Phase 1 of Major League Baseball All-Star voting will conclude Thursday (June 24) at 3:59 p.m. ET. In building an All-Star Game roster, the margin of error (or judgement) of fan voting and the fact that every team is guaranteed to have at least one representative has to be considered. However, if you threw all that out, this would be the most deserving group of All-Star starters.
National League Catcher: Buster Posey
Buster Posey is having his best season in years.(Patrick Smith/Getty Images)This one would have been pretty shocking at the outset of the season, but after opting out of the 2020 season, Posey is having a career renaissance in 2021. The 34-year-old is slashing .328/.408/.565 with 12 home runs and 27 RBIs in his 12th season. A seventh trip to the All-Star Game should only strengthen what was already a pretty strong Hall of Fame resume.
American League Catcher: Salvador Pérez
Salvador Perez is having an excellent season.(Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)Oakland's Sean Murphy is the superior defender at this point, but Pérez tops him in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs and RBIs. Like Posey, this would be Pérez's seventh All-Star Game appearance.
National League First Baseman: Max Muncy
Max Muncy is having a career-year.(Harry How/Getty Images)Even with a recently concluded injured list stint, Muncy still has a 2.8 fWAR, the top mark among National League first basemen. The next closest in that category are Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt and Rhys Hoskins, all of whom sit at 1.1. On a team with Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer and Walker Buehler, Muncy has been the Dodgers best player in 2021, and deserves to start at the All-Star Game.
American League First Baseman: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is having a breakout season.(Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)17 years after his father won the American League MVP, Guerrero Jr. is an early favorite for the award behind a breakout season. Still only 22 years old, Guerrero is slashing .340/.441/.668 with 23 home runs, 60 RBIs and a league-leading 1.109 OPS, making him the clear-cut answer here.
National League Second Baseman: Adam Frazier
Adam Frazier is having an excellent season for the Pirates.(Joe Sargent/Getty Images)Jake Cronenworth, Ozzie Albies and Chris Taylor all have cases here, but we're going to give the edge to Frazier. A .273 career hitter entering the season, Frazier is hitting .322 with a .390 on-base percentage in 2021. If he's not the starter, Frazier will almost certainly be at the midsummer classic in some form.
American League Second Baseman: Marcus Semien
Marcus Semien is having a bounce-back season.(Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)Semien was a disappointment in his final season in Oakland, but he's been the opposite in his first season with the Blue Jays. Once an elite defender at shortstop, Semien has played primarily at second base in 2021, and has five defensive runs saved to show for it. He's also slashing .279/.347/.519 with 18 home runs and 42 RBIs in a loaded Blue Jays lineup. Semien signed a one-year, prove-it deal with the Blue Jays worth $18 million last offseason, and, well, he's proving it.
National League Shortstop: Fernando Tatís Jr.
Fernando Tatis Jr. has become one of the faces of baseball.(Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)It would have been a cool story for Trevor Story to start at shortstop in Colorado perhaps weeks before he's traded away. However, Tatís Jr. - who has 22 home runs and 50 RBIs - has clearly had the best season among National League shortstops. It will be interesting to see how many National League shortstops are on the roster. Tatís should be a lock, and because the game is at Coors Field, there may be an inclination to have Story on the roster as well. However, both Brandon Crawford and Trea Turner are more deserving than Story.
American League Shortstop: Xander Bogaerts
Xander Bogaerts is likely going to return to the All-Star Game.(Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)Bogaerts and Carlos Correa are neck and neck, so you can't go wrong with either pick. We'll lean Bogaerts, who is slashing .323/.383/.553 with 13 home runs, 42 RBIs and a 3.4 fWAR. For Bogaerts, it would be his third trip to the All-Star Game.
National League Third Baseman: Justin Turner
Justin Turner has had tremendous longevity.(Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado have been better defensive performers, but it's Turner who has been the best offensive third baseman in the National League this season. The 36-year-old is slashing .282/.377/.476 with 12 home runs, 38 RBIs and an .853 OPS in 2021. This would mark his second All-Star Game appearance.
American League Third Baseman: José Ramírez
Jose Ramirez is having a monster season.(Greg Fiume/Getty Images)Dare we say that Ramírez - who is fourth among all position players in fWAR since the start of the 2018 season - is building a compelling Hall of Fame case. Last year's American League MVP runner-up, Ramírez is having another tremendous season, hitting .260 with 16 home runs, 44 RBIs and an .863 OPS. This would be Ramírez's third All-Star Game appearance, though both Rafael Devers and Yoán Moncada are nipping at his heels.
National League Outfielders: Ronald Acuña Jr., Nicholas Castellanos & Jesse Winker
Ronald Acuna Jr. has become one of the faces of baseball.(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Perhaps the National League MVP favorite, it's no surprise to Acuña Jr. here. However, Castellanos and Winker, teammates on the Cincinnati Reds, certainly wouldn't have been favorites at the outset of the season. But Castellanos - a summer after becoming a meme - is having a monster season, hitting .340 with a 3.1 fWAR. Winker is hitting .333 with 17 home runs and 45 RBIs. Bryan Reynolds, Mookie Betts and Kris Bryant all have had excellent seasons as well, but these are the three most deserving outfielders.
American League Outfielders: Cedric Mullins II, Mark Canha & Ramón Laureano
Cedric Mullins II has had a monster year.(Greg Fiume/Getty Images)None of these three are household names to the casual fan, but they should be. Mullins II has been one of the best players in baseball, as evidenced by his .310/.379/.538 slash line with 13 home runs and 26 RBIs. Canha and Laureano - both of the Oakland Athletics - are third and fourth in fWAR among American League outfielders. Mike Trout and Byron Buxton have both been excellent, but simply haven't played in enough games to get the nod here. Joey Gallo, Michael Brantley and Aaron Judge are all candidates as well.
American League DH: Shohei Ohtani
Shohei Ohtani is an American League MVP candidate.(Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)It's a little bit strange that the American League still selects a DH as an All-Star even though the game is being played in a National League park, although the DH is universal in the midsummer classic. In any event, having a DH will allow Ohtani, arguably the most exciting player in the sport, to be in the starting lineup.
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