The National League All Stars:
Catcher:
I mentioned that San Diego has the most All Stars in the National League. The first of those is 28 year old
Clayton Threatt, making his first All Star game. Threatt is hitting .351/.426/.544/.970 this season, with 11 homeruns, and 64 RBI. For his career, Threatt is a .284/.342/.426/.769 hitter, with 52 homeruns, and 324 RBI.
Twenty-three year old Phoenix catcher,
Ramon Martinez, also has a place on the NL squad. Martinez, a first time All Star, has hit .349/.384/.546/.930 so far this season, and has 11 homeruns, and 65 RBI. Martinez is a career .321/.358/.451/.809 hitter, with 40 homeruns, and 258 RBI.
First Base:
San Jose's
Ugo Momoru, last season's NL Silver Slugger winner, makes his fifth All Star game at the age of 32. Momoru is batting .301/.406/.564/.970 this season, with 18 homeruns, and a second-in-the-NL 74 runs batted in. He also has scored 61 runs. Momoru is a career .295/.364/.575/.940 hitter, with 366 doubles, 394 homeruns, 1185 runs batted in, and 982 runs scored.
Sacramento's
Nestor Adrover makes his first All Star game at the age of 23. Adrover has hit .333/.390/.543/.932 this year, with 14 homeruns, 54 RBI, and 56 runs scored. For his career, Adrover is a .294/.340/.495/.834 hitter, with 108 homers, 422 RBI, and 419 runs scored.
Second Base:
Possibly the greatest all around offensive force of this generation, San Diego's 34 year old
Andrew Burdick is an All Star for the ninth time in his career. A two time Silver Slugger winner(2074 and 2080), Burdick is batting .373/.452/.581/1.033, with 14 homeruns, 53 RBI, and 74 runs scored. He is second in the NL in batting average, second in OPS, and first in runs scored. Burdick is a career .333/.421/.565/.985 hitter, with 2799 hits, 481 homeruns, 1498 runs batted in, 1803 runs scored, 1278 walks, and 324 stolen bases.
Third Base:
Rochester's
Louis Guerriero is only 28 years old, but this is already his fifth All Star appearance. Guerriero is hitting .316/.394/.621/1.015 this season, with 33 doubles(tied for first in the NL), 17 homers, 56 RBI, and 65 runs scored. He is a .323/.376/.578/.954 career hitter, with 364 doubles, 223 homeruns, 780 runs batted in, and 889 runs scored.
This is the first All Star appearance for Harrisburg's
Samuel Mack. The 29 year old has hit .330/.371/.605/.977 so far, with 22 doubles, 17 homeruns, 54 RBI, and 54 runs scored. For his career, Mack is a .269/.316/.482/.798 hitter, with 130 homeruns, and 406 RBI.
Shortstop:
Phoenix's
Mike Morales is clearly one of the league's rising stars. The 23 year old, first time All Star, is currently batting .356/.458/.660 and leads the league with a 1.118 OPS. He has belted 18 homers, and driven in 58 runs, while scoring 52. The young shortstop is a career .304/.407/.521/.928 hitter, with 44 homeruns, 159 RBI, and 152 runs scored.
This is the second appearance on an All Star team for Sacramento's
Alberto O'Campo. The 27 year old was an All Star two years ago, when he hit .302, with 41 doubles, 35 homers, 126 RBI, and 32 stolen bases. This year, O'Campo is hitting .275/.363/.539/.902, with 18 homeruns, a league leading 77 runs batted in, 60 runs scored, and 10 stolen bases. O'Campo is a career, .259/.364/.474/.837 hitter, with 107 homeruns, 404 RBI, and 83 stolen bases.
Left Field:
Despite missing a month due to injury, 31 year old San Diego left fielder,
Gregorio Ruiz has put up frightening numbers. Ruiz, making his fourth All Star appearance, has batted .395/.458/.774/1.232, blasted 19 doubles and 17 homers, driven in 50 runs, and scored 47 runs, all in just 190 at bats. Ruiz is a career .291/.362/.545/.907 hitter, with 353 doubles, 294 homeruns, and 1038 runs batted in.
This is the fourth All Star appearance for speedy San Jose left fielder,
William Natali. Natali is 37 years old and still going strong. This season, he has hit .334/.366/.529/.895, with 33 doubles(tied for first in the NL), 9 homeruns, 69 runs scored(second in the NL), and 37 stolen bases(second in the NL). Natali is a career .336/.374/.500/.875 hitter, with 253 doubles, 106 homeruns, 762 runs scored, and 409 stolen bases.
Hartford's
John Gans is 33 years old, and this is his third All Star appearance. He has hit .357/.380/.511/.890, with 5 triples, 9 homeruns, 52 RBI, 52 runs scored, and 12 stolen bases. Gans is a career .347/.381/.497/.878 hitter, with 117 homeruns, 904 runs scored, and 313 stolen bases.
Centerfield:
Los Angeles'
Urbano Belmonte has made only two All Star games in his career, and they have come last year and this year for the 35 year old centerfielder. Belmonte is hitting a league leading .387, with a .419 OBP, a .610 SLG, and is third in the league with a 1.029 OPS. He also leads the league with 7 triples. He's added 10 homeruns, 48 RBI, and 62 runs scored. For his career, Belmonte has hit .304/.352/.454/.806, with 2143 hits, 164 homeruns, and 1099 runs scored.
