We know Jim Mora’s Colts’ weren’t talking about playoffs, and were “lucky to just win a game!”  But if you’re confident that you’re team is ready for the postseason, then you can start looking ahead to those playoff weeks.  Knowing now what those playoff schedules look like could give you the extra advantage that might help you advance to your league’s championship.  You can acquire certain players with favorable schedules, such as Reds hitters, or choose to trade or avoid others, such as Rangers hitters (see below).

With that said, I prepared this chart of the schedules for weeks 22 through 25 of the season, which would coincide with most fantasy leagues.  Following the chart is a recommendation of which teams and matchups you might want to target and avoid. And if you’re lucky enough to know that you’ll earn a first-round bye, you can narrow your focus even further.

Favorable playoff schedules for hitters:

• Minnesota – Six games each against weak KC and Cleveland pitching; three games in Week 23 in the Cell
• Cleveland – Seven games against KC pitching; Six games against Angels pitching; three games in Week 26 in the Cell
• St. Louis – Six games against the Cubs and Pirates; Week 22 at Milwaukee; 27 total games
• Houston – Six games against the Cubs; Week 24 vs Pirates; Week 25 in Cincinnati; 26 total games
• Cincinnati – In Week 22 they have four games in Coors and three games at home vs Pirates; in Week 23 they have four games at home vs Arizona and three at Houston; in Week 24 they play at Milwaukee; in Week 25 they play at home vs Houston and Milwaukee.  Their only negative is three games in San Diego in Week 24. But if you can survive that, this schedule is golden for Reds hitters.
• San Francisco – Six games against Arizona; Week 23 vs Milwaukee; Week 24 at Coors and at Wrigley. But watch out for seven games vs San Diego.

Negative playoff schedules for hitters:

• Seattle – Seven games against Oakland (three on road), six against Texas, and three against Tampa Bay. Not that you’d be relying too heavily on Mariners hitters anyway if you’re a contender…
• Boston – Week 22 series vs Tampa Bay and in Oakland, Week 23 at Safeco, Six games vs Yankees in Weeks 24-25
• Texas – Only five games in Week 23; four games in Oakland in Week 24
• San Diego – Seven games against SF, six against the Dodgers; four games in St. Louis in Week 23; only positive is 27 total games and three in Coors in Week 23

Favorable playoff schedules for pitchers:

• Minnesota – Six games against both KC and Cleveland; Week 23 vs Oakland
• LA Angels – Six games against Cleveland; Week 23 vs Seattle; Week 25 vs Oakland
• St. Louis – Six games against both the Cubs and Pirates; Four games against San Diego in Week 23

Negative playoff schedules for pitchers:

• Baltimore – 18 out of 25 total games against the stellar AL East offenses, remaining seven against Detroit
• Colorado – Four games vs Cincinnati and three vs Arizona at home in Week 22; Week 23 series in LA; Week 24 series in Arizona; Four games in St. Louis in Week 25; remainder of games in Coors
• Arizona – Week 22 series in Coors; Four games in Cincinnati in Week 23; Home series vs Colorado and LA in Week 24; Week 25 series in LA

Also, if your playoff schedule lasts until Week 25, watch out for players who will be sitting out.  If you think you can anticipate which players these may be, then you can try to use that to your advantage.  One team that could be resting players is Texas, as they currently have an eight game lead in the AL West.  This combined with Texas’ unfavorable schedule as noted above for hitters means that you might want to consider trading Rangers hitters.

And hey, if you’re a seller at your keeper league’s trading deadline, you can use this to help convince that stubborn owner into trading for a guy like Joey Votto. Hope this helps and best of luck to you!

One thing that the NL did get right was the non-selection of Stephen Strasburg. I agree with Charlie Manuel that he will eventually have his time.  No need to rush it.

But I strongly disagree with some of the other choices. Its a tragedy that Joey Votto or a Padres pitcher didn’t get selected. And that Omar Infante did.

