rod

 

 

NL Third Basemen

 

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Rolen	.409	.568	.977	10	49	50	9.4	12
Cabrera	.442	.573	1.015	12	57	52	9.8	0
Wright	.394	.587	.981	18	50	64	7.3	-9
Sanchez	.397	.527	.924	5	45	41	7.5	7

 

 

 

In a perfect world, all of these players would make the team. Unforutantley, we don’t live in a perfect world. Sanchez is having a great year. If you asked average fans who Sanchez is, they probably wouldn’t know. However, as good of a year as he’s having, it’s not good enough to start. Most people are going to pick Wright because A) he plays in New York, B) He has the most HR, and C) He has the most RBI. However, he has played a poor third base and has the lowest WARP3 out of the contenders. My starter is going to be Cabrera. He has the highest WARP3 and OPS. He has also produced the most runs.

 

Starter- Cabrera

 

 

AL Shortstop

 

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Jeter	.424	.458	.882	5	51	46	7.9	-2
Young	.369	.448	.817	5	45	50	9.3	14
Tejada	.370	.519	.889	15	57	57	8.4	1
Cabrera	.364	.436	.800	5	54	44	6.2	-3

 

Despite Cabrera reaching base in 57 games, he still has a low OBP. His inability to walk and field his position hurts him here.  Young also has a mediocre OBP, which hurts his OPS. However, he has fielded his position very well, but not well enough to start, in my opinion. I’m going to give the spot to Tejada. He has produced the most runs, and has the highest OPS to go along with his steady play in the field.

 

Starter- Tejada

 

 

NL Shortstop

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Renteria	.380	.439	.819	8	44	30	6.5	3
Vizquel	.388	.403	.791	3	47	24	6.1	2
Reyes	.351	.479	.830	8	67	36	7.7	2
Hall	.323	.567	.890	15	46	39	5.5	-2

 

 

Very close. I’m going to take Reyes. He leads the pack in runs by a wide margin. He also has the second most RBI, while having the highest WARP3.

 

Starter- Reyes

 

 

 

AL Outfielders

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Sizemore	.381	.552	.933	16	65	39	9.7	1
Ramirez	.435	.597	1.032	20	47	53	7.3	-7
Ichiro	.404	.440	.844	4	61	27	7.1	-3
Wells	.383	.607	.990	20	45	62	7.0	-10
Dye	.396	.615	1.011	20	45	55	7.7	2
Swisher	.387	.587	.974	19	58	49	7.2	1
Ibanez	.357	.535	.892	17	51	63	6.8	0
Rios	.383	.585	.968	15	46	53	7.5	2
Ordonez	.364	.521	.885	15	43	57	5.0	-5

 

Surprisingly, none of these outfielders have played an exceptionally good outfield. Jermaine Dye has the most fielding runs above average out of the pack, and he only has 2. A lot of these outfielders are having very good years with the stick, and I’m going to have to nit-pick to only choose 3. My first pick is going to be Sizemore. He has the highest WARP3 by a pretty good margin. He leads the pack with runs scored, and has produced the second most runs. The first guy I’m going to knock off is Ichiro. I know he’s not a power hitter, but 27 RBI just isn’t going to cut it. He also owns the lowest OPS. Next guy that is going to get cut is Ordonez. He has the second lowest OPS, the lowest WARP3, and has -5 fielding runs. Sorry, Mags. The next player that is going start will be Man-Ram. He has a gaudy OPS and is tied with the most HR. He also has the highest OBP and third highest SLG. This is where it REALLY gets hard. The third spot is really up in the air. My choice is going to be Dye. He has the second highest OPS, and WARP3, while having the highest SLG and FRAA.

 

Starting 3- Manny, Dye, Sizemore

 

 

NL Outfielders

 

 

	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	R	RBI	WARP3	FRAA
Abreu	.446	.475	.921	8	52	53	6.7	-4
Bay	.401	.549	.950	20	49	57	8.2	4
A. Jones	.350	.517	.867	18	47	65	6.6	1
Beltran	.403	.625	1.028	22	58	62	10.0	8
Lee	.347	.583	.930	25	52	64	5.0	-11
Soriano	.336	.542	.878	24	56	61	6.1	-2
Hawpe	.392	.553	.945	14	33	45	6.6	5
Holliday	.396	.614	1.010	15	56	54	6.7	-4

 

 

Carlos Beltran is having an absolute MONSTER year. He leads the pack in OPS and is fifth in the majors. He has the highest WARP3 in the majors and is tops in FRAA for NL center fielders. The only player that has a higher SLG is Pujols. He definitely gets the start. The next two choices aren’t as obvious as the first one. It’s really a tight race.  My next starter will be Holliday. He has the second highest OPS, and SLG. He has also produced 95 runs. The last starter is going to be Bay. He has a very high WARP3 and has played a good LF. He also has the third highest OPS.

 

Three Starters- Beltran, Holliday, Bay

 

 

 

N.L                              Bench                                       A.L                              Bench

C- McCann                  C- Martin                                 C-Mauer                      C- Hernandez

1B- Pujols                    1B- Berkman                           1B- Pronk                    1B- Thome

2B- Uggla                    2B- Utley                                 2B- Cano                     2B- Iguchi

3B- Cabrera                 3B- Wright                               3B- A-Rod                  3B- Crede

SS- Reyes                    1B- Howard                             SS- Tejada                   SS- Young

OF-Beltran                   OF- Abreu                               OF- Sizemore              OF- Ibanez

OF- Bay                      OF- Soriano                             OF- Dye                      OF- Swisher

OF- Holliday                UTL- Sanchez                          OF- Man-Ram             UTL- Jeter

 

Stay tuned as I pick my pitchers on Tuesday.