Cabrera, Mauer, Braun, McCann among top candidates for Box-Toppers All-Star teams

Box-Toppers all-stars graphic.png

Who is worthy of your All-Star vote?

Let's take a look at who is leading Box-Toppers points by position and in each league. We'll look at it in a couple of different ways: We'll look at who is leading so far through the 2013 season. And since the sample size of the 1.5-month-old season is still fairly small, we'll also look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.​

So, for example, Mitch Moreland of the Rangers is leading among American League first basemen ​so far in 2013 with 3.5 Box-Toppers points. But Mike Napoli of the Red Sox is leading among AL first basemen if you combine his 2012 and 2013 Box-Toppers points. Napoli has 10.7 (8.2 in 2012 and 2.5 in 2013).

Box-Toppers also includes starting, middle relief and closing pitchers in its all-star line-ups, even though fans don't get to vote for them.

Several players appear on both the 2013 and the combined 2012-13 list, indicating they may be especially worthy of your attention as you fill out your ballot. They include:​

  • ​AL 3B: Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers, who also leads all AL batters in Box-Toppers for 2013 (7.2) and combined 2012-13 seasons (18.9).
  • AL CA: Joe Mauer of the Twins.
  • AL OF: Chris Davis of the Orioles.​
  • AL pitcher: Yu Darvish of the Rangers (but, again, fans don't vote on pitchers). Darvish leads all players in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season with 8.0.​
  • NL CA: Brian McCann of the Braves.​
  • NL OF: Ryan Braun of the Brewers. Braun leads NL batters for the combined 2012-13 seasons with 16.0.​
  • NL OF: Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies.​
  • NL pitcher: Clayton Kershaw of the Dodgers. Kershaw leads NL players in points for the combined 2012-13 seasons with 27.8.​
  • NL middle reliever: Santiago Casilla of the Giants.​

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stood as of May 3.​

Voting for the All-Star game is open until July 4.

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stand as of today:​

2013 SEASON   2012-13 SEASONS 
ALPLAYERTEAMBTP PLAYERTEAMBTP
First baseMoreland, Mitch 2799tex al3.5 Napoli, Mike 2161bos al10.7
Second baseCano, Robinson 2092nyy al3.5 Cano, Robinson 2092nyy al7.5
ShortstopDrew, Stephen 2210bos al2.5 Hardy, J.J. 2071bal al9.2
Third baseCabrera, Miguel 1776det al7.2 Cabrera, Miguel 1776det al18.9
CatcherMauer, Joe 1869min al3 Mauer, Joe 1869min al12
Outfield 1Raburn, Ryan 2340cle al3.5 Davis, Chris 2478bal al14
Outfield 2Wells, Vernon 1548nyy al3 Trout, Mike 2949ana al12
Outfield 3Davis, Chris 2478bal al2 Hamilton, Josh 2332ana al11.5
Designated hitterHafner, Travis 1650nyy al3.5 Butler, Billy 2330kc al12.7
Starting pitcher 1Darvish, Yu 3003tex al8 Verlander, Justin 2112det al29.8
Starting pitcher 2Masterson, Justin 2462cle al7.7 Darvish, Yu 3003tex al24.8
Starting pitcher 3Buchholz, Clay 2363bos al7.1 Hernandez, Felix 2064sea al24.4
Starting pitcher 4Sale, Chris 2806chi al6.7 Dickey, R.A. 1734tor al23.1
Middle relieverScheppers, Tanner 3136tex al3 Chen, Bruce 1170kc al8
Closing pitcherBalfour, Grant 1880oak al3 Rodney, Fernando 1803tb al10
NL       
First baseGoldschmidt, Paul 2935ari nl3.5 Jones, Garrett 2655pit nl9.5
Second baseCarpenter, Matt 2987stl nl3.5 Phillips, Brandon 1691cin nl12
ShortstopDesmond, Ian 2673dc nl2.5 Tulowitzki, Troy 2308col nl7
Third baseZimmerman, Ryan 2180dc nl3.7 Freese, David 2710stl nl10.7
CatcherMcCann, Brian 2179atl nl3 McCann, Brian 2179atl nl9
Outfield 1Harper, Bryce 3011dc nl5.9 Braun, Ryan J. 2300mil nl16
Outfield 2Gonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl4 Holliday, Matt 1836stl nl14.7
Outfield 3Braun, Ryan J. 2300mil nl3.5 Gonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl13.2
Starting pitcher 1Miller, Shelby 3134stl nl7.7 Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl27.8
Starting pitcher 2Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl7 Lynn, Lance 2992stl nl23.4
Starting pitcher 3Harvey, Matt 3075nym nl7 Bumgarner, Madison 2753sf nl22.4
Starting pitcher 4Corbin, Patrick 3027ari nl6.4 Strasburg, Stephen 2736dc nl22.4
Middle relieverCasilla, Santiago 2301sf nl2 Casilla, Santiago 2301sf nl6
Closing pitcherFeldman, Scott 2632chi nl3 Chapman, Aroldis 2826cin nl16
AL top playerDarvish, Yu 3003tex al8 Verlander, Justin 2112det al29.8
AL top batterCabrera, Miguel 1776det al7.2 Cabrera, Miguel 1776det al18.9
NL top playerMiller, Shelby 3134stl nl7.7 Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl27.8
NL top batterHarper, Bryce 3011dc nl5.9 Braun, Ryan J. 2300mil nl16

