If baseball can start to take All-Star votes, then why not us? Why not in the fantasy world? Hell, some of you have already started to throw in the towel and some of you are popping the champagne. Probably because you have lucked into a raging first place finish with some of these guys.
There's nothing too complicated here and the voter is me. It's neat to judge and rank even if we are just a month into the season, when anything can happen.
The Indians have the best record in baseball, Matt Garza leads the majors in xFIP, and Jeff Franceour is a viable baseball player. So with that being said, here's your Fantasy All-Star lineup so far:
C - Russell Martin, New York Yankees
.289/.372/.566, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 13 R, 2 SB
Martin was a "flier candidate only" going into the season, and that was only because he was now playing for the Yankees. Everyone assumed that he would be a part-time player with some combination of Jesus Montero. But the real hitting threat behind the plate for New York is Martin.
From 2006-2008, he was a viable HR/SB threat from the catching position. The last two years he had fallen out of favor in LA and it became easy to forget that Martin is only 28 years old. Any stolen bases he gives you are gravy. Ride the gravy train and feel good about it.
Honorable Mention - Alex Avila, Detroit
Dis-honorable Mention - Joe Mauer, Minnesota
1B - Miguel Cabrera, Detroit
.352/.470/.629, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 24 R
A close call at the deep position of first base. Tex and Konerko lead 1B in HR. Fielder leads in RBI. Votto has better batting average and 4 SB. But the player who profiles best across the board is Cabrera. At 28 years old, Cabrera is basically halfway to 500 HR and 3000 hits.
Honorable Mention - Joey Votto, Cincinatti
Dis-honorable Mention - Justin Morneau, Minnesota
2B - Robinson Cano, New York
.308/.327/.606, 8 HR, 21 RBI, 18 R, 2 SB
A tough call here too, as second base is a much deeper position than it appears. Zobrist leads in RBI, Phillips is hitting .340, and Kendrick has had a fine season. I'm also looking forward to see how Kinsler does all year long. However, Cano plays in the heart of a strong lineup, has shown power and contact and will produce RBI and Runs. The only worrisome part is his 2.7% walks.
Honorable Mention - Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay
Dis-honorable Mention - Kelly Johnson, Arizona
SS - Jose Reyes, New York Mets
.325/.377/.460, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 19 R, 11 SB
Troy Tulowitzki, yeah yeah yeah. All due respect to Big Troy, this is the shortstop position. I love Tulo and for all intents and purposes he is the best SS in the game. But for this season, I don't feel his HR lead at the position, make up for the SB/average/R threat I get with Reyes. He's got 11 more hits than Tulo, is not the benefactor of an abnormally really high BABIP like Maicer Izturis, and has 9 more stolen bases. Which is a great thing to plug into a position as shallow as this one.
Honorable Mention - Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado
Dis-honorable Mention - Hanley Ramirez, Florida
3B - Adrian Beltre, Texas
.252/.290/.487, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 18 R
Despite the fact that he's "underperformed" on the year, Beltre leads third baseman in HR, RBI, and is 2nd in runs. David Wright gives me the abnormal stolen base totals. Polanco has racked up a lot of hits and is tied with Beltre in runs. A-Rod could always go off. But for now, third base is more shallow than 2nd base, and I'll go with Beltre.
Honorable Mention - David Wright, New York Mets
Dis-honorable Mention - Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh
OF - Jose Bautista, Lance Berkman, Matt Kemp
.357/.530/.762, 9 HR, 16 RBI, 25 R, 4 SB
.402/.477/.773, 9 HR, 27 RBI, 24 R
.364/.436/.585, 6 HR, 20 RBI, 21 R, 10 SB
I go with Bautista and Berkman for obvious reasons. Why Kemp over Holliday and Braun?
Holliday is having an excellent season, but only 4 HR and 0 SB. Braun has 10 HR and 4 SB, which is awesome. But Kemp has provided across the board excellent numbers moreso than the other two.
Honorable Mentions - Holliday, Braun, Ethier
Dis-Honorable Mentions - Carl Crawford, Vernon Wells, Alex Rios
That is all.