MLB Announces N.L. All-Stars

Major League Baseball has just announced the starters, pitchers and reserves for both leagues for the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, which will be played on Tuesday, July 16th.

Here are the National League starters:

• C: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
• 1B: Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
• 2B: Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Reds
• SS: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado Rockies
• 3B: David Wright, New York Mets
• OF: Carlos Beltran, St. Louis Cardinals
• OF: Carlos Gonzalez, Colorado Rockies
• OF: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

Here are the NL pitchers:

• LHP: Madison Bumgarner, San Francisco Giants
• LHP: Aroldis Chapman, Cincinnati Reds
• LHP: Patrick Corbin, Arizona Diamondbacks
• RHP: Jose Fernandez, Miami Marlins
• RHP: Jason Grilli, Pittsburgh Pirates
• RHP: Matt Harvey, New York Mets
• LHP: Clayton Kershaw, Los Angleles Dodgers
• RHP: Craig Kimbrel, Atlanta Braves
• LHP: Cliff Lee, Philadelphia Phillies
• LHP: Jeff Locke, Pittsburgh Pirates
• RHP: Adam Wainwright, St. Louis Cardinals
• LHP: Travis Wood, Chicago Cubs
• RHP: Jordan Zimmermann, Washington Nationals

Here are the NL reserves:

• C: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
• 1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
• 1B: Allen Craig, St. Louis Cardinals
• 2B: Matt Carpenter, St. Louis Cardinals
• 2B: Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants
• SS: Everth Cabrera, San Diego Padres
• SS: Jean Segura, Milwaukee Brewers
• 3B: Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates
• OF: Domonic Brown, Philadelphia Phillies
• OF: Michael Cuddyer, Colorado Rockies
• OF: Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Brewers
• OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

In addition, there will be a final vote for one additional All-Star and here are the candidates:

• Ian Desmond, Washington Nationals
• Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves
• Adrian Gonzalez, Los Angeles Dodgers
• Hunter Pence, San Francisco Giants
• Yasiel Puig, Los Angeles Dodgers

Thoughts?  Snubs?

[Here are the A.L. All-Stars.]

David Wright shut down 3-5 days with rib-cage strain, could miss weeks

New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said that the team's third baseman David Wright will be shut down for three to five days due to his rib-cage strain, per Anthony Rieber of Newsday.

That does not mean Wright will be ready for Opening Day.

"Anything about his condition for Opening Day right now I think would be speculative," Alderson said. "Is it possible that he'll be out for a period of time? Sure. But what we know right now is he's going to rest for three to five days and we'll see what happens."

As manager Terry Collins notes, if past history's any indication, Wright could miss a month.

"We saw it with [Daniel Murphy]," [manager Terry] Collins said. "Murph's been out a month. Last year, David had it. He missed a month. Jason Bay missed a month. I'm trying to be optimistic, and knowing that this kid's as tough as he is . . . I'm sure it'll be two, three weeks."

If Wright is not ready to go for the start of the season, Collins said Justin Turner will replace him at third base.

2013 Fantasy Baseball Rankings - Top 20 Third Basemen

Coming off a historic season, Detroit Tigers Miguel Cabrera is clearly the top fantasy third baseman and arguably the top player in fantasy baseball in 2013.

Not only did Miggy set career highs in home runs (44) and runs batted in (139), but he became the first player to win the triple crown since Carl Yastrzemski won it more than 40 years ago.  He led all of baseball in homers and RBIs and was second in batting average (.330) behind only San Francisco's Buster Posey, who won the NL batting title with a .336 average.

As a lifetime .318 hitter, Cabrera has hit .320-plus in seven of the past eight seasons with the exception being 2008 when he hit just .292.

With the exception of his rookie season (2003) when he played only 87 games, Cabrera has driven in 100-plus runs every year and has at least 125 RBIs in three of the his five seasons in Detroit.  He also has scored at least 109 runs in each of the past three seasons.