Box-Toppers takes early crack at picking All-Star teams

Is it too early to be voting on All-Stars for the midsummer classic?

Yes.

That said, voting is open at mlb.com and fans have already started to vote even though there is not enough evidence yet to reveal who the season's all-stars really are.​

Since it is not stopping fans, we won't let it stop us at Box-Toppers, either. We will take a look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points by position and in each league. We'll also choose pitchers, even though voters don't get to pick those.

And because the season is only a little more than a month old and there hasn't yet been enough baseball played to clearly determine top players, we'll look at our all-star teams in two different ways. We'll look at Box-Toppers point leaders so far through the young 2013 season. And we'll look at who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons.​

The lists for both teams are below.​

2013 SEASON   2012-13 SEASONS 
ALPLAYERTEAMBTP PLAYERTEAMBTP
First baseMoss, Brandon 2520oak al3 Napoli, Mike 2161bos al10.7
Second baseKendrick, Howie 2191ana al2.5 Cano, Robinson 2092nyy al6
ShortstopLowrie, Jed 2437oak al2.5 Hardy, J.J. 2071bal al8.2
Third baseCabrera, Miguel 1776det al5.7 Cabrera, Miguel 1776det al17.4
CatcherWieters, Matt 2643bal al3 Mauer, Joe 1869min al10.5
Outfield 1Raburn, Ryan 2340cle al3.5 Davis, Chris 2478bal al14
Outfield 2Davis, Chris 2478bal al2 Hamilton, Josh 2332ana al11.5
Outfield 3Willingham, Josh 2205min al2 Trout, Mike 2949ana al11
Designated hitterHafner, Travis 1650nyy al3.5 Butler, Billy 2330kc al11.2
Starting pitcher 1Buchholz, Clay 2363bos al7.1 Verlander, Justin 2112det al27.8
Starting pitcher 2Moore, Matt 2975tb al6.7 Darvish, Yu 3003tex al22.8
Starting pitcher 3Darvish, Yu 3003tex al6 Hernandez, Felix 2064sea al22.4
Starting pitcher 4Masterson, Justin 2462cle al4.7 Dickey, R.A. 1734tor al22.1
Middle relieverChen, Bruce 1170kc al2 Chen, Bruce 1170kc al8
Closing pitcherPerkins, Glen 2506min al3 Rodney, Fernando 1803tb al8
NL       
First baseCarpenter, Matt 2987stl nl2.5 LaRoche, Adam 1910dc nl9
Second baseEllis, Mark 1614lad nl2.5 Phillips, Brandon 1691cin nl11
ShortstopTulowitzki, Troy 2308col nl1 Tulowitzki, Troy 2308col nl6
Third baseFrazier, Todd 2929cin nl2.5 Freese, David 2710stl nl10.7
CatcherPosey, Buster 2745sf nl2 Posey, Buster 2745sf nl7.5
Outfield 1Harper, Bryce 3011dc nl4.9 Braun, Ryan J. 2300mil nl15
Outfield 2Gonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl4 Gonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl13.2
Outfield 3Bruce, Jay 2453cin nl3 Holliday, Matt 1836stl nl11.7
Starting pitcher 1Lynn, Lance 2992stl nl5.7 Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl25.8
Starting pitcher 2Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl5 Lynn, Lance 2992stl nl23.4
Starting pitcher 3Harvey, Matt 3075nym nl5 Gonzalez, Gio 2626dc nl21.7
Starting pitcher 4Maholm, Paul 2078atl nl4.7 Bumgarner, Madison 2753sf nl21.4
Middle relieverCasilla, Santiago 2301sf nl2 Casilla, Santiago 2301sf nl6
Closing pitcherChapman, Aroldis 2826cin nl2 Chapman, Aroldis 2826cin nl16
AL top playerBuchholz, Clay 2363bos al7.1 Verlander, Justin 2112det al27.8
AL top batterCabrera, Miguel 1776det al5.7 Cabrera, Miguel 1776det al17.4
NL top playerLynn, Lance 2992stl nl5.7 Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl25.8
NL top batterHarper, Bryce 3011dc nl4.9 Braun, Ryan J. 2300mil nl15