Who should be DH for the NL in the MLB All-Star Game?
By Nick Reid
The starters for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game have been announced, except for who will serve as the designated hitter for the National League squad. Who should it be?
Late Thursday afternoon, Major League Baseball revealed the leading vote-getters in the 2019 Google All-Star Starters Election, thus what position players were chosen by fans as starters for the MLB All-Star Game.
Overall, the fans just about got it right when choosing who warranted a spot in their respective league’s All-Star starting lineup for the 90th Midsummer Classic. After Mike Trout received the most votes (993,857) overall, the rest of the American League outfield voting was very close and one could argue the 3rd spot could have been awarded to multiple players (performance-wise; we get it’s a fan vote). Additionally, the National League first base race was neck-and-neck while the second base and 3rd outfielder choices were pretty close as well.
However, one All-Star starter that has yet to be determined is who will serve as the National League’s designated hitter, since both leagues trot out a DH for the second-most important interleague matchup of the year. Veteran oddball Hunter Pence of the Texas Rangers represents the AL at DH, but no one has been announced to man the position in the senior circuit.
Since manager of the NL All-Star team Dave Roberts has yet to publicly decide who will start for his team at designated hitter, I have put together the three players who have the best opportunity to be chosen based on their first-half numbers. All three should make the All-Star roster, but there’s only one remaining spot in the starting lineup for NL position players.