Here’s a list of a few of the selections that I got wrong that I shouldn’t have:

National League

1. Ryan Howard over Joey Votto

Votto should be up for MVP consideration, and he leads Howard in every major statistical category, including about 140 more points in OPS:

Howard – 294/.352/.508, 15 HR, 55 RBI
Votto – .314/.416/.579, 19 HR, 57 RBI

Howard might have the bigger name, but Votto has him in production. More on Votto below.

2.   Michael Bourn/Evan Meek over Andrew McCutchen/Roy Oswalt

The wrong Houston and Pittsburgh representatives were selected. McCutchen deserves a spot among the top outfielders in the National League based on his numbers alone. Bourn is a speedster with 25 SB, but sports a .260 average and .678 OPS. McCutchen is a speedster (20 SB) AND he hits the ball:

McCutchen – .300/.378/.451, 89 H, 50 R, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 20 SB
Bourn – .260/.336/.341, 77 H, 48 R, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 25 SB

Oswalt is still a top 15 pitcher despite his 5-10 record, which as I’ve said before is a meaningless statistic. Meek has been great, but he does have two losses and five blown saves, which is good for second most in the majors.

Oswalt – 3.32 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 111 IP, 104 K
Meek – 0.96 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 47 IP, 42 K

A selection of Oswalt and McCutchen would have made a lot more sense. No wonder Oswalt wants out of Houston.

3.  Omar Infante over Kelly Johnson

The voters must have been blinded by Infante’s .302 batting average, because KJ leads Infante in just about every other category, including a whopping 130 in OPS:

Infante – .302/.333/.367, 51 H, 8 2B, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 3 SB
Johnson – .265/.367/.485, 77 H, 23 2B, 13 HR, 38 RBI, 7 SB

A proper selection of KJ here would have given the Diamondbacks a rep, and prevented these next selections from happening:

4.   Chris Young/Matt Capps over Josh Willingham/A Padres reliever

Willingham might not have the big name, but he does have numbers as good as any other NL outfielder. Young has decent numbers but there are at least 15-20 other outfielders that are more deserving:

Willingham – .281/.413/.513, 74 H, 12 2B, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 7 SB
Young – .268/.332/.483, 81 H, 20 2B, 15 HR, 57 RBI, 16 SB

If KJ was taken as the D’Backs rep instead of Young, Willingham could then have been the Nationals rep instead of Capps.  Capps is having a good season, but not nearly as impressive as practically anyone in the Padres bullpen, headlined by Heath Bell, Luke Gregerson and Mike Adams:

Capps – 3.19 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 36.2 IP, 32 K, 22 SV
Bell – 1.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 35.2 IP, 48 K, 23 SV
Gregerson – 2.23 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 51 K, 19 HD
Adams – 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 39 IP, 43 K, 21 HD

It’s a shock that Bell or any Padres pitcher wasn’t selected outright, including starters like Clayton Richard or this next guy:

5.   Tim Lincecum over Mat Latos

Clearly Lincecum was selected based on his name. He has not been having a good season by his standards, although his strikeouts are still among the league leaders. Latos leads the league in WHIP and if he keeps up his performance, he’ll battle with Ubaldo Jimenez and Josh Johnson for Lincecum’s Cy Young this year:

Lincecum – 3.28 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 109.2 IP, 121 K
Latos – 2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 99.2 IP, 91 K

The fact that Latos is a rookie and Lincecum is the two-time defending Cy Young winner has something to do with it, but there are so many more impressive starters that were left off the NL team than Lincecum, including Latos who is the best of that group.

American League

1.  John Buck over Mike Napoli

Their numbers are similar,

Napoli – .258/.336/.502, 14 HR, 33 RBI
Buck – .266/.303/.509, 13 HR, 40 RBI

but with all things even, you have to go with the hometown guy to give the Angels fans another guy to root for. Especially when we’re talking about the reserve catcher selection.  The Angels were only given Torii Hunter as their selection, but the voters got this wrong as well:

2. Torii Hunter/Phil Hughes over Brennan Boesch/Jered Weaver

If only one Angels player was going to be selected, then there shouldn’t have been any other player considered other than Weaver, who is leading the majors in strikeouts and is tied for sixth in WHIP. He definitely should have been selected over Hughes, who was the sixth Yankee selected.