While he's unlikely to repeat as a triple crown winner, Cabrera is one of the most dangerous and consistent hitters in the game and should continue to put up MVP-caliber numbers that fantasy owners can take to the bank.

Monster Second Half for Headley

San Diego's Chase Headley has been a consistent source of stolen bases at a position that typically lacks speedsters.  With double-digit steals in the past four seasons, Headley tied his career high with 17 steals last year.  Of all third base-eligible players, only Hanley Ramirez had more steals (21).

It was Headley's power production, however, that was noteworthy.

Headley, who turns 29 this season, hit nearly as many home runs in 2012 as he had hit in the rest of his career combined.  Before last season's career-high 31 home runs, Headley had never hit more than 12 in any season.

In addition to shattering his career high in homers, Headley drove in an NL-high 115 runs, which is more than 50 RBIs higher than his previous career high (64) set in 2009 as well.

While he had a solid first half, Headley was as dominant as any hitter in the second half.  In 75 games after the All-Star Break, he hit .308 with 23 home runs and 73 runs batted in.

Can he carry that type of momentum over into the 2013 season?

Breakout Year for Alvarez

After a solid debut for Pittsburgh Pirates third base prospect Pedro Alvarez in 2010, he could not have frustrated fantasy owners much more than he did in 2011.

As a rookie, Alvarez, the second overall pick in the 2008 draft, hit 16 home runs with 64 runs batted in with a fair (but not great) .256 average in 95 games.

Not only did he hit below the Mendoza Line in his second season (.191), but the slugger hit a mere four home runs in 262 big-league at-bats in 2011.  He spent 42 games in the minors that season.

From a batting average standpoint, Alvarez hit much better from June to October (.259) last year than he did in March through May (.205).

While he will never win any batting titles, Alvarez had the type of power production last year that many expected in 2011.  He finished the year with 30 home runs and 85 runs batted in, both of which were career highs.

Some More Third Basemen Notes:

After an injury-shortened 2011 campaign, New York Mets third baseman David Wright played 156 games and had a strong all-around season in 2012.  Hitting above .300 for the first time since 2009, Wright hit 21 home runs, stole 15 bases, scored 91 runs and drove in 93 runs.  As much as any other third baseman, he's a strong contributor in all five roto categories.

Baltimore's Manny Machado is one of the game's top young players and won't turn 21 until early July.  With tremendous promise, Machado played 51 games last season and should be the Orioles everyday third baseman in 2013.  Unless you're in a deep or AL-only league and need to start Machado, he provides plenty of upside as a bench guy.

Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longoria is my second-ranked third baseman, but the obvious concern is durability with Longoria.  Playing a total of only 207 games in the past two years combined, his 162-game pace over that span is for 37.57 home runs and 120.52 runs batted in.  Of course, the question is how many of those 162 games will he miss?

In his first season with the Brewers, Aramis Ramirez hit 27 home runs, scored 92 runs to go along with 105 runs batted in, all of which are four-year highs.  In addition, he hit .300 for a second consecutive season.  After stealing a total of nine bases from 2003 to 2011, Ramirez stole a career-high nine bases last season alone.

Here are my third basemen rankings for the 2013 fantasy baseball season (based on Yahoo! eligibility):

1. Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers
2. Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
3. David Wright, New York Mets
4. Hanley Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers
5. Adrian Beltre, Texas Rangers
6. Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
7. Chase Headley, San Diego Padres
8. Aramis Ramirez, Milwaukee Brewers
9. Brett Lawrie, Toronto Blue Jays
10. Pablo Sandoval, San Francisco Giants
11. Mark Trumbo, Los Angeles Angels
12. David Freese, St. Louis Cardinals
13. Martin Prado, Arizona Diamondbacks
14. Pedro Alvarez, Pittsburgh Pirates
15. Will Middlebrooks, Boston Red Sox
16. Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals
17. Kyle Seager, Seattle Mariners
18. Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles
19. Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds
20. Marco Scutaro, San Francisco Giants

For a second opinion, check out Duncan Sanford's third basemen rankings. (Or view our consensus third basemen rankings here.)