The youngest player on either All Star team is San Diego centerfielder,
Gaby Matos. The first time All Star is just 21 years old. Despite his youth, Matos is hitting .288/.376/.606/.982, with a league leading 25 homeruns, 49 RBI, 65 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases. Matos is a career .269/.370/.450/.820 hitter, with 54 homeruns, 266 runs scored, and 84 stolen bases.
Right Field:
Rounding out the National League's position players is Buffalo's
John Kling. The 26 year old is a first year All Star. Kling is hitting .264/.371/.538 this season, with 18 homers, 66 RBI, and 52 runs scored. He is a career .267/.369/.528/.897 hitter, with 115 homeruns, 402 RBI, and 380 runs scored.
Starting Pitchers:
With the great
Segundo Narbaiza injured and unable to attend the All Star game, some large shoes need to be filled by the remaining NL pitchers. Who can step up to fill them? Pittsburgh's
Andreas Fajardo has burst onto the scene in impressive fashion. The 26 year old rookie makes his first appearance in the All Star game. Fajardo has posted a sparkling 12-3 record this season, leading the league in wins. His ERA is an impressive 2.66, good for third in the league. His 111 strikeouts are tied for second in the league. For his career, Fajardo is 14-3 with a 2.65 ERA, and 131 strikeouts in 163 innings pitched.
Fajardo is not Pittsburgh's only starting pitcher to make the All Star team. 29 year old southpaw
Jay Marrone is the second, and he makes his first All Star team. Marrone is 11-2(tied for second in the league in wins), with a 4.53 ERA, and 89 strikeouts in 111 1/3 innings pitched. For his career, Marrone is 51-24, with a 4.42 ERA, and 571 strikeouts in 649 innings pitched.
Daniel Malone is Pittsburgh's third starting pitcher on the All Star team. This is the first All Star team for the 31 year old. Malone has gone 10-4 this year, with a 4.30 ERA, and an 80/27 K/BB ratio in 111 innings pitched. Malone is a career 86-59 pitcher, with a 4.40 ERA, and a 919/276 K/BB ratio in 1284 1/3 innings pitched.
Another challenger to fill Narbaiza's shoes is another young pitcher. Los Angeles'
Francisco Savala is 23 years old and another first time All Star. Savala has gone 7-1 with a league leading 1.99 ERA this season, and a sickening 90/12 K/BB ratio in 81 1/3 innings pitched. For his career, Savala is 14-8, with a 3.70 ERA, and 205 strikeouts in 214 innings pitched.
Los Angeles also has more than one starting pitcher to represent them. 25 year old
Robert Jones is a first time All Star. Jones is 11-5(tied for second in the league in wins), with a 3.16 ERA, and 85 strikeouts in 133 2/3 innings pitched. For his career, Jones is 47-32, with a 3.90 ERA, and 500 strikeouts in 733 innings pitched.
San Diego's
Casey Greene makes his first All Star team at the age of 28. Greene is 10-3 this season, with a 2.87 ERA, and an 88/13 K/BB ratio in 122 1/2 innings pitched. For his career, Greene is 40-18, with a 3.36 ERA, and a 331/62 K/BB ratio in 523 innings pitched.
Veteran San Jose starter
Justo Rubino makes his second All Star appearance at the age of 34. He was also an All Star two years ago, when he went 16-9, with a 5.17 ERA, and 167 strikeouts. This season, Rubino is 9-5, with a 4.34 ERA, and 97 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched. Rubino is a career 67-55 pitcher, with a 4.63 ERA, and 883 strikeouts in 1020 2/3 innings pitched.
Relief Pitchers:
San Jose's
Clinton Blanton is a first time All Star at the age of 24. Blanton has made 29 appearances this season, a 5-2 record, 1 save, and a 2.34 ERA. He has pitched 42 1/3 innings and has a 29/13 K/BB ratio. For his career, the young reliever has 75 appearances, an 11-5 record, 9 saves, a 2.41 ERA, and a 90/27 K/BB ratio in 123 1/3 innings pitched.
Los Angeles's
Mark McAnulty makes his first All Star appearance at the age of 27. McAnulty has made 29 appearances this season, has a record of 3-3, 15 saves, and a 1.95 ERA. He's struck out 16 batters in 27 2/3 innings pitched. McAnulty has made 252 career appearances, with a record of 14-21, 52 saves, an ERA of 5.98, and 113 strikeouts in 256 innings pitched.
Completing the National League roster is Buffalo closer
Asdrubal Rodrigues. This is the third All Star appearance for the 35 year old reliever. Rodrigues has made 36 appearances this season, with a record of 0-1, and a league leading 17 saves. He has posted an ERA of 3.44, and has a 27/12 K/BB ratio in 34 innings pitched. Rodrigues has 744 career appearances, with a record of 47-44, and 205 saves. He has a career ERA of 2.97, and a 762/244 K/BB ratio in 827 innings pitched.
That's it for the National League All Stars! Next up: The All Star Game recap.