Weaver – 2.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 108.2 IP, 124 K
Hughes – 3.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 88 IP, 81 K

That would have opened the door for Boesch, who doesn’t have the name that Hunter does, but sure does have better numbers on his way to a Rookie of the Year award:

Boesch – .340/.386/.605, 12 HR, 46 RBI
Hunter – .290/.339/.414, 12 HR, 53 RBI

3.  Alex Rodriguez over Paul Konerko

Matt Thornton was selected as the White Sox rep, and while Thornton is deserving, there was a better rep to be selected. Konerko is among the league leaders in homers and OPS. Meanwhile, A-Rod is nowhere close.

Konerko – .299/.386/.562, 20 HR, 58 RBI
A-Rod – .278/.352/.491, 12 HR, 57 RBI

A-Rod was the team’s third thirdbaseman behind Longoria and Beltre. Only two firstbasemen were selected (Morneau and Cabrera), and Cabrera could have even played third base if needed.

With that said, we’re left with the following five players to choose from as part of the 34th Man Final Vote:

American League:

1)   Paul Konerko – .299/.386/.562, 20 HR, 58 RBI
2)   Nick Swisher – .288/.369/.507, 13 HR, 47 RBI
3)   Kevin Youkilis – .297/.415/.564, 15 HR, 50 RBI
4)   Delmon Young – .296/.331/.484, 9 HR , 54 RBI
5)   Michael Young – .314/.360/.498, 11 HR, 51 RBI

This should be an easy selection as I just pointed out that Konerko should have made the team over A-Rod.  He has more impressive numbers than any of the other candidates, with the exception of maybe Youkilis. But my vote will go to Konerko with the consideration that he’s only been voted to the All-Star game three times in his career despite being 34 years old and having had consistently productive seasons since 1999.  Also, if Youkilis really wanted to get into the game, he’d ask Big Papi for his spot, as its arguable that Youk has better numbers than his teammate (.254/.361/.554, 17 HR, 53 RBI).

National League:

1)   Carlos Gonzalez – .294/324/.488, 13 HR, 48 RBI
2)   Joey Votto – .314/.416/.579, 19 HR, 57 RBI
3)   Ryan Zimmerman – .280/.373/.490, 13 HR, 40 RBI
4)   Billy Wagner – 1.35 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 33.1 IP, 52 K, 17 SV
5)   Heath Bell - 1.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 35.2 IP, 48 K, 23 SV

The AL may have a few flaws, but it did a wonderful job of making selections compared to the NL, which really messed things up. Now we are left to choose between three players on division-leading teams: a Reds firstbaseman who is putting up MVP type numbers, and Padres and Braves closers who are having better seasons than any of the other closers that were selected for the team.

A selection of Bell would at least give some consolation to the Padres, who have so many worthy pitchers as noted above and have none represented in the game. Their only rep is Adrian Gonzalez.

A selection of Wagner would reward the guy for having worked his way back from an elbow injury that forced him to miss nearly all of the 2009 season.

But it is hard to ignore what Votto has done. If I just gave you two sets of numbers and told you both were NL Central firstbasemen, you’d say that Votto had Pujols’ numbers (.306/.414/.564, 19 HR, 59 RBI) and not the other way around.  Votto leads the league in OPS (1.017), slugging, and homers.  Another argument for Votto over Bell or Wagner is that he plays every day.

My vote goes to Votto, but I wouldn’t be upset if Bell or Wagner got your vote. I’d just blame the parties responsible for putting together the NL squad.  Its almost as if they didn’t care about getting their first win in the past 14 years.

