Here are the American League and National League lineups for tonight's All Star game, a game in which Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, among others, has elected to skip. More on that later. Here are the lineups:
National League
NL STARTING NINE
No. | Player | Position | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Rickie Weeks | 2B | MIL |
2. | Carlos Beltran | DH | NYM |
3. | Matt Kemp | CF | LA |
4. | Prince Fielder | 1B | MIL |
5. | Brian McCann | C | ATL |
6. | Lance Berkman | RF | STL |
7. | Matt Holliday | LF | STL |
8. | Troy Tulowitzki | SS | COL |
9. | Scott Rolen | 3B | CIN |
American League
AL STARTING NINE
No. | Player | Position | Team |
---|---|---|---|
1. | Curtis Granderson | CF | NYY |
2. | Asdrubal Cabrera | SS | CLE |
3. | Adrian Gonzalez | 1B | BOS |
4. | Jose Bautista | RF | TOR |
5. | Josh Hamilton | LF | TEX |
6. | Adrian Beltre | 3B | TEX |
7. | David Ortiz | DH | BOS |
8. | Robinson Cano | 2B | NYY |
9. | Alex Avila | C | DET |
More All Star game thoughts and Futures Game analysis from the experts after the jump:
Late yesterday afternoon, Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter elected to not attend the All Star game, after being voted in by the fans, because of he was "emotionally and physically exhausted" due the his chase for 3,000 hits? WHAT? I wonder how all the fans who voted for him feel now? Jeter makes $17-18 millions per year and he can't take one day of his life to thank the fans who voted for him by appearing in the All Star game. Totally ridiculous. I am sure there are fans who flew out to Phoenix just to see him play, and now he has let them down. The worst part about this is that the Hall of Fame voters look at All Star game appearances as one of their criteria for election into the Hall of Fame, or I should say, I assume they use it. It would make sense. I think since Jeter was healthy enough to play last weekend, he should play in the All Star game, and this goes to all of the other uninjured players who have chosen to not play as well. If not, it should not be recorded as an All Star game appearance. If you are voted in by the fans, you should play. Plain and simple.
Then again, the better shortstop is starting the All Star game for the American League in Jeter's absence.
Here are some thoughts from the prospect experts on some of the prospects who played in the Futures Game on Sunday night:
Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein on Braves pitching prospect Arodys Vizcaino:
Arodys Vizcaino, RHP, Braves
Vizcaino threw a grand total of six pitches on Sunday, but after Moore and Cosart, he was the most impressive pitcher of the game, throwing 96-98 mph and freezing Will Myers on a low-80s curveball for his lone strikeout. Now a 20-year-old with 46 strikeouts in his first 43 2/3 Double-A innings, the hype train is starting to grow on Vizcaino, with one scout gushing, "Vizcaino's top two pitchers are better than Julio Teheran's top two. Don't be surprised in his timetable gets accelerated, as he could be getting big outs of the major-league bullpen come playoff time.
ESPN's Keith Law on Orioles infield prospect Jonathan Schoop:
Jonathan Schoop (Baltimore) was the most impressive hitter overall, especially in batting practice. He gets great extension through the zone and controls the bat head well, with good balance overall and solid hip rotation for power. He's not a great runner and is in search of a position; he was a shortstop but wasn't going to stay there, and so far this year he's spent time at second and third, mostly second, where he appeared briefly Sunday. His bat profiles at either spot, and he does have the arm for third
Here is Law on Cardinals pitching prospect Carlos Martinez:
A number of those pitchers project as No. 1 starters when you consider their repertoires and deliveries.....Most impressive in that group were left-hander Matt Moore (Tampa Bay) and right-hander Carlos Martinez (St. Louis). Martinez was..... easy and loose, working at 96-98 but having his fastball play up because it got in on hitters so quickly. He threw a hard slurve at 80-82 with very sharp two-plane break..... He could turn over a changeup as well. Martinez didn't command the ball as well as Moore did but was just as aggressive.
Baseball America's Ben Badler on Rays pitching prospect Matt Moore:
Best Player: The player scouts came away buzzing about the most was Rays lefty Matt Moore, who came even better than advertised. Moore typically works around 91-95 mph as a starter, but in his one-inning stint today he ramped his fastball all the way up to 98, then backed it up with a nasty mid-80s breaking ball. He retired all three hitters he faced, struck out Mariners third baseman Alex Liddi on a breaking ball and threw first-pitch strikes to each hitter he faced. Moore said those first-pitch strikes have been the key to him taking the next step this season.