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s way to a new star keystone sacker one who s hit 325 with 38 steals and 19 homers more than half of which have come in 2016 aside from dustin pedroia you ll see the rest of the quartet below ss francisco lindor indians 6 9 it s been two days since i pulled the war figures and lindor s past calendar year war is up to 7 2 there s really nothing he can t do he hits for average 311 and power 18 hr runs 22 sb and plays stellar defense 22 4 fraa best among shortstops 3b manny machado orioles 8 5 if machado had come up at almost any other time in baseball history he would have been in the best player in baseball conversation by this point in his career playing with trout and harper he ll have to settle for 2016 mvp candidate we all knew about his glove which he s now trying out at shortstop but he s hit 300 with 42 home runs and 12 stolen bases in the last year lf mike trout angels 9 9 we ll move the best player in baseball off his position because cain s a better fielder but trout s been ok this past year 307 415 585 cf lorenzo cain royals 6 3 309 20 homers 25 steals excellent defense and a wild playoff run in the middle he s for real rf mookie betts red sox 6 7 would you have guessed that betts leads all non trout harper outfielders in war since last june he s hitting 308 with 25 homers 21 steals and right field defense that would play in center dh david ortiz red sox 6 3 look at that war number again this is a designated hitter a guy who gets knocked 15 2 runs for not fielding and 6 2 more for not running the bases well the best hitter in baseball over the past year is a 40 year old on his retirement tour he s bashed 47 home runs and 51 doubles slugging a crazy 680 sp chris sale white sox 6 7 it s amazing that chris sale probably the best pitcher in the al over the past half decade hasn t won a cy young award yet this may very well be his year since last june he s got a 3 12 era a 2 87 fip and 273 strikeouts in 227 2 3 innings national league c buster posey giants 5 3 there s no competition here posey is the game s best catcher by a fair margin he s hitting 308 362 472 over the past twelve months and plays strong defense for a strong team 1b joey votto reds 6 4 paul goldschmidt seems to be in the process of eclipsing votto and miguel cabrera as the game s best first baseman but over the past year votto has gone off hitting 292 445 512 that middle number is not a typo 2b ben zobrist cubs 4 9 zobrist left the al for the senior circuit in 2016 after helping lead the royals to a world series and he s leading the prohibitive favorites to a huge division lead this year his totals across two leagues and three teams 302 394 478 ss brandon crawford giants 4 5 the one year view eliminates rookies corey seager aldemys diaz and trevor story each of whom is having a monster 2016 at least with the bat crawford gets this nod with his brilliant glove though his 19 homers help offset the 249 batting average 3b kris bryant cubs 7 7 it s kind of hard to believe this spot doesn t go to nolan arenado but bryant gets on base more 364 to 342 and is a far better baserunner 6 3 braa to 1 1 while hitting 32 homers of his own lf yoenis cespedes mets 6 7 43 home runs and a suite of stunning throws from the outfield make cespedes an easy pick cf dexter fowler cubs 5 7 perhaps the leading nl mvp candidate this year fowler has been solid for the full year hitting 273 381 456 while stealing 15 bases and playing great centerfield defense rf bryce harper nationals 8 1 36 homers and a 440 obp only ortiz has been a better hitter since last june dh paul goldschmidt diamondbacks 5 5 turn 22 outs into walks and goldschmidt s been a votto clone this past year and the d backs score a bunch more runs by virtue the best wrc 142 of any nl hitter not named above he gets the start at dh sp clayton kershaw dodgers 11 0 for most of the current decade the story of baseball has been one about mike trout who s doing things with his bat legs and glove that we haven t seen since bonds and at an age when no one s even been this good it s about time we ask ourselves whether the game s most dominant player is trout or kershaw who s had a strong case as baseball s best pitcher each of the past five seasons and seems to have reached another level in 2016 he s started 34 games over the last calendar year going 20 5 with a 1 42 era a 1 64 fip and an absurd 320 strikeouts in 253 innings now some reserves we ll put 32 players on each team it s probably too many but it s somehow smaller than each league s actual all star roster american league brian mccann c yankees 2 6 it s a shallow crop of star catchers in the american league the 3 guy in war over the past year blake swihart seems to be done playing catcher and mccann s batted just 224 but his 25 homers and 59 walks make him worthy of a spot edwin encarnacion 1b dh blue jays 4 6 the imaginary parrot on edwing s arm has accompanied him around the bases 38 times since last june excluding the one