Other positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP

To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball, LIKE us on Facebook and/or add us to your Google+ circle.

Trifone: N.L. Mid-season Award Winners

With the mid-summer classic tonight, it's a good time to hand out mid-season MVP and Cy Young award winners.  There are usually a handful of great options, leaving room for debate, and this year is no exception.

Mid-season National League Most Valuable Player

For NL MVP, I believe it to be a four-horse race.  Although guys like David Wright and Melky Cabrera are having excellent years, they fall a bit short when comparing them with the top contenders.

Losing Albert Pujols is clearly going to hurt a team, but Carlos Beltran has stepped up in a big way, hitting over .300 and yielding great power numbers, for the Cardinals.  He currently leads the NL in RBI's with 65 and is second in home runs with 20.

There was a lot of talk at the beginning of the year over what type of year Ryan Braun would have after his failed drug test was overturned due to a technicality in the offseason.  Braun has responded with a league-leading 24 home runs.  He also ranks second in RBIs with 61 and is hitting over .300, with 15 stolen bases to boot.

Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez ranks sixth in the league in home runs and RBIs and leads the league in runs.  He is also currently hitting an impressive .330, and with 11 stolen bases.  I believe Cargo is the most likely to finish the year strong, playing in a hitter's ballpark in Colorado.

At this point, I feel any of these three are great candidates.

As good as those three have been, however, Andrew McCutchen has been even better.  McCutchen is leading the majors with a remarkable .362 average at the midway point.  He is hitting for power with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs, but also is a threat to run, with 14 stolen bases.  If he keeps this up for the rest of the year, McCutchen could finish the season hitting .350 with 30 hrs, 100 RBIs, and 30 stolen bases.  Tough to argue with those numbers.  I'm not sure if he can keep it up, but to date he is the NL MVP.

[Matt Kemp was the clear front runner before his injury, and certainly deserves recognition for how he was playing, but because of the number of games he has missed, I chose not to throw him in the mix, even though his early pace had him way ahead of the pack.]

Mid-season National League Cy Young Winner

The mid-season NL Cy Young race was looking interesting for a while.  For a few weeks, I thought for sure it would be Cole Hamels, who had a great ERA and won seven consecutive starts after losing his first to start the year.  Then Gio Gonzalez kept winning, Brian Beachy looked great, and Matt Cain threw a perfect game.  Stephen Strasburg is becoming the phenom we all knew he would be.

And then there's R.A. Dickey.  What Dickey has done this year has been nothing short of incredible.

The guy threw consecutive one-hitters, has an ERA of 2.40, a WHIP of just 0.93, is second in the league in strikeouts with 123, has his opponents hitting .203 for the season, and by the way is 12-1.  Dickey has never been a great pitcher, but at 37, he seems to have found whatever he was lacking earlier in his career.  The knuckleballer is hands down the mid-season NL Cy Young award winner.

I'd say that Strasburg could challenge him for the award by year's end if not for his innings count.  My number two right now would Matt Cain, who at 9-3 with a 2.62 ERA and 118 K's is having a great season in his own right.  I think Cain could make it interesting by the end of the year, but at the break, Dickey is the clear choice for the mid-season Cy Young.

Tomorrow we will post my A.L. (mid-season) award winners.

[Editor's note: This post is by John Trifone (@JohnnyT0122), who also contributes at our NFL site: Eat, Drink and Sleep Football (see John's archives).]

David Wright to sit out games Monday and Tuesday (at least)

Mets third baseman David Wright won't play on Monday or Tuesday, at least, when the team begins Grapefruit League play due to stiffness in his rib cage, per Anthony McCarron of the NY Daily News.

At this point, however, Wright says he would play if it were Opening Day (of the regular season).

“If the best thing is to just completely knock it out, to take a couple days off, that’s the best route,” Wright said. “If the doctor says I can continue to do stuff, obviously, I’d like to be out there, so.

