Call to the Pen’s National League All-Star team

Technically speaking, the All-Star break is not the halfway or midway point of the season. We’re around that point right now with most teams having played between 78-82 games.

With All-Star voting in its final week, I’m sure there will be a major social media push by a few teams to get their guys some more votes. I suppose that’s one of the evils of how the voting is conducted these days.

The Call to the Pen staff held its own ASG vote and here’s how the voting was conducted.

Staff members of Call to the Pen were provided ballots, all of which of the “write-in” variety. Writers could vote for any player at any position and not bound by the official ASG ballot as provided by MLB. Each writer could vote for only one player per position with outfield being the exception where three players were permitted. The final results were simply based on the player(s) that received the most votes.

A total of 12 ballots were cast. And while it didn’t happen in either the National or American League, had a tie existed, the tie would have been broken by you, the readers, in the form of a poll. There were a couple of close ones though.

The results from the staff vote will be an actual ballot to be cast on MLB.com.

And now that we have that out of the way, here’s a look at Call to the Pen’s National League All-Star team.

All stats used are as of the end of games played on Friday, June 27th.

Jun 14, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Chase Utley (26) hits a home run in the first inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Second base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
2014 stats: .296/.357/.458, 6 HR, 37 RBI, 44 R, 2 SB

I thought this vote had the potential to be the wildest of all positions (although first base could arguably have been as well) since the NL has a handful of second basemen that are worthy of being its starter. As you’ll see, it wasn’t quite that way.

While Utley’s batting average is third among his NL Peers, he is the leader among qualified second sackers in OBP, SLG, and wOBA (.352). He got off to a quick start this season (March/April slashline of .355/.408/.570), but has somewhat cooled over the past two months (May/June slashline of .270/.335/.407), but those are still decent numbers.

The voting results:
Utley, PHI: 6
Murphy, NYM: 3
Gordon, LAD: 2
Walker, PIT: 1

There is a name not listed here that certainly deserves a mention: Scooter Gennett of the Milwaukee Brewers. I mention Gennett as he leads NL second basemen in wRC+ (127). He’s been a big contributor as to why the Brewers have played well this season.

An appearance in this year’s NL All-Star team roster would be Utley’s sixth of his career. His previous five were in consecutive seasons, but his last ASG nod was in 2010.

Jun 11, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (2) singles in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Shortstop: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
2014 stats: .351/.445/.623, 18 HR, 45 RBI, 61 R, 1 SB

Tulo was the NL’s only unanimous selection, and I can’t find anyone that could argue he doesn’t deserve that distinction. He’s putting up MVP numbers. There’s no other way to put it. We can compare his numbers to the other NL shortstops, but that’s almost unfair.

Almost. He’s the only NL SS batting over .300. The closest in OBP is Hanley Ramirez at .354. And SLG is even less of a contest (Starlin Castro at .471). So you have to compare his offense to the entirety of the National League, right?

So I will. His bWAR of 5.1 is the best in the NL, as is his fWAR of 4.6. He leads the league in BA, OBP ,SLG, runs scored, and wRC+ (182). There’s a couple of others, too. Tulo is second in home runs and third in total bases. And his production has been steady for the last two months of the season following an insane first month.

Mar/Apr: .364/.477/.727
May: .341/.429/.614
June: .348/.426/.528

In viewing his game logs, Tulowitzki’s OPS has not fallen below 1.000 since April 17. After that game against the San Diego Padres, it was .934. And his OPS as it currently stands (1.067) has not been that low since April 19 (1.058).

If not for the fact the Rockies were sitting in third place and 11 games back in the NL West, you’d hear even more about him.

I think it’s safe to say Tulowitzki will be a member of the NL All-Star squad, making this his fourth.

Jun 26, 2014; San Francisco, CA, USA; Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier (21) hits a single during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports

Third base: Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds
2014 stats: .290/.356/.519, 17 HR, 46 RBI, 51 R, 11 SB

Not sure if my post from a couple weeks back influenced the vote here or not, but no one can deny the season Frazier is constructing.

