MLB Dirt

Here is my NL All-Star Infield Reserve’s list. Make sure you check out my NL starting lineup as well.

Catcher: I selected Brian McCann as my starter and here are my two reserves:

Miguel Montero: Montero has had him self a nice little season so far. He has a 2.4 WAR, ranking second amongst NL catchers. He is hitting .276/.348/.472 with a wOBA of .357. He has 9 homeruns and 40 RBI to go with as well.

Ramon Hernandez: While Hernandez has pretty much been splitting time with Ryan Hanigant this year, he is having himself a solid year. In 177 PA this year, he is hitting .306/.367/.506 with 8 homeruns and a wOBA of .374. He has a 1.5 WAR and a .200 ISO.

First Base: My starting first baseman is Prince Fielder

Joey Votto: Votto has had himself a terrific year so far. He has a 3.5 WAR ranking second amongst NL first baseman and he is hitting .316/.440/.503. He has 11 homeruns and 50 RBI with a wOBA of .411.

Gaby Sanchez: This spot would go to Albert Pujols but it does not look like he will be back by the All-Star game. Nonetheless, Gaby Sanchez is having a terrific year and he is very deserving of this spot. He has a 2.6 WAR, ranking third amongst NL first baseman which is better than that of Pujols. He is hitting .298/.372/.488 with 13 homeruns and 45 RBI.

Second Base: I previously selected Danny Espinosa as the starting second baseman.

Rickie Weeks: Weeks is having a terrific year. He leads all NL second baseman in WAR (3.6) and is hitting .290/.358/.495 with 14 homeruns and an ISO of .206. He just missed out on being my starting second baseman

Brandon Phillips: For this pick I was leaning between Phillips and Kelly Johnson but I am giving Phillips the edge. He ranks third in WAR (2.7) amongst NL second baseman. He is hitting .298/.351/416 with 6 homeruns and 43 RBI. What hurt Johnson’s case was his horrific 32.5 K%, .213 AVG, and .292 OBP.

Third Baseman: I gave Ryan Roberts the nod at third base

Ty Wigginton: Wigginton has played all over this year for theRockies, but the majority of his appearances have been at third. He is hitting .267/.317/.510 with a wOBA of .362. His SLG leads all NL third baseman and his wOBA is tied for first. He also has 12 homeruns which is the highest amongst NL third baseman and the highest ISO of .243 as well.

Ryan Zimmerman: Zimmerman started off the season very well; hitting .357/.486/.536 in the months of March and April but injuries began to affect his performance and sidelined him for quite some time. His numbers are not quite all-star material, but Zimmerman is still one of the top third basemen in the league and he deserves to be on the all-star team.

Shortstop: Jose Reyes easily won the starting shortstop job for me.

Troy Tulowitzki: Jose Reyes has performed out of his mind this year but Tulo has been having a very nice season himself too. He has a 3.1 WAR ranking 2^nd amongst NL shortstop’s and he leads all shortstop’s in homeruns with 14. He is hitting .272/.336/.382 with an impressive 50 RBI and .210 ISO as well.

Starlin Castro: Castro started of the season on a tear. He settled down a little but is still hitting .319/.349/.443 with a wOBA of .353. His 1.8 WAR ranks 5^th amongst NL shortstops but it is only 0.2 wins behind 4^th place and 0.3 wins behind 3^rd. He has 10 stolen bases as well as 107 hits which ranks second behind Jose Reyes.

Filed under: Digging Deep - Analysis Tagged: | Albert Pujols, All-Star Game, Brandon Phillips, Brian McCann, Danny Espinosa, Gaby Sanchez, Joey Votto, Jose Reyes, Kelly Johnson, Miguel Montero, Prince Fielder, Ramon Hernandez, Rickie Weeks, Ryan Roberts, Ryan Zimmerman, Starlin Castro, Troy Tulowitzki, Ty Wigginton