he hit in the playoffs miguel cabrera 1b tigers 3 9 cabrera was hurt for much of last fall so he s only played in 120 games this past calendar year but he continues to rake when on the field hitting 316 426 520 robinson cano 2b mariners 5 2 he s ba ack since getting off to a slow start in seattle cano s hit 301 with 35 homers and even led them into contention ian kinsler 2b tigers 5 2 the brand name star who plays to his left seems to be losing power and health with age but kinsler refuses to follow him within a month of his 34th birthday he s hit 312 with 21 homers and 11 steals since last june and still plays stellar defense xander bogaerts ss red sox 6 3 offensively bogaerts is in a dead heat with lindor and his defense has been excellent if not at lindor s level carlos correa ss astros 4 5 just last year i wrote about the dearth of star shortstops in the al after the previous decade s shortstop revolution now lindor bogaerts and correa are three of the game s best players and none of them is old enough to rent a car correa has hit 30 homers and stolen 22 bases since last june josh donaldson 3b blue jays 7 7 the reigning al mvp is having another great year yet he somehow pales in comparison to another al third baseman donaldson s hitting 276 368 539 with 39 homers 6 steals and 7 3 fraa machado beats him in all six of those categories adrian beltre 3b rangers 5 4 in this golden age for third basemen the elder statesman keeps chugging along with 22 homers to complement the best hot corner defense 17 8 fraa in the league adam eaton of white sox 5 4 after the three starters named above the best al outfielders by war are all glove first guys eaton kevin kiermaier jackie bradley jr and kevin pillar eaton also happens to be a 300 hitter with wheels 20 stolen bases 2 8 braa jose quintana sp white sox 6 2 he goes about his work quietly not striking out a lot of players and way too often victimized by poor run support but in the last twelve months quintana s 2 80 era is the best in the american league and his 2 86 fip is second to david price somehow he s 12 10 in those 33 starts david price sp red sox 6 2 price has struggled to keep he ball in the park and to strand runners early in 2016 but the strikeouts are still there and he limits walks enough to lead the al with a 2 80 fip over the past year he s also 21 5 with a 3 13 era over that span and might have a case to start the game if he can pitch well his next two or three times out dallas keuchel sp astros 4 8 last year s al cy young like so many great al pitchers is struggling in 2016 but his june to june numbers 3 77 era 3 31 fip 2 97 xfip are still excellent corey kluber sp indians 4 4 here s the cy young from the year before a guy who had everything working in 2014 but can t seem to keep runs off the board as consistently since despite comparable peripherals kluber s struck out over a batter per nine en route to a 3 28 fip justin verlander sp tigers 4 5 i m as surprised as you are it would appear that mr verlander may be back his 10 13 record won t put him in the real all star game and a 3 60 era and a 3 52 fip don t jump off the page but they re good numbers considering his home park and competition and the al doesn t have much else to offer aroldis chapman rp yankees 2 4 he s done very little of his work in the american league but that s where he lives now and i m not ignoring a guy with 93 strikeouts in 54 innings his 1 50 fip matches his era sometimes fip works andrew miller rp yankees 2 3 more innings than chapman more strikeouts fewer walks if not for a few longballs he might be the best reliever in baseball but he s not even the best on his own team dellin betances rp yankees 2 2 ok this is ridiculous he s shown signs of wear lately but he s struck out 135 batters in a year all in relief and now he pitches in the seventh inning alex colome rp rays 2 3 the nl seems to have most of the great starting pitching in baseball right now but the al has a monopoly on relievers raise your hand if you knew colome had a 1 73 fip over the past year second only to chapman among relievers in either league wade davis rp royals 1 9 fangraphs isn t quite a high on davis because he walks more than a batter every three innings but it hasn t affected his 1 11 era much zach britton rp orioles 2 1 britton s 1 61 era is third only to davis and chapman over the past year craig kimbrel rp red sox 1 9 kimbrel isn t the all time great he was for years in atlanta but a 2 04 era and 93 strikeouts in 61 2 3 innings pitched are worthy of this team he noses out cody allen ken giles justin wilson david robertson kelvin herrera and mychal givens each of whom has been practically unhittable in relief for the last spot national league jonathan lucroy c brewers 3 8 the man i thought should ve been named nl mvp in 2014 missed much of 2015 with injuries but since his return he s been reasonably close to the star he was before the injury batting 293 353 466 with 16 homers and a great framing game francisco cervelli c