With All-Star fan balloting wrapping up tomorrow, I figured it was
time to take a look at which Brewers should be making the trip to St.
Louis for the mid-summer classic.
By my estimation, the Brewers will have four players in this year's game.
Rickie
Weeks very likely would have made the team if injury hadn't cut his
season short on May 17. Mike Cameron also would have been a strong
candidate if he would have maintained the numbers he put up in April.
Cameron will have to hold out hope for a Gold Glove at the end of the
season instead.
Ryan Braun
Ryan Braun currently sits second in
National League voting for outfielders, only trailing Raul Ibanez of
the Philadelphia Phillies.
Braun is quickly becoming the second
best in the National League behind Albert Pujols, and his numbers are
backing that up. Prior to today's game, Braun was batting .327, with 16
home runs and 57 runs batted in. He leads the Brewers in hits (93),
runs (56), and stolen bases (6).
He is also becoming a Gold Glove
caliber left fielder. His athleticism and speed allows him to catch up
on balls he misreads off of opposing players' bats.
Braun will
make his second straight All-Star game appearance, and fans should
start getting used to see him every July in the game. His talents will
make him an All-Star mainstay for many years to come.
Prince Fielder
Unfortunately
for Prince Fielder, he plays at the deepest position in all of
baseball: National League first base. Albert Pujols has that position
locked up as a starter for as long as he plays in the National League,
especially with the game being held in St. Louis this year.
Fielder
is hitting the ball better than at any point in his short big league
career. He is currently averaging career highs in average (.306),
on-base percentage (.425), and OPS (1.034). His .609 slugging
percentage is the second-highest to this point in his career.
While
Fielder's power numbers are nothing new, the fact that he has now
become a more disciplined hitter is the main cause of his rise in
average and on-base percentage. Fielder has already walked 54 times
this season and should very easily break his former career-high of 90
walks.
Although he won't be voted in by the fans, Fielder
should be a very easy choice for Charlie Manuel as a bench player for
the National League squad.
Trevor Hoffman
Despite missing the first three weeks of the season, Trevor Hoffman should make his seventh All-Star game appearance.
Hoffman
has saved 18 games for the Brewers this season in 19 chances. His 1.93
ERA is the second best mark of his career, and Hoffman didn't allow a
run to score until his 19th appearance of the season.
Although
he doesn't have the blazing fastball that he did earlier in his career,
he has altered his changeup speed to still have a significant drop from
his fastball, despite the fact that he usually tops out around 88 on
the radar gun.
Hoffman has stabilized the Brewers' bullpen and
turned it into one of the best in baseball. Hoffman's appearance in St.
Louis will be just as much about the rest of the Brewers' bullpen
success as it will be about his own.
Yovani Gallardo
Gallardo
was the hard-luck loser for the Brewers today in a 1-0 loss to the
Mets, and his record fell to 8-5. Although his record may not indicate
an All-Star game appearance, anyone that has seen him pitch this year
knows that Gallardo deserves a trip to St. Louis.
Coming into the
2009 season, fans wondered if Gallardo would be able to fill the vacant
spots in the rotation left by CC Sabathia and Ben Sheets. Gallardo has
more than lived to the hype.
In 16 starts this season, Gallardo
has an ERA of 2.75 over 104 2/3 innings pitched. He has struck out 114
batters and opponents are only hitting .193 against him in 434 plate
appearances.
He should make two more starts before the All-Star
break, so double-digit wins aren't out of the question. Getting to 10
wins won't be an easy task. Gallardo will have to beat the Cardinals
and Dodgers to do so. Beating both those teams will likely lock up
Gallardo's first All-Star appearance and silent all the doubters that
said Sabathia and Sheets couldn't be replaces.
The Brewers are
again among the National League leaders in record and currently sit
atop the NL Central. Their fans have turned out in droves to get their
favorite players to St. Louis and should be rewarded and happy with the
four that are likely to make an appearance.