The rosters for the 2017 All-Star Game have been announced, and Joey Votto is likely out shopping for Zack Cozart's donkey. So all that's left to do is make your picks for the final vote and then debate who is the most deserving player missing from the midsummer classic.
Who is your Final Vote pick in the AL?
Jerry Crasnick: Logan Morrison. He's second to Aaron Judge with 24 homers and fourth in the AL with a .579 slugging percentage. It's hard to blame Mariners fans for wigging out when they see Justin Smoak tearing it up in Toronto and LoMo blossoming in Tampa Bay after both players bombed in Seattle.
Eddie Matz: Elvis Andrus. I like my All-Stars well-rounded and Andrus does a little bit of everything.
Buster Olney: I'd go with Bogaerts, who has been perhaps the most consistent hitter in the middle of a Boston lineup that has had its challenges this year. He has the highest WAR of the remaining candidates.
Mark Simon: Morrison of the Rays. Yes, the batting average is low, but his power numbers have been fantastic and he has more wins above replacement (WAR) than either of the AL's first-base selections.
Who is your Final Vote pick in the NL?
Crasnick: Anthony Rendon. He ranks fifth in the majors behind Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, Joey Votto and Jose Altuve with 3.4 WAR. Justin Turner has a 1.029 OPS and Rendon, Kris Bryant, Justin Bour and Mark Reynolds are all .900 or better, so there's no bad choice here.
Bradford Doolittle: Turner. The NL roster isn't as statistically defensible as the AL's, so we're left a choice between Turner and Rendon. Both should be on the team, and at the very least, DJ LeMahieu should be bumped, but we'll go with Turner and his old-school run at a .400 batting average.
Olney: I think there is something to the notion that you should have stars at the All-Star Game, which is part of the reason why I'd pick Bryant. He's the reigning MVP and an anchor for one of the more storied teams in recent history.
David Schoenfield: Tough call here, as only two third basemen made the roster, leaving Rendon, Bryant and Turner to choose from. I go with Rendon, who ranks sixth in the majors among position players in WAR -- higher than his Nationals teammates Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy, all voted in as starters.
Simon: Turner of the Dodgers. If he hadn't missed time due to injury, he'd be a strong consideration for MVP, based on his offensive numbers (NL leader in batting average and on-base percentage) and his stellar defensive work at third base (five defensive runs saved).
Who is the biggest snub among AL pitchers?
Crasnick: Carlos Carrasco. He ranks third among AL starters in WHIP (1.05) behind Chris Sale and Corey Kluber. Carrasco has had a few hiccups, but he was tooling along with a sub-3.00 ERA before giving up eight runs in 3 1/3 innings against Texas last week. The overall numbers say he's still worthy.
Doolittle: Chris Archer. There is a big enough gap between Archer's WAR and all other AL pitchers not selected for the game that he seems to be a clear choice.
Scott Lauber: Roberto Osuna, Blue Jays. Consider it a testament to the changing bullpen dynamic that the AL is carrying only three relievers and just one true closer (Craig Kimbrel). And while it's refreshing to see Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances rewarded, Osuna has the numbers (2.25 ERA, 12.38 K/9, 19 saves) to have been chosen in almost any other year.
Matz: I know the last thing the Astros need is another All-Star, but Chris Devenski -- who sports a 0.77 WHIP and is on pace for almost 100 innings and 140 K's out of the pen -- gets my vote.
Olney: In this era of specialization and increasing bullpen importance, it's stunning to see just three relievers on the AL roster -- and that stinks for Devenski and Tommy Kahnle of the White Sox, who have been two of the best pitchers this year.
Schoenfield: I love that the AL team includes only three relievers; starters are much more deserving than some middle reliever who had 30 good innings. This isn't a major snub, but Rays starter Archer is second in the AL in strikeouts and third in innings. His ERA is a little high at 3.92, but his FIP is 3.07 in a tough division.
Who is the biggest snub among NL pitchers?
Lauber: Alex Wood, Dodgers. Yes, he began the season in the bullpen. Yes, he spent two weeks on the disabled list. And yes, four other Dodgers made the team. But 9-0 with a 1.83 ERA is 9-0 with a 1.83 ERA.
Matz: Ivan Nova has more starts (16) than batters walked (13). Give the man some love.
Schoenfield: I thought Nova might make it as the Pirates' rep. He doesn't fare as well in some of the advanced metrics because of his low strikeout rate, but that's not his game. He gets hitters to pound the ball into the ground, and he's 8-5 with a 3.08 ERA and just 13 walks in 108 innings.
Simon: Since moving into the starting rotation, Wood has dominated, with a FIP barely above 2 and a WHIP just below 1, which are basically the numbers you'd expect from someone like Clayton Kershaw.
Who is the biggest snub among AL position players?
Crasnick: Elvis Andrus. Morrison got squeezed off the roster by Smoak and Yonder Alonso, both of whom are having terrific seasons. Andrus has been relegated to the final vote because the players missed the mark and chose Francisco Lindor as Carlos Correa's backup at shortstop. Andrus is having a significantly better first half.
Lauber: Lorenzo Cain, Royals. Salvador Perez is the rock behind the plate and Mike Moustakas has been the power source in the middle of the lineup, but Cain might be the Royals' best all-around player and has the WAR to prove it.
Olney: I understand why Andrelton Simmons isn't on the team, given Generation Shortstop coming up behind him -- Carlos Correa, Lindor and Bogaerts. But Simmons is having his best offensive season, and he has been incredibly important for the Angels, especially since Mike Trout went out. It would've been his first All-Star selection.
Schoenfield: How about Simmons? He is every bit the fielder that Lindor is -- and maybe better -- and is having a better year at the plate. And he's not even included in the final vote.
Simon: Royals outfielder Lorenzo Cain. If Aaron Hicks were healthy, he'd be the choice, but Cain is the pick, particularly based on his successful month during the Royals' resurgence when he hit .333 with a 1.004 OPS and eight home runs in June.
Who is the biggest snub among NL position players?
Crasnick: Milwaukee's Travis Shaw, the "Mayor of Ding Dong City,'' is hitting .291/.357/.554 with 17 home runs for the first-place Brewers, and he might as well be in the witness protection program.
Doolittle: Anthony Rizzo. If we look past the Final Vote candidates, we end up with a cluster of players roughly on Rizzo's level. But it seems that the Cubs, disappointing as they've been, should have more than one player on the roster.
Lauber: Travis Shaw, Brewers. Only a Red Sox official would love the omission of Shaw, who has emerged as a middle-of-the-order force for the division-leading Brewers after being overshadowed early in the season by teammate Eric Thames. You know third base is a loaded position when Bryant has to settle for a Final Vote candidacy, but there should be a place for Shaw.
Olney: Third base is a stacked position for the National League, but I'm really surprised that Rendon didn't make the team outright, without the need for a final vote. He's fifth in the majors in WAR, and he should be there.
Simon: Cardinals third baseman Jedd Gyorko. Nolan Arenado may be the standard-setter at the position, but Gyorko has been a notch above offensively (relative to home park) and just a hair behind defensively in what looks to be the best season of his five-year career.