On to the predictions:

American League
Catcher (2)
Projected Starter: Joe Mauer, MIN (.300/.375/.431, 3 HR, 34 RBI)
Reserve: Mike Napoli, LAA (.258/.336/.502, 14 HR, 33 RBI)
Snubbed: Jorge Posada, NYY (.265/.371/.482, 9 HR, 28 RBI), John Buck, KC (.266/.303/.509, 13 HR, 40 RBI), Kurt Suzuki, OAK (.258/.315/.433, 10 HR, 35 RBI)
Mauer had a clear lead heading into the final two days of online voting and he’ll get the start. Victor Martinez has had a better season thus far (.289/.344/480, 9 HR, 38 RBI), but he’s currently on the DL. His injury opens the door for Napoli, who will get to play in front of his hometown Angel fans.

First Base (4)
Projected Starter: Justin Morneau, MIN (.343/.438/.607, 16 HR, 52 RBI)
Reserves: Miguel Cabrera, DET (.337/.412/.628, 20 HR, 68 RBI), Paul Konerko, CHW (.294/.346/.487, 20 HR, 57 RBI), Kevin Youkilis, BOS (.297/.415/.564, 15 HR, 50 RBI)
Snubbed: Billy Butler, KC (.320/.378/.477, 8 HR, 42 RBI)
Morneau leads the online voting and even if he didn’t, he’d earn a definite spot at the tough AL firstbase group. Triple Crown-contender Cabrera deserves to start but he’ll earn the first reserve spot. Konerko is having a resurgence this season and is tied for the league lead in HR. He’ll earn a spot and become the lone White Sox representative. Youkilis would normally be the odd man out, but now that an extra player was added to each team and there is a need for a DH, I expect Youkilis to get selected as a reserve.

Second Base (2)
Projected Starter: Robinson Cano, NYY (.347/.398/.579, 16 HR, 54 RBI)
Reserve: Ty Wigginton, BAL (.254/.338/.458, 14 HR, 42 RBI)
Snubbed: Ian Kinsler, TEX (.301/.401/.416, 3 HR, 26 RBI), Mike Aviles, KC (.326/.351/.413, 2 HR, 13 RBI HR, 56 RBI, .845 OPS)
Cano has a comfortable lead in voting and he is by far the top secondbaseman. Dustin Pedroia (.292/.370/.502) would’ve had the reserve spot, but he’s on the DL with a foot injury. That opens the door for Wigginton as the lone O’s representative, who is fourth among AL second basemen in OPS, third in slugging, and second in homers and RBI. Kinsler has had a slow start and is snubbed but look for him in the 34th man vote.

Shortstop (2)
Projected Starter: Derek Jeter, NYY (.282/.344/.408, 8 HR, 39 RBI, 9 SB)
Reserve: Elvis Andrus, TEX (.292/.374/.332, 24 RBI, 22 SB)
Snubbed: Alex Gonzalez, TOR (.263/.304/.485, 14 HR, 41 RBI), Marco Scutaro, BOS (.285/.353/.387, 4 HR, 25 RBI)
Jeter leads the vote by a wide margin and will start. Very close call here between Gonzalez and Andrus for the backup spot. I think Andrus’ speed and hype gets him in. But if Bautista is not selected for the OF (below), the Jays will need a rep, and that might get Gonzalez the nod.

Third Base (2)
Projected Starter: Evan Longoria, TB (.293/.368/.503, 12 HR, 55 RBI)
Reserve: Adrian Beltre, BOS (.346/.382/.553, 12 HR, 53 RBI)
Snubbed: Alex Rodriguez, NYY (.278/.352/.491, 12 HR, 57 RBI), Michael Young, TEX (.314/.360/.498, 11 HR, 51 RBI)
Longoria is also a lock to start based on the voting results. Beltre is having a better season however, putting up MVP type numbers. He’ll get the bench role. A-Rod and Young will probably both be selected for the 34th man vote.

