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Thursday, July 4, 2013

My AL All-Star Ballot

C Joe Mauer
Mauer Power may be striking out more than ever before, but that hasn't stopped him from having the best year of his career since he stormed his way to the MVP award in 2009.

1B Chris Davis
Crush Davis, the major league leader in home runs, slugging percentage, total bases, OPS+, extra base hits, and home run ratio, is set to make his first All-Star squad on the back of a Babe Ruth-ian first half. His immense power is the only thing standing in the way of Cabrera winning the Triple Crown again.

2B Robinson Cano
Cano isn't the slam dunk he's been in years past because of his recent struggles, but he still edges out Dustin Pedroia, Jason Kipnis and Howie Kendrick for the starting gig.

3B Miguel Cabrera
As great as Evan Longoria and Manny Machado have been, they can't compete with the reigning MVP. After winning the Triple Crown last year, he's been even better this year. Miggy leads the bigs in pretty much every offensive category, except for the ones owned by Chris Davis.

SS Jhonny Peralta
J.J. Hardy's been getting a lot of love, probably because he has more than twice as many home runs as Peralta. But Peralta's having a much more well-rounded offensive season and actually leads Hardy in slugging percentage. Plus, Hardy's sub-.300 OBP is a real eyesore.

OF Mike Trout
In 2012 Trout put together the best season a 20 year-old has ever had. Here in 2013 he's on pace to finish with the best season a 21 year-old has ever had. His numbers aren't quite as good as they were last year, but they're pretty damn close.

OF Adam Jones
Great all-around play from Jones, who's essentially replicating the success of his breakout 2012.

OF Jose Bautista
Joey Bats' numbers have leveled off following his monster 2010-'11 campaigns, but he's still one of the better hitters in baseball (especially for power) and plays strong defense in right field.

DH David Ortiz
Big Papi's helped lead the Boston Red Sox back to the top of the American League with a monster first half. The 37 year-old DH should be entering the twilight of his career, but instead he's in the midst of a second prime a la Barry Bonds.

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