MLB All-Star Game rosters if decided only by WAR
By Lbaquero
The American League All-Star roster if decided only by WAR
AL Lineup:
1. 2B Marcus Semien: 2.4 WAR
2. RF Aaron Judge: 2.1 WAR
3. 3B Matt Chapman: 2.1 WAR
4. SS Wander Franco: 2.1 WAR
5. SS Wander Franco: 2.1 WAR
6. LF Josh Lowe: 2.1 WAR
7. CF Luis Robert: 2.1 WAR
8. DH Yordan Alvarez: 2.1 WAR
9. 1B Yandy Díaz: 2.0 WAR
10. C Jonah Heim: 1.8 WAR
This lineup comes with multiple new faces, as five of the nine in the lineup would be first-time all-stars. After a disappointing 2021 by Marcus Semien, he leads the way for the AL WAR leaderboards with his 139 OPS+ and .490 SLUG on the year. Aaron Judge is picking up right where he left off in 2022, as he still possesses an OPS above 1.000. He could have had an even higher WAR if he didn’t have his short IL stint earlier in the month.
Moving down the list of 2.1 WAR hitters, Josh Lowe might be the guy you know the least about. He’s slugging .681 with a .983 OPS thus far. 41.3 percent hard-hit rate and 14 percent barrel rate will certainly get you an all-star nod. The second-year Rays outfielder has made a great jump from a mediocre 2022.
Another Ray on this list, corner IF Yandy Diaz has been one of the most undervalued and underrated hitters in baseball. If you are a frequent visitor of Baseball Savant, you would faint at how good his page is. He is second in the league in average exit velocity (Judge first), sixth in hard hit percentage, and possesses a .322 batting average. One possible source of his low popularity is his low launch angle. You don’t hear of him a lot because he doesn’t hit home runs. The hard-hit balls from Diaz have an average launch angle of 9.3 degrees. That will limit him to a lot of worm burners and low-line drives that stay on the same eye level as fielders. Regardless, he’s hitting the ball so well that he doesn’t need the long ball to make an impact.
The AL lineup has a combined 18.8 WAR, and that is not even considering the bench
AL bench:
C Adely Rutschman: 1.4 WAR
1B Anthony Rizzo: 1.8 WAR
2B Taylor Walls: 1.4 WAR
3B Jose Ramirez: 1.4 WAR
SS Bo Bichette: 2.0 WAR
LF Randy Arozarena: 2.1 WAR
CF Mike Trout: 1.8 WAR
RF Cedric Mullins: 2.1 WAR
If I were to compare the bench lineup to the starter’s lineup, I would say the bench would beat the starters every time. The bench has many more household names than the starters.
The one non-household name here is second baseman Taylor Walls. For those who are unfamiliar with Walls, he is a low-end young backup middle IF that Tampa primarily used to replace Wander Franco and Brandon Lowe when they were hurt. He has had a small sample size but has made an impact, with a .866 OPS and 7 home runs. However, he probably won’t be an all-star, as he’s only had 155 plate appearances, and that will not fly with Dusty Baker.
The bench gives a total of 14.0 WAR. Only 2 less than the starters (with DH voided).
Pitchers (9 starters, 3 relievers)
1. Nathan Eovaldi: 2.4 WAR
2. Kevin Gausman: 2.3 WAR
3. Sonny Gray: 2.2 WAR
4. Joe Ryan: 2.1 WAR
5. George Kirby: 1.9 WAR
6. Framer Valdez: 1.9 WAR
7. Logan Gilbert: 1.7 WAR
8. Eduardo Rodriguez: 1.6 WAR
9. Luis Castillo: 1.6 WAR
10. Yennier Cano: 1.5 WAR
11. Carlos Estévez: 0.9 WAR
12. Trevor Gott: 0.8 WAR
With very few household names like last year, the pitching staff is still loaded with talent. Nathan Eovaldi proved many wrong while showing the Texas Rangers that he is worth the $17 million a year the Rangers paid for him. Pitching to a 0.97 WHIP, he’s been great at producing soft contact with his breaking pitches, which reflects in statcast giving him an xBA of .227, which would be the lowest of his career.
While most people know Sonny Gray for imploding with the Yankees, he actually is a really good pitcher, with a great arsenal. His sweeper is moving 18 inches horizontally and dropping 48 inches. To get that much movement on both axes makes it such a deadly pitch for Gray. All of his breaking balls have run values under -2, which also makes his fastball really good.
With a combined 20.9 WAR, it’s a stacked lineup of arms. Although not everyone is a household name, all of these pitchers have been ultra-effective. Now let’s see how that compares to the National League.