AMERICAN LEAGUE
Boston Red Sox- Xander Bogaerts (SS), Rafael Devers (3B), JD Martinez (DH), Nathan Eovaldi (SP) [Matt Barnes (RP)]
Tampa Bay Rays- Randy Arozarena (OF), Austin Meadows (DH), Joey Wendle (IF), Andrew Kittredge (RP) [Mike Zunino (C)]
Toronto Blue Jays- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1B/DH), Marcus Semien (2B) [Teoscar Hernandez (OF), Bo Bichette (SS)]
New York Yankees- Aaron Judge (OF), Gerrit Cole (SP), Aroldis Chapman (RP)
Baltimore Orioles- Cedric Mullins (OF)
Outside of a golden sombrero of wrongness in terms of the Rays, I'd say we did the AL East justice. Hernandez was a fan vote so that one was out of our hands and with the catcher pool being so shallow in the American League you had to have somebody behind Salvador Perez. Happy to see Cedric Mullins get the recognition he deserves and not have to be a replacement because they took John Means to show more highlights of his no-hitter. (EDIT: Joey Wendle is expected to be named an All-Star replacement, so we got that one back.)
Chicago White Sox- Lance Lynn (SP), Liam Hendriks (RP), Jose Abreu (1B), Tim Anderson (SS) [Carlos Rodon (SP)]
Cleveland Indians- Jose Ramirez (3B), Shane Bieber (SP), Aaron Civale (SP)
Detroit Tigers- Casey Mize (SP) [Gregory Soto (RP)]
Minnesota Twins- Nelson Cruz (DH)
Kansas City Royals- Salvador Perez (C)
We only took four relievers for the American League in our selections opting for Mize over Soto which nobody would blink an eye at in either direction. It was one or the other for us in terms of Lynn vs Rodon while the AL took them both. There is a decent chance that either/or Anderson or Abreu gets in as an injury/opt-out replacement. Civale is the league leader in wins so him not even being discussed as one of the big snubs shows how little that stat is valued in real life compared to our little podcast world. Cruz and Perez were probably the easiest picks to make for single rep teams in the AL. (EDIT: Anderson took Carlos Correa's spot in the game, righting a big wrong by the "selection committee.")
Houston Astros- Carlos Correa (SS), Ryan Pressly (RP) [Jose Altuve (2B), Michael Brantley (OF)]
Oakland Athletics- Matt Olson (1B), Sean Manaea (SP), Chris Bassitt (SP)
Seattle Mariners- Mitch Haniger (OF) [Yusei Kikuchi (SP)]
Los Angeles Angels- Shohei Ohtani (DH/SP), Jared Walsh (1B) [Mike Trout (OF)]
Texas Rangers- Adolis Garcia (OF), Isaiah Kiner-Falefa (IF) [Joey Gallo (OF), Kyle Gibson (SP)]
This was easily our worst division in the American League. We did a coin flip on Correa and Altuve and with a crowded outfield already believed Brantley to be surplus to requirements despite his tremendous average. Oakland having no pitching reps in Colorado seemed a bit off but they took two pitchers from Seattle and Texas to fill those slots. It was naive to think that Mike Trout wasn't getting voted in but our selections were more on merit than trying to predict an obvious fan vote direction. Kiner-Falefa was always going to be a left-of-center selection with our idea that he would be the backup catcher given his history and the All-Star novelty of having a guy who could play nearly every position but alas it was not meant to be. (EDIT: Bassitt makes his way to Colorado as all of Houston has completely opted out.)
NATIONAL LEAGUE
New York Mets- Jacob deGrom (SP), Marcus Stroman (SP)
Atlanta Braves- Ronald Acuna Jr. (OF), Austin Riley (3B) [Freddie Freeman (1B), Ozzie Albies (2B)]
Philadelphia Phillies- Zack Wheeler (SP), Jean Segura (SS) [JT Realmuto (C)]
Washington Nationals- Trea Turner (SS) [Kyle Schwarber (OF), Juan Soto (OF)]
Miami Marlins- Trevor Rogers (SP), Jesus Aguilar (1B)
While the West was our worst in the AL, the East was our worst in the NL. I'm going to give us a break on Marcus Stroman and/or Taijuan Walker may still make the team yet. Freeman was a fan vote once again throwing a wrench in roster-building plans and taking Riley over Albies was a calculated infield gamble. A lot of other misses, both in selections and omissions, can be chalked up to when we recorded. Kyle Schwarber was at the start of his prodigious home run streak and Juan Soto pulled his batting average up 23 points. (EDIT: Walker has been named a replacement for deGrom who will sit the game out.)
Milwaukee Brewers- Brandon Woodruff (SP), Josh Hader (RP) [Corbin Burnes (SP), Freddy Peralta (SP)]
Cincinnati Reds- Nick Castellanos (OF), Jesse Winker (OF)
Chicago Cubs- Kris Bryant (3B), Craig Kimbrel (RP)
St. Louis Cardinals- Nolan Arenado (3B), Yadier Molina (C) [Alex Reyes (RP)]
Pittsburgh Pirates- Adam Frazier (2B) [Bryan Reynolds (OF)]
This is easily our best showing across both leagues without question. With how we put the teams together it had to be one or the other in terms of Woodruff or Burnes. Reyes makes sense as the fourth reliever as we only took three on our NL squad. JT Realmuto was the backup selection we thought should have went to Yadier Molina. Frazier, Castellanos, and Winker were all able to fight off ballot stuffing from bigger markets to retain their spots in the starting lineup. (EDIT: Molina looks to be the replacement for an injured Buster Posey and could potentially take his spot in the lineup. Also, Freddy Peralta will be going for Milwaukee in Woodruff's place due to Woodruff pitching the last day before the break begins.)
