The Stars Will be Out in Hollywood
The Battle of the NL vs. AL… on paper
The lights will be shining bright in Dodger Stadium in a little over a week as baseball’s biggest stars travel to Los Angeles for All-Star Week! This is one of the few times on the calendar in which the MLB is the main attraction. All-Star week is loaded with events, and the schedule goes as follows!
Saturday July 16th:
All-Star Futures Game (6:00 PM Central), All-Star Celebrity Softball Game (9:15 PM Central)
Sunday July 17th:
2022 MLB Draft Day 1 (6:00 PM)
Monday July 18th: 2022 Home Run Derby (7:00 PM)
Tuesday July 19th:
92nd MLB All-Star Game (7:30 PM)
The Futures Game will be loaded with the league’s top prospects, while the celebrity game will be a star-studded event. Of course, we all know the main attraction. The Home Run Derby. Last year’s Derby was fantastic with Pete Alonso putting on a show! Sadly, we don’t have the participants for that yet, but if the MLB is reading this, Jazz Chisholm vs. Aaron Judge would be a great David vs. Goliath situation. However, the fan votes are in, and we do have the names of the starters for both the National League and American League teams. So, let’s see how they stack up against each other on paper and determine who wins the matchup.
So let’s break this down one position at a time. We’re going to base our decisions off of each players performance through the first half of this season, not their past performances or their name recognition.
First Base: Edge – Goldy & the National League
- We may be starting this off with a hot take, but Vlady didn’t get off to the hottest start this year. On the other hand, Goldy has been on a tear since the very beginning which has led to him being the leading hitter in the National League.
Second Base: Edge – Altuve & the American League
- Despite Jazz’s breakout year and the fact that he is the most entertaining player in baseball in my opinion, the edge goes to Altuve here. Altuve leads Jazz in batting average, hits, runs, homers, on base percentage and OPS.
Shortstop: Edge – Trae Turner & the National League
- Trust me, I love me some Tim Anderson. Any player who couldn’t care less about the unwritten rules of baseball has a fan in me forever. This is as close to a wash as I think we’re going to get, but I’m giving the edge to Trae here. In my opinion, he has had a slight edge hitting the ball this season.
Third Base: Edge – Devers & the AL
- Let’s just sum up this pick by saying this, Rafael Devers is about to be a VERY rich man. He’s been one of the standout players this season, and his stretch of play in May was unreal.
Catcher: Edge – Wash
- So, I lied. This may be a cop out, but I’m calling this matchup a wash. Both of these guys have been incredible this year and have nearly identical stats. I honestly can’t make a decision here, so deal with it!
Designated Hitter: Edge – Shohei Ohtani & the AL
- Even if Bryce Harper weren’t injured, would we really need to have this conversation? Harper is a fantastic player, but the argument could be made that Shohei is the best player in baseball right now. Easy choice here.
Outfielders: Edge – American League
- This one isn’t as close as I believe many people would think. The American League has the possible MVP in Aaron Judge along with Mike Trout. Although it’s been a down year for Trout by his standards, he’s still been a top 5 player baseball this year to me. Mookie Betts is in the conversation with Trout as well, but Acuna has had just an average year as he bounces back from his injury last year. That’s the difference maker.
Pitchers who stand out for the AL:
Shane McClanahan, Justin Verlander, Shohei Ohtani, Martin Perez, Clay Holmes & Greg Soto
Pitchers who stand out for the NL:
Sandy Alcantara, Corbin Burnes, Max Fried, Clayton Kershaw, Josh Hader & Ryan Helsley
I’m hopeful that the starting pitching matchup we see is Sandy vs. McClanahan, because I believe they’ve been the two best pitchers in baseball to this point. But we could see Shohei repeat what he did last year and start for the AL while also leading off. In my opinion, the NL holds the edge on the pitching side, but I believe the AL has enough talented hitters to overcome it.
So who wins the Midsummer Classic? My money would be on the American League. I think they have the better hitters out of the two squads, which is what I believe has the greatest impact on the outcome of the game. All in all though, All-Star week is for the entertainment. So kick back and enjoy the fun.
BONUS TAKE
I want to give my pick for All-Star game MVP. I think most people will pick Aaron Judge and rightfully so. He’s leading the league MVP race at the moment. However, I’m going to go out on a limb and pick Rafael Devers. He’s been on fire this year and coming into the All-Star break. Something else to consider, the pitchers rotate often in the often All-Star game, so a player needs to be able to hit lefties and righties well if he’s going to have a good game. Most of Devers’ power comes against righties, but his average against lefties and righties is pretty similar, so I think he’ll have success against whoever is on the mound for the National League.
In the scenario where the National League wins, I think the MVP would end up being Sandy Alcantara. I could see him coming out and dominating the American League lineup, and as long as his teammates can score runs he can take home MVP. I think win or lose, Sandy will be dominant in the few innings he throws. He tends to conserve his energy for the later innings in his starts, but in this format he’ll be able to give use all his velocity from the jump. Don’t be surprised if Sandy doesn’t give up a hit.
Follow David Rainey on Twitter.
A quick share helps us a lot!