Outfield (7)
Projected Starters: Ichiro Suzuki, SEA (.331/.385/.424, 107 H, 21 SB), Josh Hamilton, TEX (.340/.387/.614, 19 HR, 59 RBI), Carl Crawford, TB (.318/.378/.493, 7 HR, 39 RBI, 29 SB)
Reserves: Shin-Soo Choo, CLE (.286/.390/.475, 13 HR, 43 RBI), Nelson Cruz, TEX (.315/.380/.629, 10 HR, 39 RBI), Brennan Boesch, DET (.340/.386/.605, 12 HR, 46 RBI), Jose Bautista, TOR (.229/.355/.528, 20 HR, 50 RBI)
Snubbed: Torii Hunter, LAA (.290/.339/.414, 12 HR, 53 RBI), Ben Zobrist, TB (.292/.379/.410, 5 HR, 41 RBI), David DeJesus, KC (.327/.395/.471, 97 H, 35 RBI), Magglio Ordonez, DET (.313/.386/.490, 10 HR, 49 RBI), Alex Rios, CHW (.312/.367/.523, 13 HR, 44 RBI), Nick Markakis, BAL (.303/.395/.432, 4 HR, 26 RBI), Nick Swisher, NYY (.288/.369/.507, 13 HR, 47 RBI), Vernon Wells, TOR (.275/.328/.548, 19 HR, 48 RBI), J.D. Drew, BOS (.277/.364/.494, 10 HR, 39 RBI), Delmon Young, MIN (.296/.331/.484, 9 HR, 54 RBI)

The three starters – Ichiro, Hamilton, and Crawford – are locks based on voting and performance. That’s always nice. Choo will get a reserve selection as the Indians’ lone rep. Cruz missed a lot of time due to injury, but he’s putting up numbers better than any other AL outfielder, including his teammate Hamilton. I say he gets a selection. The surprising Boesch and his .340 average and .605 slugging % gets a bid over his teammate Magglio. Shocking AL HR leader Bautista gets the last OF spot, as he can also provide backup defense at third base if needed.

Designated Hitter (1)
Starter: Vladimir Guerrero, TEX (.334/.379/.576, 18 HR, 70 RBI)
Snubbed: David Ortiz, BOS (.254/.361/.554, 17 HR, 53 RBI), Jose Guillen, KC (.276/.337/.464, 14 HR, 50 RBI)
Guerrero leads the vote and will get a deserved start as he is having a monster season. Ortiz might get selected here instead of Youkilis, but I think the players will get it right. Luke Scott (.274/.348/.520) unfortunately injured his hamstring but also would have contended for a spot.

Pitchers (13)
Starter: Cliff Lee, SEA (2.45 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 95.2 IP, 78 K)
Reserves: David Price, TB (2.42 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 107.2 IP, 90 K), Clay Buchholz, BOS (2.45 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 92 IP, 64 K), Jered Weaver, LAA (2.82 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 108.2 IP, 124 K)
Jon Lester, BOS (2.86 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 107 IP, 111 K), Felix Hernandez, SEA (3.03 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 121.2 IP, 116 K), Andy Pettitte, NYY (2.72 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 99.1 IP, 74 K), CC Sabathia, NYY (3.33 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 116.1 IP, 93 K), Jonathan Papelbon, BOS (19 SV, 3.71 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 34 IP, 30 K), Mariano Rivera, NYY (18 SV, 0.86 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 31.1 IP, 31 K), Jose Valverde, DET (18 SV, 0.53 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 34 IP, 32 K), Joakim Soria, KC (21 SV, 2.35 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 30.2 IP, 37 K), Andrew Bailey, OAK (16 SV, 1.64 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 33 IP, 23 K)
Snubbed: Trevor Cahill, OAK (2.74 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 82 IP, 56 K), Jeff Niemann, TB (2.80 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 106 IP, 75 K), Jason Vargas, SEA (2.80 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 96.1 IP, 62 K), Ricky Romero, TOR (2.83 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 111.1 IP, 103 K), Carl Pavano, MIN (3.30 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 111.2 IP, 63 K), Colby Lewis, TEX (3.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 104.2 IP, 97 K), Shaun Marcum, TOR (3.44 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 107.1 IP, 88 K), Francisco Liriano, MIN (3.47 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 98.2 IP, 106 K), Phil Hughes, NYY (3.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 88 IP, 81 K), Zack Grienke, KC (3.94 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 112 IP, 92 K), Justin Verlander, DET (4.02 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 103 IP, 93 K), CJ Wilson, TEX (3.34 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 102.1 IP, 73 K), Gio Gonzalez, OAK (3.50 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 103 IP, 84 K), Rafael Soriano, TB (19 SV, 1.57 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 26 K), Neftali Feliz, TEX (21 SV, 3.06 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 35.1 IP, 38 K), Jon Rauch, MIN (18 SV, 2.53 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 32 IP, 23 K)

