I was thinking the other day that I've not had a lot of time the last couple years to post a roster for the mid-summer classic and I've barely had much time to devote to watching games outside of the surprising first half being enjoyed in Atlanta. But I took some time the last week or so to take a look around baseball and come up with my thoughts for what I would enjoy seeing in terms of the NL roster taking the field in a couple weeks at Nationals Park in the nation's capital.
Before I get too far, indulge me with a couple thoughts if you will. First, replay really needs some tweaks. I agree with the sentiment I've seen from others on th' Twitta that have the idea that New York shouldn't know the original call on the field. The call of the play should stand on its own, really. I'm also really not a fan of the intentional walk without throwing four wide either. Now that I've got that off my chest, let's take a look at my 2018 National League roster.
This year's roster is composed of 20 position players and a dozen pitchers. I'll continue to observe the MLB requirement of having at least one representative from each team. I like to leave a spot open for either middle relievers or utility guys and added two middle relievers to my AS roster. All stats are through the games of Saturday, June 30th.
Starting Pitcher - Jacob deGrom (New York Mets)
Can only have one starter and the margin between deGrom's first half and Max Scherzer's first half was razor thin. I give deGrom the nod primarily on ERA (deGrom's at 1.84 and Scherzer coming in at 2.04). deGrom has a start on Friday at home versus Tampa and Scherzer is on the hill tonight at home against Boston (and trailing 3-1 as I write, courtesy a bases clearing double by Bosox pitcher Rick Porcello). Scherzer has had a Scherzer-esque season so far and is among the league leaders in wins and strikeouts.
Rest of NL All-Star Staff
Max Scherzer (Washington)
Jon Lester (Chicago)
Clay Buchholz (Arizona)
Aaron Nola (Philadelphia)
Miles Mikolas (St Louis)
Junior Guerra (Milwaukee)
Kirby Yates (San Diego) Middle Relief
Tony Watson (San Francisco) Middle Relief
Brandon Morrow (Chicago) Closer
Sean Dolittle (Washington) Closer
Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles) Closer
Just Missed The Nod: Mike Foltznewicz (Atlanta), Jeremy Hellickson (Washington), Sean Newcomb (Atlanta), Kyle Freeland (Colorado), Kyle Barraclough (Miami), Arodys Vizcaino (Atlanta), Raisel Iglesias (Cincinnati).
Catcher - JT Realmuto (Miami - Starter), Francisco Cervelli (Pittsburgh - Reserve), Buster Posey (San Francisco - Reserve)
The Marlin's young catcher gets the start here with a nod to Pittsburgh's Francisco Cervelli as a reserve. Realmuto is a star toiling in the wake of yet another fire sale in south Florida. Realmuto is hitting .306/.364/.543/.907 and hasn't had a whole lot of help in Miami's lineup once Giancarlo Stanton headed north to the Bronx. Cervelli has had a really good year in what has been a disappointing season in Pittsburgh and Buster Posey has hit .290 for the middle of the pack Giants.
First Base - Freddie Freeman (Atlanta - Starter), Jesus Aguilar (Milwaukee - Reserve)
The senior circuit has been stacked with really quality first sackers for quite some time with Votto in Cincinnati, Rizzo in Chicago and Goldschmidt in Arizona. Freddie Freeman has had a stellar first half in Atlanta as the Braves have stormed into first place and while the jury is still out in terms of whether the Braves can ultimately hold off Washington and/or Philadelphia, the Freeman led Braves are in the playoff conversation perhaps a year earlier than most thought. Freeman is hitting .316 and is underrated in terms of his glove. Another big surprise is in Milwaukee with Jesus Aguilar, who looks (and more importantly hits) a lot like former Brewer Prince Fielder (Aguilar has 19 homers, most of all in that position right now.)
Just Missed The Nod: Brandon Belt (San Francisco), Joey Votto (Cincinnati), Jose Martinez (St Louis), Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona).
Second Base - Ozzie Albies (Atlanta - Starter), Scooter Gennett (Cincinnati - Reserve)
Another reason for the surprising first half for the Braves stands at second base at SunTrust Park. Albies came up last year and hit well in 57 games (a .286 average in 2017), however his power at the plate to begin the season helped propel Atlanta up the standings in the East. He was the early leader in homers and is still top five in the NL in homers and leads the league in extra base hits. Scooter Gennett has hit consistently well for the Reds and leads all second basemen in hits (101).
Just Missed The Nod: Javier Baez (Chicago), Asdrubal Cabrera (New York), Cesar Hernandez (Philadelphia).
Shortstop - Brandon Crawford (San Francisco - Starter), Trevor Story (Colorado - Reserve)
Youth has been served at catcher and second base, however one of the two oldest regular shortstops in the game gets the nod in San Francisco's Brandon Crawford, who leads all NL shortstops in batting with a .313 average and is tied for second in homers with 10. Crawford is smooth and steady in the field and is looking for his second All-Star Game appearance. Story leads all shortstops with 16 homers and is third in stolen bases (10).
Just Missed The Nod: Paul DeJong (St Louis - currently on DL), Chris Taylor (Los Angeles), Trea Turner (Washington).
Third Base - Nolan Arenado (Colorado - Starter), Eugenio Suarez (Cincinnati - Reserve)
Nolan Arenado is the NL leader in homers (20) and in the top 10 in the league in hits and in the top five in RBIs. Eugenio Suarez is in the top ten in homers (16) and is tied for the lead in RBIs. Both are still in their 20s and should be mainstays in their team lineups for years to come. Anthony Rendon has come on really strong of late in Washington and made an awfully strong argument to be included.
Just Missed The Nod: Anthony Rendon (Washington), Matt Carpenter (St Louis), Kris Bryant (Chicago).
Outfielders - Nick Markakis (Atlanta), Rhys Hoskins (Philadelphia), Matt Kemp (Los Angeles) Starters. Derek Dietrich (Miami), Kyle Schwarber (Chicago), Bryce Harper (Washington), Lorenzo Cain (Milwaukee), David Peralta and AJ Pollock (Arizona) Reserves.
Nick Markakis is having a great year at the dish for the Braves (.326/.391/.492/.883) and leads the NL in hits. Matt Kemp is another veteran having a great year in LA and Rhys Hoskins has hit 14 homers and has an OBP of .374 for the Phillies. Just outside my list of starters is Bryce Harper, who should have a better second half than he has had a first half and Chicago's Kyle Schwarber. Lorenzo Cain and David Peralta have also had great first halves for Milwaukee and Arizona.
Just Missed The Nod: Scott Schebler (Cincinnati), Odubel Herrera (Philadelphia), Brian Anderson (Miami), Gregory Polanco (Pittsburgh), Gorkys Hernandez (San Francisco), Albert Almora (Chicago), Ronald Acuna Jr. (Atlanta).
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