National League:

First Base: Bryce Harper(won fan vote)

At this time in the 2023 season, Bryce Harper never started a game at first base. Now, he has won the All-Star Game fan vote at first base, deservingly so. This season, Harper is currently batting .303 with 20 home runs, 58RBI and slugging .582. His slugging percentage is his best since the 2021 season. His OPS+ is 175. OPS+ measures how good a player is overall offensively, with 100 being league average. Harper is currently 75% better than league average. With this being his first season at first, defense might have been a question mark? Nope. He currently has 2 errors in 74 games started at the position, for a fielding percentage on .997. Harper in my mind, is easily the most deserving first baseman and the fans made that happen.

Second Base: Luis Arraez

Luis Arraez is the best pure hitter in the game today. At one point in the 2023 season, Arraez was actually on pace to hit .400! Arraez was traded to San Diego early in the season from Miami, and hasn’t missed a beat. Arraez is currently batting .310 with 19 total extra base hits. Arraez isn’t the swiftest of foot, and his power numbers won’t wow you, but his ability to just hit the ball and put the ball in play is incredible. Luis Arraez is my pick to represent the NL at 2nd base.

Shortstop: Trea Turner

Trea Turner is having his best season as a Phillie. The 2023 season wasn’t a highlight for Trea. After getting off to a terrible start after signing a 11 year, $300 million contract, fans were booing him due to his lackluster performance. Outfielder Nick Castellanos actually asked fans to give him a standing ovation and rally behind Turner to give him confidence. Trea responded great to it. Now, in 2024, Turner is back to his usual self. He’s currently batting .333 with 10 stolen bases. His OPS+ is 139, being 39% better than league average. Turner is having a bounce back season and would be my pick to start at 2nd base for the National league.

Third Base: Alec Bohm

Alec Bohm: Bohm is your current RBI leader. When someone gets on base, you bet he’s knocking them in. Bohm is a clutch hitter that hits for average, has power, and is straight clutch. Bohm is batting .301 with 9 home runs, 65RBI, and is leading the league in doubles. His OPS+ is 136. Bohm is above the rest as far as third baseman go and is my pick to start at 3rd base for the NL All-Star team.

Outfield: Jurickson Profar, Christian Yellich, Fernando Tatis Jr.

Jurickson Profar: Profar is currently having a career year in San Diego. His previous career high for batting average was in the 60 game 2020 season. Profar hit .278 in 56 games in 2020. For a full 162 game season, Profar’s career high was .254 in 2018. He is currently batting .316. The 31 year old improved his average by 62 points. Power is there as well. He has 11 home runs and 15 doubles. Profar is my pick for an outfield spot for the All-Star team.

Christian Yellich: Yellich is deserving of an All-Star spot. He currently has an OPS+ of 151, his best since the 2019 season. The power may not be what it used to be for him, but he’s getting more productive plate appearances and when he’s getting on base, he will swipe a bag. He currently batting .325 with 7 home runs, 16 stolen bases and an on base percentage at .407. Christian Yellich is my pick to start in center field for the National Leage All-Stars.

Fernando Tatis Jr: Fernando Tatis Jr is my 3rd pick for an outfield spot for the National League starters. Tatis is finally back to what he was touted to be, a slugger. Tatis is on pace to surpass every statistic from his previous season. Tatis is batting .279 with 14 home runs and is slugging .468. His OPS+ is 134. Tatis has a strong arm in right field and has 4 outfield assists this season. Fernando Tatis Jr is my 3rd outfield starter for the 2024 NL All-Star team.

Catcher: William Contreras

William Contreras is gave a phenomenal season behind the plate for Milwaukee. He is currently batting .292 this season with 9 home runs. Contreras has an OPS+ of 122. He calls good games behind the dish and throws out 20% of base stealing attempts. His game is mostly offensive oriented but he isn’t a bad defender by any stretch. William Contreras is my pick to start at Catcher.

Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani

As if there was any doubt. Shohei is doing what Shohei does. Who would have believed his numbers would improve after signing the largest contract in baseball history, but they have. Ohtani is currently leading the league in home runs(25) runs scored(65), batting average (.322), slugging (.643), OPS (1.045), total bases (200) and OPS+ (194). Shohei Ohtani is going to go down as one of the greatest baseball players of all time at his current pace. Unfortunately he is unable to pitch this season, adter suffering a UCL injury last season. The fact that Shohei is as great as he is as a hitter, he’s equally as good as a pitcher. Ohtani is truly a unicorn and deserves all the praise for it. No t, he’s the DH for the NL All-Stars.

Starting Pitcher:

Paul Skenes: Okay, this isn’t conventional, but Paul Skenes has been absolutely dominant in his first 8 career starts. Honestly, this is the pitcher I believe Skenes will be for the foreseeable future, though maybe less godly numbers. Paul Skenes is currently 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA, 61 strikeouts to just 8 walks. His WHIP is at .99 and his strikeout/9 is 11.8. DOMINANCE. Sure, there’s other pitchers that have the résumé and are having phenomenal seasons. Zack Wheeler, Tyler Glasnow to name two. Paul Skenes has the potential to be a CY Young caliber pitcher and if his Pirates team was better, he could honestly contend this year had he been called up a little sooner. Should he be available to pitch and be able to go, I’m starting Paul Skenes.

Injury Replacements:

SS:

Elly De La Cruz: Here me out, Elly De La Cruz is in just his first full Major League season. Through 81 games, Elly is leading all of baseball in stolen bases with 38, he is also leading in strikeouts. Recently, however, he has been cutting down his strikeout rate. He’s cut his strikeouts from May to June down by 11. Elly is a budding superstar and what better stage to show him off than the Mid Summer Classic(and home run derby but I digress). Elly is elite in all 5 categories of the game. He hits for power, he hit for average through the minor leagues, I don’t see that going away permanently through the Major League adjustment process. Elly not only leads all players in stolen bases, he has 11 more than second place, he has more stolen bases than 5 teams. When Elly puts his game together, there’s no telling how great he could be. There’s 50HR/100SB caliber. He has shown great improvement in the field as well. Yes he leads the league in errors currently, but he’s improved mightily since April. The All-Star game is a showcase and I’m showcasing Elly De La Cruz this summer.

Heliot Ramos: Ramos is a sneaky good player in San Francisco. Right now, Ramos is batting .287 with 10 home runs, slugging .506 and is OPS+ is 153. Ramos fits the mold of power hitter, but also hits for average. I pick Ramos over someone like Teoscar Hernandez only because I want someone on my lineup that isn’t solely a home run threat. Yeah, the long ball is nice, but squaring up a baseball with runners on base is what I personally want. Should Tatis not back in time to play in the showcase, I want Heliot Ramos as my outfield starter.

Follow me on X for my thoughts on the Cincinnati Reds, Reds MiLB and in this case, the MLB. https://twitter.com/RICKYL0GAN

Photo Credit; GQ, ESPN, San Diego Union Tribune, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, The New York Times, CBS Sports,

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