pirates 3 3 by war cervelli s been better since last june than any al catcher he s walked in 11 percent of his plate appearances something no other full time nl catcher can claim giving him the best obp 364 of any catcher in either league with 100 pa over that stretch anthony rizzo 1b cubs 4 2 based on this year only rizzo s probably the pick his full year numbers are less stellar but still strong 256 368 497 with 35 homers and 9 stolen bases daniel murphy 2b nationals 4 3 after crushing nl playoff opponents with the 2015 mets murphy s off to an explosive start in 2016 he s hit 320 and slugged 529 a point behind cano for best among all second basemen in the last year nolan arenado 3b rockies 7 1 another mvp caliber player who isn t even the best third baseman in his league arenado s 47 homers are tied with ortiz for tops in baseball matt carpenter 3b cardinals 4 8 29 homers and 83 walks make carpenter the last nl position player on the team odubel herrera of phillies 5 5 this guy could start many future all star games he s a great fielder and runner who s hitting 326 401 462 over the past year jason heyward of cubs 5 4 his bat slumped to start 2016 but heyward s glove never slumps and he s among the game s best baserunners walks in over 10 percent of his pas complete the underappreciated skills trifecta andrew mccutchen of pirates 5 1 he s slipped a good deal from his prime but cutch still has a 385 obp and 24 homers since last june starling marte of pirates 4 9 marte has grown into a better fielder and a better baserunner than mccutchen and he s hitting 311 over the last year with some power and patience he could headline the bucs outfield soon if gregory polanco doesn t pass him jake arrieta sp cubs 7 6 it hasn t quite been a year since the start of arrieta s dominant run and he pitches in the same league as kershaw so he can t start this game despite an insane 1 40 era and a 26 3 record since last june despite the same number of starts he s 15 innings and 72 strikeouts behind kershaw madison bumgarner sp giants 6 3 bumgarner s got a 2 52 era and a 2 62 fip over the past year even in a pitcher s park that s a tremendous achievement and he s added seven home runs with his bat zack greinke sp diamondbacks 5 9 greinke hasn t dominated in arizona the way he did in los angeles but he still has a 2 45 era and a 21 5 record over the past twelve months jon lester sp cubs 5 9 lester strikes out almost four and a half times as many batters as he walks leading to a 2 74 fip and a 2 81 era johnny cueto sp giants 5 0 cueto s worn a lot of hats over the past twelve months and he s been particularly successful in the two representing national league teams overall he s got a 3 11 era and a 3 22 fip over the past year noah syndergaard sp mets 5 0 thor just came up last summer but he s now started 30 games and 224 batters vs just 36 walks in his short career it s hard to imagine anyone challenging kershaw as the game s best pitcher any time soon but if someone does it ll probably be syndergaard gerrit cole sp pirates 4 8 the pirates may not have the rotation to hang with the nl s great teams this season but they have an erstwhile ace in cole who has a 2 92 era and a 2 86 fip since last june jacob degrom sp mets 4 6 two cubs two giants and now two mets starting pitchers in this all star game syndergaard has taken some of degrom s spotlight but he still has a 2 62 era and over a strikeout per nine in his last 28 starts max scherzer sp nationals 4 6 scherzer s got a bit of a home run problem in 2016 but in the past year he s flirted with a perfect game completed a no hitter and struck out 20 batters in another game only kershaw has more strikeouts than his 287 hector rondon rp cubs 2 0 how is it fair that the cubs have had arguably the best reliever in the national league 0 97 era 2 07 fip over the past year too kenley jansen rp dodgers 2 1 jansen s 92 strikeouts in 68 1 3 innings are tops among nl relievers arodys vizcaino rp braves 1 5 i don t have a rule about including a player from every team sorry twins a s marlins and padres but i m feeling charitable so the last spot in the nl goes to a guy with a 1 57 era and a 2 15 fip despite very few leads to protect posted in all star game cubs giants red sox uncategorized leave a comment older posts search for recent posts 2017 baseball preview part ii 2017 baseball preview 2017 hall of fame ballot 2016 other award ballots 2016 cy young ballots archives april 2017 december 2016 november 2016 october 2016 august 2016 june 2016 april 2016 march 2016 january 2016 december 2015 november 2015 october 2015 september 2015 august 2015 july 2015 june 2015 may 2015 april 2015 march 2015 february 2015 january 2015 december 2014 october 2014 september 2014 august 2014 july 2014 june 2014 april 2014 march 2014 february 2014 january 2014 december 2013 october 2013 september 2013 august 2013 july 2013 june 2013 may 2013 april 2013 march 2013 january 2013 december 2012 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