Lee missed time early due to injury, but he has made up for lost time with complete games nearly every time out. He should be named the starter. Price has settled into his role as one of the best starters in the league. Buchholz might miss the game due to injury but should get named to the team regardless. Weaver is having a fine season and joins Napoli as the second Angels rep. Lester and Hernandez aren’t putting up quite the numbers as we are used to, but they are still good enough to earn spots on the team. Pettitte gets a veteran’s vote but he is still a top ten starter in the AL this season. His teammate Sabathia will join him.
Papelbon and Rivera lead the five relievers. Soria is the lone Royals rep and Bailey is the lone A’s rep (again, though Cahill could get selected over Bailey this time). Valverde is having the best season of any of the relievers.

I’ll predict that the 34th Final Man Vote will be between the following five players: 1) A-Rod, 2) Young, 3) Kinsler, 4) Ortiz, 5) Hunter

Here’s a breakdown of my All-Star selections by AL team: Boston = Beltre, Youkilis, Lester, Papelbon, Buchholz; New York = Rivera, Jeter, Sabathia, Pettitte, Cano; Tampa Bay = Longoria, Price, Crawford; Toronto = Bautista; Baltimore = Wigginton; Detroit = Cabrera, Boesch, Valverde; Chicago = Konerko; Minnesota = Mauer, Morneau; Kansas City = Soria; Cleveland = Choo; LA Angels = Weaver, Napoli; Texas = Guerrero, Hamilton, Andrus, Cruz; Seattle = Ichiro, Felix, Lee; Oakland = Bailey

National League
Catcher (2)
Projected Starter: Brian McCann, ATL (.257/.377/.434, 9 HR, 33 RBI)
Reserves: Miguel Olivo, COL (.316/.373/.553, 11 HR, 39 RBI)
Snubbed: Yadier Molina, STL (.229/.309/.304, 3 HR, 30 RBI), Geovany Soto, CHC (.267/.401/.455, 8 HR, 19 RBI)
Molina and McCann are in a voting battle, but I’m hoping McCann wins because Molina is clearly not deserving of the spot based on his offensive numbers. Olivo has been putting together a stellar season at catcher for the Rockies, stealing the everyday job from Chris Iannetta.

First Base (4)
Projected Starter: Albert Pujols, STL (.306/.414/.564, 19 HR, 59 RBI)?
Reserves: Joey Votto, CIN (.314/.416/.579, 19 HR, 57 RBI), Adrian Gonzalez, SD (.295/.390/.524, 16 HR, 51 RBI), Prince Fielder, MIL (.259/.382/.485, 18 HR, 36 RBI)
Snubbed: Adam Dunn, WAS (.271/.360/.545, 17 HR, 47 RBI), Ryan Howard, PHI (.294/.352/.508, 15 HR, 55 RBI), Aubrey Huff, SF (.292/.378/.522, 14 HR, 45 RBI)
Pujols had a “slow” start by his standards, but still leads all NL first basemen in performance. Except for maybe Votto, who is right there with him. He should get the reserve slot along with Gonzalez and Fielder. The NL can use the extra first baseman as they’ll need to appoint a DH.

