Tonight in Washington, D.C. will be the 89th MLB All-Star Game being held at Nationals Park. With both the American League and National League tied at 43 wins and two ties each, this game will be a tiebreaker of sorts. Let’s preview each team’s roster:
National League
Starting Lineup
- Javier Baez-2B, Chicago Cubs
- Nolan Arenado-3B, Colorado Rockies
- Paul Goldschmidt-DH, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Freddie Freeman-1B, Atlanta Braves
- Matt Kemp-LF, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Bryce Harper-CF, Washington Nationals
- Nick Markakis-RF, Atlanta Braves
- Brandon Crawford-SS, San Francisco Giants
- Willson Contreras-C, Chicago Cubs
SP: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals
This is a very good lineup as there is power from every hole, but the hardest part will be facing the very top of the lineup as Baez, Arenado, and Goldschmidt are very powerful and have the advantage over Chris Sale (the American League starting pitcher). The middle part with Freeman, Kemp, and Harper is very difficult, but with Chris Sale on the mound for the AL, the AL holds that advantage. The bottom part with Markakis, Crawford, and Contreras is at a disadvantage if they face Sale as well, but Contreras might be the hardest batter to face in that part of the lineup. Expect Scherzer to throw a lot of gas especially in front of his home crowd.
Reserves
Position Players
Yadier Molina-C, St. Louis Cardinals
Buster Posey-C, San Francisco Giants
J.T. Realmuto-C, Miami Marlins
Jesus Aguilar-1B, Milwaukee Brewers
Joey Votto-1B, Cincinnati Reds
Ozzie Albies-2B, Atlanta Braves
Scooter Gennett-2B, Cincinnati Reds
Eugenio Suarez-3B, Cincinnati Reds
Trevor Story-SS, Colorado Rockies
Charlie Blackmon-OF, Colorado Rockies
Lorenzo Cain-OF, Milwaukee Brewers
Christian Yelich-OF, Milwaukee Brewers
A lot of first time players here, but this is also a very stacked bench. The three catchers are in the top five of the best in the entire MLB. The Reds also sent three of their most productive bats in Gennett, Votto, and Suarez and you can see them being used strategically (Suarez especially as he could be used as a pinch hitter with runners in scoring position). Cain and Yelich could be used as late defensive replacements, but if the game goes into extra innings, they are productive bats. Aguilar, Blackmon, and Story will like be early replacements in the game and Albies could be used as a pinch runner.
Pitchers
Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks
Jacob deGrom, New York Mets
Sean Doolittle, Washington Nationals
Mike Foltynewicz, Atlanta Braves
Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks
Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers
Brad Hand, San Diego Padres
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers
Jeremy Jeffress, Milwaukee Brewers
Jon Lester, Chicago Cubs
Miles Mikolas, St. Louis Cardinals
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia Phillies
Ross Stripling, Los Angeles Dodgers
Felipe Vazquez, Pittsburgh Pirates
The bullpen for this squad is very good, but there are a lot of underrated players in here like Ross Stripling and Mike Foltynewicz. Nola and Mikolas have come out of nowhere and have been very good. Josh Hader has been the talk of baseball as he has been practically unhittable. Kenley Jansen is no doubt the best closer in baseball, but he will have some help from Brad Hand, Sean Doolittle, and Jeremy Jeffress. The rest of the pitchers are having outstanding seasons, but expect Lester to come in either early or late in the contest. Greinke could come in after Scherzer so look out for that.
American League
Starting Lineup
- Mookie Betts-RF, Boston Red Sox
- Jose Altuve-2B, Houston Astros
- Mike Trout-CF, Los Angeles Angels
- J.D. Martinez-DH, Boston Red Sox
- Jose Ramirez-3B, Cleveland Indians
- Aaron Judge-LF, New York Yankees
- Manny Machado-SS, Baltimore Orioles
- Jose Abreu-1B, Chicago White Sox
- Salvador Perez-C, Kansas City Royals (playing in place of injured Tampa Bay Rays’ Wilson Ramos)
SP: Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox
This lineup is absolutely scary. There are no easy outs here, but a lack of a left handed bat could be troublesome. Ramirez can hit from the left side as he is a switch hitter, but the rest are right handed hitters. However, this lineup is so good that Jose Abreu, normally a third hole or cleanup hitter, is hitting eighth. Sale is undoubtedly the best pitcher in the AL, but with such a violent delivery, a lot of the NL’s lineup will be on their toes even if they have the advantage with their first three hitters of the game.
Reserves
Position Players
Yan Gomes-C, Cleveland Indians
Mitch Moreland-1B, Boston Red Sox
Jed Lowrie-2B, Oakland Athletics
Gleyber Torres-2B New York Yankees
Alex Bregman-3B, Houston Astros
Francisco Lindor-SS, Cleveland Indians
Jean Segura-SS, Seattle Mariners
Michael Brantley-OF, Cleveland Indians
Shin-Soo Choo-OF, Texas Rangers
Mitch Haniger-OF, Seattle Mariners
George Springer-OF, Houston Astros
Nelson Cruz-DH, Seattle Mariners
This will be an interesting bench for the AL as they only have one back up catcher (Gomes) and one backup first baseman (Moreland). The infield is pretty versatile like Jed Lowrie and plus they have a lot of good bats who are outfielders, but the lack of another first baseman or catcher could be concerning. Expect Nelson Cruz to be used as a pinch hitter if the AL is down or tied.
Pitchers
Trevor Bauer, Cleveland Indians
Jose Berrios, Minnesota Twins
Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees
Gerritt Cole, Houston Astros
Edwin Diaz, Seattle Mariners
J.A. Happ, Toronto Blue Jays
Joe Jimenez, Detroit Tigers
Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox
Corey Kluber, Cleveland Indians
Charlie Morton, Houston Astros
Luis Severino, New York Yankees
Blake Snell, Tampa Bay Rays
Blake Treinen, Oakland Athletics
Justin Verlander, Houston Astros
This is where the AL has the biggest advantage as their bullpen is exceptional. Even though it’s mostly comprised of starting pitchers, they can come in and be lights out. Heck, Morton has had experience coming out of the bullpen as if the game goes into extras, he can be used for many innings. Edwin Diaz and Aroldis Chapman will likely be the setup and close for this team respectively as they throw absolute gas and are hard to keep up with, but Treinen is a crafty pitcher himself and could be used strategically too. Also expect Corey Kluber to come out of the bullpen after Chris Sale is done.
Predictions
James Rowe: American League victory. While the game does not count, this should be a fun one to watch.
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