Glance again to the above 2014 stats I’ve provided. With the exception of OBP (where he ranks fourth among NL third basemen), Frazier is either the position leader or in second among his counterparts. He trails only St. Louis’ Matt Carpenter in runs scored…by one. He trails only Miami’s Casey McGehee in RBI…by one. His wRC+ of 143 is 19 better than of second ranked Washington’s Anthony Rendon.

And just for good measure, Frazier’s ISO of .229 is also tops. His 17 HR ranks third in the entire NL, tied with Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo. His 46 RBI ranks ninth in the NL. On Frazier is seventh in the NL in total bases with 154.

The voting results:
Frazier, CIN: 8
Luis Valbuena, CHC: 1
Carpenter, STL: 1
Nolan Arenado, COL: 1
McGehee, MIA: 1

One could assume had Arenado not been injured that he might have been able to claim this position.

This would be Frazier’s first All-Star selection should he be chosen.

Jun 5, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy (20) against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Milwaukee Brewers win 8-5. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Catcher: Jonathan Lucroy, Milwaukee Brewers
2014 stats: .330/.401/.509, 8 HR, 41 RBI, 37 R, 3 SB

You read that correctly. Not Yadier Molina. Not Buster Posey. In fact, Posey did not receive a single vote from the staff. And Lucroy clearly deserves the starting nod here.

There are only five qualified catchers in the National League. Lucroy leads those five in all of the slashline categories. He’s also tops in fWAR (3.4), wRC+ (153), and wOBA (.396). The closest to him in those categories (fWAR, wRC+, and wOBA) is Atlanta’s Evan Gattis. Gattis has Lucroy in SLG as his 16 home runs enhances the difference.

The voting results:
Lucroy, MIL: 8
Molina, STL: 3
Gattis, ATL: 1

I am a bit taken aback that Posey didn’t garner a single vote. And I thought Gattis would get more than one nod.

Jun 25, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) connects for a triple in the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Outfield: Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers
2014 stats: .309/.398/.519, 11 HR, 45 RBI, 40 R, 7 SB

Honestly, is there a more exciting player in baseball right now?

Granted, Puig doesn’t lead the qualified NL outfielders in any statistical category, but he is among the top three in all three slashline categories. He can make the same claim for wOBA (.399) and wRC+ (161).

Jun 25, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton (27) gets a base hit in the fourth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eileen Blass-USA TODAY Sports

Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
2014 stats: .312/.407/.595, 21 HR, 59 RBI, 56 R, 7 SB

Stanton has had a bounceback season that I don’t think anyone envisioned. It’s not so much his power numbers (.595 SLG, #1 among NL OF and #2 overall), but who saw him carrying a batting average over .300 (.312)? That batting average is fifth in the entire National League.

And when Stanton gets a hold of one, it will go a long, long way.

Stanton leads the NL in home runs and RBI. ANd what might surprise some is that he’s fourth in runs scored.

Jun 23, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder Andrew McCutchen (22) singles during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates
2014 stats: .314/.420/.525, 12 HR, 48 RBI, 43 R, 12 SB

McCutchen, last year’s NL MVP, had to work a little to snag our #3. It wasn’t until the last couple of ballots that he broke away from Milwaukee’s Carlos Gomez and secured our final spot.

Cutch is one of three NL outfielders to post double-digit home runs and double-digit steals (Gomez and Colorado’s Charlie Blackmon).

He’s backed up his MVP campaign rather well and a trip to the Twin Cities is definitely in the offering.

The voting results:
Puig, LAD: 10
Stanton, MIA: 9
McCutchen, PIT: 8
C. Gomez, MIL: 4
Blackmon, COL: 3
Hunter Pence, SF: 1
Jason Heyward, ATL: 1

Like you didn’t see this trio getting our three outfield votes. I think the one player that could make a case to be among these three is Gomez. He could easily stake a claim to a starting spot, that’s for sure.

Now that I think of it, San Diego’s Seth Smith could have a slight argument, and he didn’t receive a single vote among the staff. I’m sure Gomez will be in Minnesota. I hope Smith receives the recognition he truly deserves.

Tomorrow, the results of CttP’s American League All-Star team vote will be revealed.