We’re just four days and two final votes away from completing the American and National League rosters for the 2015 All-Star Game this coming Tuesday in Cincinnati. A grand spectacle in and of itself, the ASG is not only served to delight the fans who will get to witness the best players that the sport has to offer.
Postseason implications are also at stake, as the winning league of the All-Star Game will have home field advantage in this season’s World Series. Let’s take a look at some of the American and National Leagues’ featured players and how their roles will affect their respective leagues’ chances of seizing an upper hand for this year’s championship stage.
There’s even more in store with all the All-Star festivities as the Home Run Derby will be back with a brand new format and a great crop of sluggers ready to swing for the fences. Check out our preview for the literally hard-hitting event here.
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2015 MLB All-Star Game Preview
Betting on the American League
The American League roster is built to impress once again. The AL has won the past two All-Star events, and nine of the last 12. Former league MVPs Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols both receiverd their 10th All-Star nods. But with Cabrera out due to an injury, Pujols will take over his spot in the starting lineup.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Pujols is hitting just .262 for the year, but already has 26 home runs and 56 RBIs. And of course, Pujols’ fellow Los Angeles Angels teammate and reigning AL MVP Mike Trout will be on deck just as well. Trout is having another banner year and with yet another milestone in the books. Earlier this April, Trout became the youngest player to reach 100 home runs and 100 stolen bases.
An intriguing storyline that developed over the course of the fan-voting period for the position starters was about the large number of Kansas City Royals players that were being voted in. Well the final verdict is in, and a total of six Royals made the AL roster’s cut, with just four starting position players as opposed to about seven during the preliminary tally of fan votes.
One Kansas City standout who looks to make a big splash in his first All-Star appearance is Lorenzo Cain. Cain’s been known to be more of a fielding specialist throughout his career, but he has certainly hit the ball well this season. His stats do not exactly pop out as compared to the other All-Stars, but he is putting up career-best numbers for the best team in the American League. Cain’s OPS+ of 127 alone speaks for his improved batting.
AL All-Star manager Ned Yost might have a tough time selecting his starter on Sunday with a bevy of pitchers having sensational seasons. We’ll put our money on Chicago White Sox’s Chris Sale to get the starting job. Sale leads the majors with his 33.4 percent strikeout ratio against opposing batters, and is recently coming off of his record-tying eight-straight start streak of 10 or more strikeouts per game.
Dallas Keuchel of the Houston Astros and Sonny Gray of the Oakland Athletics are also very much capable of starting on the mound for the American League. Keuchel currently leads the league with 130 1/3 innings of work, but the All-Star Game will not be a marathon for starting pitchers. Gray, meanwhile, has only allowed five home runs for the season and merely 28 runs in 107 2/3 innings.
This could very well be the year that the National League ends the American League’s recent reign at the All-Star Games. With the Washington Nationals’ young slugger Bryce Harper playing like a true MVP, the odds are tipping towards the NL’s favor indeed.
At 22 years of age, Harper is putting up monstrous numbers in just his fourth year in the league. He leads the majors in OBP, OPS, OPS+ and slugging percentage. Oh, and did we mention that the former Rookie of the Year is hitting .343 with 25 homers and 60 RBIs?
And what’s an All-Star Game without a local hero aiming to put on a show in front of the home crowd? The Great American Ball Park in Cincy will definitely be rooting hard for Reds third-baseman Todd Frazier to make a critical play for the NL. Frazier currently has a line of .285/.344/.602 and already has 50 extra-base hits.
Cincinnati fans might also be in for another treat as the Reds’ starting closer in Johnny Cueto currently leads the NL’s All-Star “Final Vote” for the last slot in the roster. However, NL All-Star manager Bruce Bochy may not need Cueto’s services after all, as the National League boasts two of the best starting pitchers in the league this season.
Washington’s Max Scherzer is living up to his lucrative $210 million contract with the Nationals with his 1.82 ERA and a 9.93 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and is well within the hunt for this year’s Cy Young Award. Not to be outdone, Los Angeles Dodgers starter Zach Greinke is having a phenomenal season as well. Greinke, a former Cy Young Winner himself, has an MLB-best 1.39 ERA and has only surrendered one unearned run this season. And just this past Thursday, Grienke extended his scoreless streak to 35 2/3 innings.
Writer’s Prediction
The National League wins and grabs a hold of home field advantage for the World Series, with Bryce Harper winning the All-Star MVP.
