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It's only May 26th but since All Star balloting began nearly a month ago, I thought I'd take a look at how our beloved White Sox stack up against their competition. Even if you are very conservative, there are 3 positional players that currently should receive really strong support to take a trip to Kansas City on July 10th.
A.J. Pierzynski- Among American League catchers here is how Pierzynski's ranks:
- Hits- 2nd (Joe Mauer)
- HR- 1st
- OBP- 3rd (Mauer, Carlos Santana)
- SLG- 1st
- BA- 1st
- RBI- 1st
- WAR- 1st
As of now, Pierzynski should be a shoe in for the roster. He is the clear cut choice for catcher in the American League. Joe Mauer has an extremely high OBP, but that might be because he's the only threat in the Twins lineup.
Paul Konerko:
- Hits: 1st
- HR: 1st
- RBI: 1st
- BA: 1st
- OBP: 1st
- SLG: 1st
- WAR: 1st
Konerko is the easy choice for American League first baseman. He leads all categories across the board. There isn't a sane person in the world that would say Konerko hasn't been the best first baseman in the American League in 2012.
Adam Dunn vs. All Star ballot DH choices:
- Hits: 6th (David Ortiz, Billy Butler, Michael Young, Edwin Encarnacion, Jesus Montero)
- HR: 1st (Tied w/ Encarnacion)
- RBI: 2nd (Encarnacion)
- OBP: 1st (Tied w/ Ortiz)
- SLG: 2nd (Encarnacion)
- OPS: 1st
- WAR: 1st
Dunn faces some stiff competition in David Ortiz and Edwin Encarnacion. The voters will see that he also has a low BA (.239) while Ortiz is hitting .309 and Encarnacion is at .274. This one could go either way.
If you want to be just a little more liberal, you could also say Alejandro De Aza deserves a spot. He's currently 6th in American League outfield WAR. He's 2nd in Runs to Josh Hamilton. He's 4th in hits behind Hamilton, Adam Jones and Ichiro Suzuki. He's tied for 2nd in stolen bases behind B.J. Upton.
Throw in the pitching candidates in Jake Peavy and Chris Sale and there are 6 potential All Stars on the White Sox.
Unfortunately, I'd be willing to bet that none of the White Sox positional players win the fan vote to start. Konerko will get placed on the team no matter what and I think Peavy will too.
A.J., De Aza and Sale will only be named to the team if there is a need for an injury replacement. A.J. won't win the fan vote and he isn't the most well liked guy in the world so the players probably won't vote for him either. Ron Washington will take his boy Mike Napoli if he's given the chance. Sale hasn't quite earned his stripes either, even though he sports a nifty win/loss and ERA. De Aza won't be given a 2nd thought. If you are upset about that, go vote.
I'd bet Ortiz wins the DH fan balloting, which will push Adam Dunn to the "Final Vote" ballot. Dunn would stand a pretty solid chance to make it if that is the case because for some reason the White Sox fans decide to vote in the "Final Vote" after they get upset that their favorite Sox player wasn't named to the team (even though they apparently don't vote for them to start).
The White Sox PR/Marketing brain trust will be hard at work promoting Dunn like he is running for President.
I've already come up with the slogan though...
Donkey Punch.