Futon Report: American League All-Star Watch, Pt. I

Just as promised, here are my first rankings for the American League All Stars. (Don’t worry. I’m shocked I did it on time also. But you‘d be amazed at what you can get done when your girlfriend is at work.)

Keep in mind that I had to keep at least one player from each team. Suffice to say, I had to reach for someone from the A’s and Devil Rays and some deserving players aren’t on here. Then again, if you’re struggling to be the #10 outfielder, you don’t have a prayer to be voted on a roster of 32.

OPS = slugging + on base (I like the stat, I know not everyone does).
CS% is the percentage of attempted base stealers thrown out by a catcher.
K/9 is strikeouts per 9 innings, not how many dogs they’ve cut in half.
Stats are probably accurate as of games finished on May 19.

Catcher:
1. Jason Varitek, Red Sox (.331 BA, 8 HR, 16 RBI, .981 OPS)
2. Joe Mauer, Twins (.319 BA, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 42.9 CS%)
3. Jorge Posada, Yankees (.269 BA, 5 HR, 21 RBI)
4. Ivan Rodriguez, Tigers (.257 BA, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 54.5 CS%)
5. Javy Lopez, Orioles (.289 BA, 7 HR, 22 RBI)

First Base:
1. Mike Sweeney, Royals (.326 BA, 9 HR, 29 RBI, .970 OPS)
2. Tino Martinez, Yankees (.277 BA, 12 HR, 29 RBI, .996 OPS)
3. Dmitri Young, Tigers (.288 BA, 6 HR, 19 RBI)
4. Jay Gibbons, Orioles (.286 BA, 6 HR, 22 RBI)
5. Richie Sexson, Mariners (.223 BA, 11 HR, 31 RBI, 22 walks)

Second Base:
1. Brian Roberts, Orioles (.372 BA, 11 HR, 33 RBI, 34 runs, 13 SB, 1.114 OPS)
2. Alfonso Soriano, Rangers (.276 BA, 11 HR, 26 RBI, 31 runs)
3. Tadahito Iguchi, White Sox (.304 BA, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 7 SB)
4. Ron Belliard, Indians (.264 BA, 6 HR, 17 RBI)
5. Jorge Cantu, Devil Rays (.270 BA, 5 HR, 17 RBI)

Third Base:
1. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees (.296 BA, 14 HR, 41 RBI, 36 runs, .982 OPS)
2. Shea Hillenbrand, Blue Jays (.352 BA, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 31 runs)
3. Brandon Inge, Tigers (.320 BA, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 25 walks)
4. Melvin Mora, Orioles (.289 BA, 9 HR, 24 RBI)
5. Hank Blalock, Rangers (.283 BA, 6 HR, 30 RBI)

Shortstop:
1. Carlos Guillen, Tigers (.371 BA, 2 HR, 11 RBI, .950 OPS)
2. Miguel Tejada, Orioles (.321 BA, 10 HR, 38 RBI, .947 OPS)
3. Derek Jeter, Yankees (.319 BA, 4 HR, 18 RBI, 31 runs, 24 walks)
4. Juan Uribe, White Sox (.269 BA, 4 HR, 20 RBI)
5. Michael Young, Rangers (.251 BA, 5 HR, 23 RBI)

Article Author: Matthew T. Sussman

Sussman is the founder and former editor of Blogcritics Sports. Twitter: @suss2hyphens

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