Second Base (3)
Projected Starter: Chase Utley, PHI* (.277/.383/.466, 11 HR, 37 RBI)
Reserves: Martin Prado, ATL (.337/.377/.485, 114 H, 7 HR, 36 RBI), Brandon Phillips, CIN (.309/.369/.481, 10 HR, 27 RBI), Kelly Johnson, ARZ (.264/.367/.482, 13 HR, 36 RBI)
Snubbed: Dan Uggla, FLA (.264/.351/.469, 15 HR, 46 RBI), Rickie Weeks, MIL (.270/.368/.451, 13 HR, 47 RBI)
Utley will get the fan vote as the starter, but he’s out for a couple months with a thumb injury. The starter should then be Prado, who leads the league in hits. Phillips, who is second in the league in hits behind Prado, will get a reserve spot. As will Johnson, who fills a role as the D’Backs’ rep.

Shortstop (2)
Projected Starter: Hanley Ramirez, FLA (.298/.383/.502, 13 HR, 52 RBI, 15 SB)
Reserve: Rafael Furcal, LA (.335/.382/.485, 3 HR, 25 RBI, 12 SB)
Snubbed: Juan Uribe, SF (.258/.327/.453, 12 HR, 46 RBI), Jose Reyes, NYM (.277/.321/.419, 6 HR, 32 RBI, 19 SB)
Hanley is having a down year by his standards but he’ll get the vote. Troy Tulowitzki (.306/.375/.502, 9 HR, 34 RBI) would have earned a reserve spot if he wasn’t injured. Tulo’s injury opens the door for Furcal, who is finally healthy and enjoying an All-Star caliber season. Reyes, also finally healthy, could get a selection as well, but I think he’ll go to the 34th Man vote instead.

Third Base (2)
Projected Starter: David Wright, NYM (.313/.391/.543, 14 HR, 64 RBI)?
Reserve: Scott Rolen, CIN (.302/.368/.577, 17 HR, 56 RBI)
Snubbed: Ryan Zimmerman, WAS (.280/.373/.490, 13 HR, 40 RBI), Casey McGehee, MIL (.273/.338/.465, 13 HR, 52 RBI), Mark Reynolds, ARZ (.217/.331/.471, 18 HR, 52 RBI)
Wright is in a battle with Placido Polanco (.318/.349/.433) for the starter’s vote, but Polanco is out with injury. So let’s hope Wright makes things simple and wins the vote. A reserve spot definitely needs to go to Rolen, who is helping to lead the Reds to first place in the NL Central.

Outfield (7)
Projected Starters: Ryan Braun, MIL (.294/.352/.478, 11 HR, 49 RBI), Jason Heyward, ATL* (.251/.366/.455, 11 HR, 45 RBI), Andre Ethier, LA (.318/.375/.552, 12 HR, 47 RBI)
Reserves: Manny Ramirez, LA (.322/.412/.525, 8 HR, 39 RBI), Andrew McCutchen, PIT (.300/.378/.451, 7 HR, 24 RBI, 20 SB), Corey Hart, MIL (.286/.351/.569, 18 HR, 60 RBI), Josh Willingham, WAS (.279/.413/.512, 15 HR, 46 RBI), Alfonso Soriano, CHC (.278/.349/.540, 10 HR, 36 RBI)
Snubbed: Colby Rasmus, STL (.275/.368/.550, 16 HR, 40 RBI), Jayson Werth, PHI (.283/.340/.532, 13 HR, 47 RBI), Seth Smith, COL (.283/.340/.539, 11 HR, 35 RBI), Marlon Byrd, CHC (.306/.347/.478, 9 HR, 35 RBI), Matt Holliday, STL (.304/.378/.503, 11 HR, 39 RBI), Jonny Gomes, CIN (.290/.345/.486, 9 HR, 54 RBI), Carlos Gonzalez, COL (.294/.324/.488, 13 HR, 48 RBI), Justin Upton, ARZ (.266/.355/.468, 14 HR, 39 RBI)
Braun, Ethier and Heyward appear to have the starters’ votes locked up. Heyward is injured, so that will open up a spot for someone more deserving. Lets go with Manny as the replacement starter. McCutchen is deserving of a spot and that is perfect because we need a Pirates rep. Same for Soriano as the Cubs’ rep and Willingham as the Nationals’ rep (sorry Strasburg lovers, you don’t come up and pitch for a month and make an All-Star team). Hart also gets a bid based on performance.

