NATIONAL LEAGUE
Previous: American League All-Star team
Catcher
Fans’ pick: Yadier Molina, Cardinals.
Should have been: Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers.
I guess negative campaigning doesn’t work, at least when you’re going against an incumbent. Molina makes his sixth straight All-Star team despite trailing Lucroy in every traditional 5x5 category.
First Base
Fans’ pick: Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks.
Should have been: Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt stands head-and-shoulders above the other NL first basemen, so this would have been a hard one to mess up. The biggest shock might be that you could argue that Justin Morneau deserves a spot as an alternate.
Second Base
Fans’ pick: Chase Utley, Phillies.
Should have been: Dee Gordon, Dodgers.
So fans saw a guy steal 42 bases for a glamorous Dodgers team and decided that wasn’t the kind of player they’d like to see in the Midsummer Classic? Utley hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2010, and he doesn’t deserve to make this squad even as an alternate.
MORE: Fantasy All-Stars
Third Base
Fans’ pick: Aramis Ramirez, Brewers.
Should have been: Todd Frazier, Reds.
Hey, somebody has to start at third base, I guess. Ramirez took the starting spot with just 1.8 million votes, the lowest winning total for any position in either league. Even a relatively obscure player like Charlie Blackmon got more votes than that. Frazier made the team as an alternate, which is a good thing since he’s one of the 10 best fantasy hitters in the league.
Shortstop
Fans’ pick: Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies.
Should have been: Tulowitzki.
Another Goldschmidt situation where the obvious answer is also the right one. Tulo more than doubled the votes received by second-place finisher Jean Segura and quadrupled the votes received by Hanley Ramirez, who has the second-most Roto value among NL shortstops. Dodgers fans really need to step up their game if they want to compete with Brewers fans.
Outfield
Fans’ pick: Yasiel Puig, Dodgers; Andrew McCutchen, Pirates; Carlos Gomez, Brewers.
Should have been: Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins; Gomez; McCutchen.
Just like in the American League, fans got two of the three answers right – but it’s hard to say they were “wrong” to elect the most electrifying player in the game today. You can’t have an All-Star Game in 2014 without Puig on the field.
Out of 17 total starting spots, the fans only got eight right and got six egregiously wrong. As is the case with most things, the All-Star Game would be in better hands if everyone just got out of the way and let the fantasy nerds run the show. Or, to put it another way: