My 2023 MLB All-Star Votes: American League
As a member of the IBWAA, I am casting my all-star votes for 2023. I am also sharing them here as well, with a brief description on why.
I had the joy of discussing this live on Twitter Spaces with Barry Long II on Friday June 9. You can listen to the full conversation here. I’ll also be rejoining Barry next Friday, June 16 from 11 AM to noon to discuss the pitcher picks as well as sleeper picks for division winners.
Think my picks are crazy? Agree? Drop some comments below!
Catcher
Adley Rutschman, Baltimore. Good offensive numbers and generally solid defense. Not to mention the Orioles are tied for the 2nd best record in baseball, so they deserve some love here.
First Baseman
Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay. He’s a leader in the Rays’ offense, and his hitting number are very impressive, 2nd in the majors to Aaron Judge in OPS. Got to give the Rays some credit for the best record in baseball.
Second Baseman
Marcus Sieman, Texas. Tied for 2nd in the majors in WAR, leads with 55 runs and tied for third with 50 RBI — these are truly impressive offensive numbers for any player and especially a second baseman.
Third Baseman
Wander Franco, Tampa Bay. Leads the majors in WAR, .372 OBP, 21 SBs. Again, The Rays winning percent is .703 and they deserve credit; he’s been a major part of that.
Shortstop
Bo Bichette, Toronto. He’s tied for second in the majors in WAR. Plus I miss his dad Dante Bichette of the Blake Street Bombers.
Outfielders (3)
Aaron Judge, New York Yankees. I picked him for obvious reasons, but yeah his OPS is over 1.000. Besides I would give him a freebie after last year.
Yordan Alvarez, Houston. His power hitting has been incredible and he’s leading the majors in RBI.
Randy Arozarena, Tampa. Again the Rays have been crushing it year and he gets on base at a rate of .394, with 37 runs and 43 RBI. Great numbers.
Designated Hitter
Shohei Ohtani, LA Angels. I put him here because of his 16 Homers, 37 Runs and 42 RBI. He’s actually been even better as a pitcher, but it’s so stacked at that position. And I couldn’t leave him off the list.
Three at-large position players
Mike Trout, OF, LA Angels. He’s not been putting up the Mike Trout numbers of old, but an OBP over .360 and I cut him some slack as one of the best ballplayers this generation.
Masataka Yoshida, DH, Boston. The Macho Man has been very solid with a .391 OBP and good numbers, so he makes the cut.
Josh Jung, 3B, Texas. His offensive numbers have been impressive. 43 runs, 38 RBI and a .343 OBP.
Jung barely beat out Athletics 1B Ryan Noda (.415 OBP, MLB Leader) and Astros’ 3B Alex Bregman (.349 OBP) and OF Kyle Tucker (.344 OBP) to get my final offensive vote.
Starting pitchers (6)
Shane McClanahan, Tampa 9–1, 2.02 ERA
Nathan Eovaldi, Texas 8–2, 2.24 ERA
Framber Valdez, Houston 6–4, 2.16 ERA
Kevin Gausman, Toronto 5–3, 2.63 ERA, 113 K
Eduardo Rodriguez, Detroit 4–4, 2.13 ERA
Sonny Gray, Minnesota 4–1, 2.15 ERA
Relief pitchers (2)
Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland 20 Saves, 3.00 ERA
Jordan Romano, Toronto 16 Saves, 2.88 ERA
At-large pitchers (4)
Gerrit Cole, NY Yankees 7–0, 2.82 ERA
Jon Gray, Texas 6–2, 2.32 ERA
Zach Eflin, Tampa 8–1, 2.97 ERA
Luis Castillo, Seattle 4–3, 2.55 ERA
Barely missing the cut are some excellent pitchers like Chris Bassitt in Toronto and Luis Castillo’s teammate Logan Gilbert in Seattle. Many pitchers are having solid seasons, which is why I picked Shohei Ohtani as my DH in the AL.
…
If you enjoy reading stories like these and want to support me as a writer, consider signing up to become a Medium member. It’s $5 a month, giving you unlimited access to stories on Medium. If you sign up using my link, I’ll earn a small commission.