“It’s kind of the perfect storm with what happened to Scotty (Hairston to an oblique injury on Saturday). I think it’s the correct decision, no question. Sometimes I can be hard-headed and stubborn. The medical staff might take it too slow, but in the end, it’s usually pretty good for you. I’ve tried to battle them the last couple of days. What happened with Scotty, they made it very clear and Terry made it very clear that they are going to run the show.”

Wright, who missed 60 games last year, hit a career-low .255 with 14 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 2011.

Going into 2012, Wright is our third-ranked fantasy third baseman after Jose Bautista and Evan Longoria.

(Updated) 2012 Fantasy Baseball Preseason Rankings: Top 25 Third Basemen

After missing 20 games in 2010, Miami's Hanley Ramirez missed many more games (70) last year and was one of the biggest disappointments in all of fantasy baseball.

Not only did Ramirez miss almost half of the season, but he struggled when he was on the field. HanRam hit a career-low .243 and it was the first time since 2006 that he hit below .300. Several months into the season (June 20th), Ramirez was hitting only .200.

Now there is plenty of change in Miami.

The team is no longer called the Florida Marlins, Ozzie Guillen is the team's new manager and the addition of free-agent shortstop Jose Reyes means that Ramirez will shift to third.

Believed to not be thrilled about the move, Ramirez has recently said the right things about the transition.

“I never said I’m not going to do it,” Ramirez said, per Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post. “I’m just happy to be here, be back in the spring with my guys, my teammates, everybody’s happy. That’s what we need. We got to stay together through the year. We’re looking good. This is the best team I have been in six years with the Marlins.”

Although he's not initially eligible at third base, Ramirez will be eligible at both shortstop and third base by the middle of April.

Here are some notes on third basemen:

- Despite being walked 100-plus times in each of the past two seasons, Toronto's Jose Bautista has hit 97 home runs during that span and has led the majors in the statistic each season. In fact, there have been only four 40-homer seasons over the past two years and Bautista has two of them. Over the past two seasons, Bautista also has 100-plus runs, 100-plus RBIs and nine steals each season.

- Arizona's Ryan Roberts, who is eligible at second as well as third base, fell just shy of a 20-15 season. Roberts finished the season with 19 home runs and 18 stolen bases, both of which were career highs. Roberts also set career highs in runs scored (86) and runs batted in (65).

- Although he missed almost 30 games and hit a career-low .244, Tampa's Evan Longoria hit 31 home runs, only two shy of his career best set in 2009. Longoria finished last season much better than he started it. Over the past two months, he hit 17 home runs and drove in 46 runs in 55 games.

- Mets third baseman David Wright hit a career-low .255 last year and played his fewest games (102) since his rookie campaign. After five straight seasons hitting .300 or better, Wright has had back-to-back sub-.300 batting averages. Since the Mets moved to Citi Field three seasons ago, Wright has hit a total of only 55 home runs, which works out to one homer in every 27.5 at-bats. While the numbers are bad at Citi Field (32.4 at-bats per HR), they're not great on the road (24.2/HR) during that span either.

- San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval played in only 117 games last year, but he still managed to hit 23 homers, only two shy of the career high he set back in 2009, and drove in 70 runs. After the All-Star break, KungFu Panda hit .325 with 15 home runs and 41 runs batted in over 67 games. Not only is Sandoval eligible at third base, but he is first base eligible as well.

- With Baltimore's Mark Reynolds, you know exactly what you're getting. He's going to simultaneously help you (home runs) and hurt you (batting average). Since 2008, only four players have hit more home runs than Reynolds (141): Albert Pujols (163), Ryan Howard (157), Prince Fielder (150) and Mark Teixeira (144). However, no player has struck out more than Reynolds (834) during that span.

- In his 43 games last year, Toronto's Brett Lawrie gave fantasy owners a sample of what he can do -- hit for power and average and steal bases. The former first-round pick (2008) hit .293 with nine home runs, 25 runs batted in and seven steals.

- Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez has not played more than 138 games in any of the past four seasons and played his fewest (99 games) last year since 1995. It was also the first time that A-Rod failed to reach 30 home runs or 100 runs batted in since 1995. Considering he turns 37 in July, it's risky to bank on Rodriguez staying healthy enough to reach 140 games for the first time since 2007.

Here are our top 25 third basemen for the 2012 season:

1. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
2. Evan Longoria, Rays
3. David Wright, Mets
4. Adrian Beltre, Rangers
5. Ryan Zimmerman, Nationals
6. Brett Lawrie, Blue Jays
7. Pablo Sandoval, Giants
8. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees
9. Kevin Youkilis, Red Sox
10. Michael Young, Rangers
11. Aramis Ramirez, Brewers
12. David Freese, Cardinals
13. Ryan Roberts, Diamondbacks
14. Mark Reynolds, Orioles
15. Martin Prado, Braves
16. Mike Moustakas, Royals
17. Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians
18. Pedro Alvarez, Pirates
19. Emilio Bonifacio, Marlins
20. Chase Headley, Padres
21. Chipper Jones, Braves
22. Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays
23. Daniel Murphy, Mets
24. Danny Valencia, Twins
25. Placido Polanco, Phillies

Other Positions: C - 1B - 2B - 3B - SS - OF - SP - RP

To keep track of our updates, follow us on Twitter @EDSBaseball and/or LIKE us on Facebook.

David Wright to miss another three weeks

Mets third baseman David Wright went on the disabled list on May 16th due to a stress fracture in his back that occurred on April 19th.

Tonight the Mets announced that Wright will miss another three weeks after Wright was examined by team doctors Friday, per Andy McCullough of the Newark Star-Ledger.

“I think we were all hopeful, and perhaps they were as well,” [general manager Sandy] Alderson said. “But I think at this point, perhaps realism has ruled the day. We can’t argue with the fact that, look, this is typically how long it takes bones to heal.”

According to McCullough, it typically takes six weeks for a fracture of this type to heal, but the six-week period should be based on when Wright stopped playing instead of when the injury occurred.

In 39 games this season, Wright is hitting only .226 with six home runs and 18 runs batted in.

Monday Night Links

''He said, 'Good luck. Sincerely, Ozzie.' And couple more phrases,'' said [Cubs manager Lou] Piniella [of a note left by Ozzie Guillen]. ''It wasn't twitted, and I'm appreciative of that.''

Mariners pitcher Cliff Lee had a pain-free catch for a second day in a row.

Giants ace Tim Lincecum threw seven scoreless innings in tonight's win over the Astros.

Albert Callaspo might start at third base for the Royals on Wednesday.

In his first at bat of the season, Mets third baseman David Wright homered.

And Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones homered twice.

Meanwhile, Braves rookie phenom Jason Heyward crushed a home run in his first-ever at bat in the big leagues.

Blue Jays closer Jason Frasor said of his blown save today: “Unfortunately, I have 48 hours to think about it. I’m six years older than I was when I first started blowing games, so it’s a little easier.”

The Red Sox will give Josh Beckett $68 million over four years.

Meanwhile the Pirates have the lowest payroll ($35.4 million) in baseball in 2010.

Shameless plug(s) of the day: Check out our 2010 fantasy football (quarterback) rankings or weigh in on a McNabb-versus-Kolb discussion on our football forums.

Can the Mets stay healthier in 2010?

That's the stated goal.

According to Baseball Prospectus, as pointed out by Brian Costa of the Newark Star-Ledger, Mets' players spent a combined 1,451 days on the disabled list (DL) in 2009.

And heading into Opening Day tomorrow, the Mets have already placed four of their players on the DL this season.

Hence, the team's 2010 slogan: “Prevention and Recovery.”

“Every time they see the sign, it’s a reminder to everybody, whatever they’re doing, to keep an eye on, ‘Are we at risk here?’ ” Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said. “Not to say we’re not going to prepare, but it just keeps it in your consciousness. The more people are talking about it and thinking about it, the less chance we’ll have of doing something that puts us at risk.”