San Francisco Giants- Buster Posey (C), Brandon Crawford (SS), Kevin Gausman (SP)
Los Angeles Dodgers- Max Muncy (1B), Chris Taylor (UT), Julio Urias (SP), Walker Buehler (SP) [Mookie Betts (OF)]
San Diego Padres- Fernando Tatis Jr. (SS), Mark Melancon (RP), Yu Darvish (SP) [Jake Cronenworth (2B)]
Colorado Rockies- Ryan McMahon (2B) [German Marquez (SP)]
Arizona Diamondbacks- Eduardo Escobar (3B)
I am still floored that neither of the Dodgers two best pitchers made the team and Mookie Betts did. I get it from a marketing standpoint but from a merit one there is no explanation I've heard that makes a lick of sense. The same goes for Cronenworth who just seems shoehorned in so commentators can mention he's the reigning Rookie of the Year in the one at-bat he's probably going to have. Ryan McMahon was probably the least confident we were about any of the single rep teams across the board, but we did not see the swerve of taking a Rockies pitcher coming. (EDIT: Buehler was among a long list of replacements as Sunday rotations settle in more and opt-outs continue to pile up.)
Now that reality has been addressed, let's get to fantasy. Below are our hypothetical "All-Star Draft" teams with starters in italics. Injuries and replacements would obviously make their way into these rosters and there are certain parts where you kind of need to use your imagination to see how we are trying to make an exhibition just that little bit more interesting in fun. Underneath our rosters is a straw poll in which you can vote as to who you think would win a game between these two fantasy All-Star squads.
TEAM TREVOR
First Base- Max Muncy (LAD), Jose Abreu (CHW)
Second Base- Marcus Semien (TOR), Isaiah Kiner-Falefa (TEX) (IKF is also my backup catcher in my novel "have a guy play everywhere" gimmick to make the game a bit more fun)
Shortstop- Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD), Trea Turner (WSH), Tim Anderson (CHW), Jean Segura (PHI)
Third Base- Kris Bryant (CHC), Austin Riley (ATL), Eduardo Escobar (ARI), Jose Ramirez (CLE) (Bryant will also play outfield)
Catcher- Buster Posey (SF)
Outfield- Nick Castellanos (CIN), Jesse Winker (CIN), Cedric Mullins (BAL), Randy Arozarena (TB)
Designated Hitter- Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR), JD Martinez (BOS), Austin Meadows (TB) (Guerrero could play first as well and Meadows would probably get an inning in the outfield)
Starting Pitcher- Jacob deGrom (NYM), Shane Bieber (CLE), Lance Lynn (CHW), Julio Urias (LAD), Marcus Stroman (NYM), Trevor Rogers (MIA), Zack Wheeler (PHI), Chris Bassitt (OAK)
Relief Pitcher- Craig Kimbrel (CHC), Aroldis Chapman (NYY), Mark Melancon (SD), Liam Hendriks (CHW)
Manager- Kevin Cash (TB)
TEAM COLIN
First Base- Matt Olson (OAK), Jared Walsh (LAA), Jesus Aguilar (MIA)
Second Base- Adam Frazier (PIT), Joey Wendle (TB), Ryan McMahon (COL) (Wendle would play all over)
Shortstop- Xander Bogaerts (BOS), Brandon Crawford (SF), Carlos Correa (HOU)
Third Base- Rafael Devers (BOS), Nolan Arenado (STL)
Catcher- Salvador Perez (KC), Yadier Molina (STL)
Outfield- Ronald Acuna Jr. (ATL), Aaron Judge (NYY), Mitch Haniger (SEA), Adolis Garcia (TEX), Chris Taylor (LAD) (Taylor would play all over)
Designated Hitter- Shohei Ohtani (LAA), Nelson Cruz (MIN) (Ohtani could also pitch)
Starting Pitcher- Kevin Gausman (SF), Walker Buehler (LAD), Gerrit Cole (NYY), Brandon Woodruff (MIL), Yu Darvish (SD), Sean Manaea (OAK), Nathan Eovaldi (BOS), Aaron Civale (CLE), Casey Mize (DET)
Relief Pitcher- Josh Hader (MIL), Andrew Kittredge (TB), Ryan Pressly (HOU)
But there ends the fun part of this article. Colin and I never thought we'd make it through a couple months' worth of Opposite Field never mind a full year's worth. This is not me saying that this podcast is dead as I'm sure through two sentences your mind was heading that way. What I am saying is that COVID fucked up a lot of plans for a lot of people and a great deal of those are now coming back to these summer months thick and fast.
I know baseball is the true summer sport and taking a hiatus during the middle of the season seems counter-intuitive. But for us to recharge, take care of mounting responsibilities personally, as well as take feedback from each other and our listeners to make the show the best we can, the time had to be now.
The Trade Deadline is an optimistic target for our return but that is by no means set in stone. I'll try to keep everybody in the loop as best as I can through the Facebook page and Twitter feed as well as through my personal socials. The Instagram will be up during this hiatus and if I can get out of my technology rut the YouTube will be as well in some capacity. In the meantime, I'd personally like to thank any all of you that took the time to listen to Opposite Field or to be frank any of the shit I've put out over not only this past year but at any point in me running this underwhelming website. That goes double for you, SoundCloud bots. Keep those stats a boosting! But for real, thank you from the bottom of our hearts, we love you all, and we'll talk to you again real soon.
In the meantime, here is the Hasta La Vista pod (Ep. 51) as well as our All-Star Show from 2020 (Ep. 4) for your listening pleasure.
All Images From Wikipedia