First Half Fantasy All Star Team

Baseball’s All-Star game is tonight meaning there is no more appropriate time to recognize those players who have done the most for their fantasy owners over the course of the first half of the season. Here is a position-by-position look at the top fantasy players from each league so far.

Catcher
National League – Brian McCann, Braves
McCann edged out Russell Martin, Geovany Soto, and Bengie Molina in a pretty close contest. The Braves backstop leads all big league catchers in home runs and OPS (by 49 points, no less). He also ranks second in RBI and third in batting average and runs scored amongst all catchers.

American League – Joe Mauer, Twins
This one was a slam dunk, people. Mauer leads all major league catchers in batting average and holds a 34-point lead in the category over his closest qualified AL competitor. He also leads all American League catchers in runs, hits, doubles, walks, RBI, OBP, SLG, and OPS. And according to Inside Edge, no big league batter has a better well-hit average.

First Base
National League – Lance Berkman, Astros
Berkman has been a statistical monster through the first half of the season, and it’s a darn good thing too because he needed a ginormous first half to edge out the likes of Albert Pujols, Adrian Gonzalez, and Ryan Howard for this distinction. Howard’s recent power surge (he leads the majors in homers and the NL in RBI) almost landed him this honor, but that batting average of his hurt fantasy teams way too much.

American League – Justin Morneau, Twins
The Home Run Derby champ had a disappointing first half in terms of the long ball, especially given that he is first and foremost a power hitter. However, his other numbers were robust enough to edge Kevin Youkilis and Jason Giambi for this prestigious spot. Overall, Morneau ranks second in the American League in hitting and third in RBI.

Second Base
National League – Chase Utley, Phillies
This was clearly a two-horse race between Utley and the Marlins Dan Uggla, but Utley pulled away toward the end of the first half and has comfortable leads in RBI and runs scored as well as narrow leads in home runs and batting average. Note: Utley has 63 more at bats than Uggla does so far (and they have one walk separating them) which is probably enough to account for their slight difference in numbers.

American League – Ian Kinsler, Rangers
It’s Kinsler and it’s not even close. Ian leads the American League in hitting at the break and leads all AL second basemen in hits, home runs, RBI, runs, doubles, OBP, SLG, and OPS—many by a significant margin. His 84 runs scored lead the big leagues. Oh, and by the way he also ranks second at his position (and fifth in the league) in stolen bases.

Third Base
National League – Chipper Jones, Braves
Back when Chipper was sailing along with a .400-something batting average in June, this seemed like a no-brainer, but I honestly almost didn’t go with him here. The batting average has slipped quite a bit, but he is still leading the majors in hitting and ranks among the top NL third baseman in every other category, so it’s Jones by a nose over David Wright and Aramis Ramirez.

American League – Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
Aside from the nasty divorce and odd Madonna stuff, this has been a nondescript first half of the season for A-Rod. Yet he still leads all American League third basemen in batting average, home runs, runs, OBP, SLG, and OPS, plus he ranks second at his position in RBI and stolen bases. Yep, he’s still the best, but he might finally be hearing footsteps from a certain Tampa Bay rookie.

Shortstop
National League – Hanley Ramirez, Marlins
As with second base in the National League, shortstop was a two-man race. Ramirez edges Jose Reyes thanks to a fairly commanding lead in runs scored and homers. He leads all NL shortstops in home runs by a wide margin (10) and leads all NL players in runs scored. Moreover, he’s pacing Senior Circuit shortstops in RBI and ranks third in both stolen bases and batting average. Hanley is on pace for a rare 40/40 season.

American League – Michael Young, Rangers
Young is one of the most underrated players in the game. It’s no surprise that Jeter beat him out in the popularity contest that is the All-Star game balloting process, but the reality is that Young is the better fantasy player. If Jhonny Peralta and Orlando Cabrera hadn’t killed fantasy owners with their substandard batting averages they would have provided Young with more of a threat.

Outfield
National League – Ryan Braun, Brewers, Carlos Lee, Astros, Ryan Ludwick, Cardinals
As usual, the field of candidates amongst outfielders is a crowded one. There is quite a bit of hair-splitting involved in determining which players had the best overall fantasy contributions. Lee leads all NL outfielders in RBI and ranks second in batting average. Braun ranks among the top three in home runs and RBI. The surprising Ludwick ranks among the top five outfielders in runs, home runs, RBI, and OPS. Matt Holliday, Nate McLouth, and Pat Burrell each deserved serious consideration for a spot in the NL outfield as well.

American League – Josh Hamilton, Rangers, Grady Sizemore, Indians, Carlos Quentin, White Sox
Picking Quentin to represent the White Sox over Jermaine Dye was a tough call. Dye’s batting average is 30 points higher, but Quentin has him by 14 ribbies, one homer, six runs, and two steals. Sizemore leads the AL in home runs and ranks third amongst outfielders in stolen bases. Hamilton? If you don’t know by now, don’t ask… he leads the planet in RBI and his story will probably be coming to a theater near you shortly.

Starting Pitcher
National League – Edinson Volquez, Reds
Volquez has been leading the National League in ERA virtually all season long, is second in the league in wins, and ranks third in strikeouts. That said, picking him ahead of Lincecum, who leads the NL in strikeouts and Sheets, who has a better WHIP, or even Webb, who leads the majors in wins, was tougher than making contact on Edinson’s filthy changeup.

American League – Roy Halladay, Blue Jays
Flip a coin or draw straws or something because this one was nearly impossible to pick. Duchscherer leads the majors in ERA and WHIP, but his strikeouts are awfully low. Lee has led the league in ERA most of the year and currently leads in wins, but has fewer Ks and a higher WHIP than Halladay. Why did I pick Doc? His major-league high 146.1 innings pitched (thanks to his major-league best seven complete games) give his ERA and WHIP all the more impact.

Relief Pitcher
National League – Kerry Wood, Cubs
This was a very tough decision, but I’m handing the ball to Wood in the ninth to close things out because he’s second in the NL in saves and had a better WHIP than Valverde and Lidge. The numbers are so darn even, I could have made a case for any of the guys in the stat table. What’s interesting to note, though, is that the league leader in saves, Brian Wilson, is not in the running because of his awful 4.58 ERA and 1.53 WHIP.

American League – Francisco Rodriguez, Angels
K-Rod is on pace to set the all-time single-season saves record; meanwhile, Rivera is in the running with him for the Cy Young award. Did you see that WHIP? Neither did I, it’s too tiny. Why did I even list any other contenders? Because all of them have had good enough first halves that, were they in the NL, they would be fantasy All-Stars instead of Wood.