Pitchers (13)
Starter: Josh Johnson, FLA (1.82 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 114 IP, 115 K)
Reserves: Ubaldo Jimenez, COL (1.83 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 113 IP, 102 K), Jaime Garcia, STL (2.10 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 94 IP, 77 K), Adam Wainwright, STL (2.34 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 119 IP, 114 K), Roy Halladay, PHI (2.42 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 130 IP, 112 K), Roy Oswalt, HOU (3.32 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 111 IP, 104 K), Yovani Gallardo, MIL (2.56 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 109 IP, 120 K), Mat Latos, SD (2.62 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 99.2 IP, 91 K), Heath Bell, SD (23 SV, 1.77 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 35.2 IP, 48 K), Billy Wagner, ATL (17 SV, 1.35 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 33.1 IP, 52 K), Jonathan Broxton, LAD (16 SV, 2.08 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 34.2 IP, 50 K), Brian Wilson, SF (22 SV, 2.10 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 34.1 IP, 47 K), Francisco Rodriguez, NYM (19 SV, 2.63 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 41 IP, 51 K)

Snubbed: Tim Hudson, ATL (2.37 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 106.1 IP, 51 K), Clayton Richard, SD (2.74 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 102 IP, 81 K), Matt Cain, SF (2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 107.2 IP, 76 K), Mike Pelfrey, NYM (2.93 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 104.1 IP, 66 K), Carlos Silva, CHC (2.96 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 94.1 IP, 67 K), Livan Hernandez, WAS (2.98 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 105.2 IP, 51 K), Clayton Kershaw, LAD (3.02 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 104.1 IP, 116 K), Kris Medlen, ATL (3.01 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 80.2 IP, 59 K), Chris Carpenter, STL (3.16 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 119.2 IP, 105 K), Ted Lilly, CHC (3.12 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 86.2 IP, 61 K), Matt Capps, WAS (22 SV, 3.19 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 36.2 IP, 32 K), Francisco Cordero, CIN (22 SV, 4.03 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 38 IP, 34 K), Octavio Dotel, PIT (18 SV, 4.41 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 32.2 IP, 40 K), Ryan Franklin, STL (15 SV, 2.16 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 33.1 IP, 19 K), Mike Adams, SD (21 HD, 2.08 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 39 IP, 43 K), Luke Gregerson, SD (19 HD, 2.23 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 51 K)

Whew! Both leagues have an amazing selection of pitching All-Stars to choose from. Johnson should earn the start as the MLB leader in ERA and a WHIP good for third overall. Ubaldo is a close second. A pair of Cardinals starters, Wainwright and the rookie Garcia, should also get chosen. Another rookie, Latos, should earn the last spot among starters as he is tied for the league lead in WHIP. Oswalt makes the cut as the Astros rep. Halladay and Gallardo also earn spots over an impressive list of snubs.
Bell, Wagner and Broxton are clear choices for the relieving corps. Wilson is also an easy choice and he fills the role as the Giants rep. K-Rod closes things out.

34th Man Vote for the NL: 1) Reyes 2) Zimmerman 3) Dunn 4) Werth 5) Rasmus

Here’s a breakdown by NL Team: Philadelphia = Utley*, Halladay; Florida = Ramirez, Johnson; New York = Wright, Rodriguez; Atlanta = Wagner, Heyward*, McCann, Prado; Washington = Willingham; Milwaukee = Fielder, Braun, Hart, Gallardo; St. Louis = Pujols, Wainwright, Garcia; Cincinnati = Votto, Phillips, Rolen; Chicago = Soriano; Houston = Oswalt; Pittsburgh = McCutchen; Los Angeles = Broxton, Furcal, Ethier, Ramirez; San Francisco = Wilson; Colorado = Olivo, Jimenez; San Diego = Gonzalez, Bell, Latos; Arizona = Johnson

Let’s see how I do compared to the likes of Kiper and McShay…