That said, Mets' players aren't exactly sure what it means.

Mets third baseman David Wright said “... I’m not exactly sure what’s going on differently than in years past” while teammate Jeff Franceour said, “I have no clue what it means.”

Hmmm.

I think what it means is that it could be déjà vu all over again for the Mets.

David Wright heading to 15-day DL, may be done for year

After getting hit in the head by a 93-mph fastball from Giants pitcher Matt Cain in yesterday's game, Mets third baseman David Wright, who spent the night in the hospital, had a CT scan, which was negative, according to Roger Rubin of the NY Daily News.

Wright, who suffered a concussion, has since been released from the hospital.

The Mets have placed Wright on the 15-day disabled list and it's possible that he could miss the remainder of the season. "It's going to depend on the tests," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said. "If there's any question, it's a possibility."

“David wanted to take a chance to go out and play, but we decided to take it away from him and DL him based on the recommendation of our doctors who consulted with a specialist,” [general manager Omar] Minaya said, per the Associated Press.

With Wright being placed on the DL, the Mets have called up Andy Green from Triple-A Buffalo.

On the season, Wright was hitting .324 with eight home runs and 55 runs batted in. He also had 24 stolen bases.

Not quite mid-season awards: N.L. MVP

Over the weekend, I began the process of selecting my Cy Youngs and MVPs in both leagues by making my N.L. Cy Young pick based on production thus far.

Obviously, a lot can change between now and October, but today I will pick my National League MVP through June 22nd.

After his 6-for-12 performance this weekend with three home runs and ten RBI, the NL MVP race is the most clear-cut of the four award races.

The award goes to Albert Pujols, who becomes only the third player to begin a career with nine consecutive 25-home run seasons. Despite my personal bias (Pujols is my favorite player), it's hard to argue with this pick.





Pujols leads the N.L. in runs scored (56), home runs (26), runs batted in (68), OBP (.448) and OPS (1.169). He is also hitting .329 on the season. He nearly has as many home runs (26) as he has strikeouts (27).

As an added bonus, he's on pace to steal 21 bases. In fact, his nine steals lead the majors for first baseman. And the Cardinals currently lead the N.L. Central.

So, the real battle is for runner-up.

Runner-up: Raul Ibanez, Phillies - For me, it came down to Prince Fielder and Ibanez, who is on the 15-day DL. Ibanez, who is off to a torrid start excluding being placed on the DL, is in the top three in the N.L. in runs (51), home runs (22), runs batted in (59) and OPS (1.027).

In addition, Ibanez is hitting .312 for the Phillies, who currently lead the N.L. East.

Honorable Mention (not necessarily in order): Prince Fielder (Brewers), Matt Kemp (Dodgers), David Wright (Mets), Adrian Gonzalez (Padres) and Ryan Braun (Brewers).

David Wright says he was joking about frustrations

Mets third baseman says he was joking about being frustrated with the dimensions of Citi Field.

"That was me having a good time with Chipper because I saw the look on his face after, you know, hitting 800 feet worth of fly balls and no home runs," Wright said Tuesday before the Mets played Philadelphia.

Ha ha. Good one, David.

And Chipper feels sorry for Mets' players now. Unless, of course, he's just "joking."

"It is the biggest park that I have ever played in in my life. It is a huge ballpark to center and right center and right field," Jones told Sirius XM Radio on Monday. "You know, I actually feel sort of sorry for some of the guys out there because their power numbers are really going to take a hit; guys like David Wright, (Carlos) Beltran, (Carlos) Delgado. The days of them hitting 35, 40 homers -- they're over."

In 200 at bats in 2009, Wright has three home runs. He hit his last home run on May 7th.

In 2007, Wright hit 30 homers in 604 at bats. In 2008, Wright hit 33 homers in 626 at bats.

If he gets 626 at bats in 2009 and maintains his current pace, he will finish 2009 with 9.39 home runs.

Funny, isn't it?