Hunt and Peck: Cardinals dominate in first All Star Game Update

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Major League Baseball released an update on the leading vote-getters for American League and National League teams in the 2015 All Star Game. In the AL, the Royals lead to the way, having five representatives as the leaders for their respective positions and catcher, Salvador Perez, as the leader for the team.

Now, to what we actually care about, the National League Team. As of now, the Cardinals are poised to send four players to start the All Star Game; Matt Carpenter, Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, and Jhonny Peralta. Carpenter is second among NL third baseman in Wins Above Replacement with 2.3, but is first in wRC+ (161), batting average (.314), wOBA (.406) and doubles (17). Matt Holliday ranks eleventh among NL outfielders in fWAR (1.0), fourth in wRC+ (145), second in on base percentage (.433), and third in batting average (.320).

The two closest races for the Birdos are at shortstop and catcher. Peralta has a slight 24,000 vote lead over second place Starlin Castro. Since coming to the Cardinals last year, Peralta has been the best shortstop in the league. This year he is second in the NL in fWAR (1.3), wRC+ (138), on base percentage (.365),  wOBA (.372), and leads all qualified shortstops in home runs (7), and batting average (.305).

The most difficult case to make among Cardinal starters is for Molina. Yadi is one of only four qualified catchers in the NL. Of these four, Yadi ranks third in fWAR (.7), and wRC+ (87), the emptiness of his .326 batting average, good for second, contributing to the poor offensive statistics. However, despite being 32 years old, Molina leads the league in innings caught (374) and games started (42) and has the best caught stealing percent, giving him the highest defensive fWAR among catcher at 4.2. Molina also has a sparkling reputation as an excellent catcher and sometimes that is all you need and I ain't even mad.

You can place your votes here. Of course, vote for whomever you want, but you have to vote for Jhonny Peralta the most.

what else is going on in baseball...

• A hypothetical All Star pitching ballot. - Fangraphs
• This is a story of Tarez Miller and a former big league pitcher Paul Byrd. - MLB
• Adrian Gonzalez or Anthony Rizzo: who should start first base for the NL All Stars? - MLB
• Here is a look on some interesting Statcasts stats with some really neat stuff about Michael Wacha. - Sports on Earth
• Josh Hamilton gets a standing ovation in Texas. - MLB
• Alex Rodriguez ties Barry Bonds for second on the RBI list. - MLB
• Here are the luckiest and unluckiest hitters this year. - Sports on Earth
• The top 200 draft prospects. - MLB
• Assessing Ryan Howard's trade value. - Fangraphs
• Noah Syndergaard hit a homer. - Cut4
• Manchester City FC took some batting practice. - Cut4
• Pitcher home runs! - Sports on Earth
• Miguel Cabrera tried a sort of hidden ball trick. It didn't work, but he tried. - Cut4
• Grant Brisbee writes about baseball cards and it is beautiful. - SBNation
• The Taco All Stars! - SBNation
• What team's true talent has changed the most since Opening Day? The answer might surprise you. - Fangraphs
• The A's are 2-15 in one run games. Here is how. - SBNation
• Some prospects to watch in the College World Series. - MLB Daily Dish

what the cardinals are up to...

• Matt Adams will out be out three to four months with a quad strain. - Viva el Birdos
• Should the Cardinals trade for Ryan Howard?
  Yes? - Fake Teams; The Good Phight
  No? - Viva el Birdos
  Maybe? - MLB Daily Dish
• Like the word "fetch", first base and Matt Holliday is never going to happen. - STLToday
• How should the Cardinals fill their first base needs? - STLToday
• Cardinals demote Miguel Socolovich. - Viva el Birdos

KNOW THINE ENEMY...

the los angeles dodgers

• Cardinals-Dodgers will get FOX's "A Team". - STLToday
• Juan Uribe wanted more playing time and will now get it with the Braves. - True Blue LA
• Check out True Blue LA for all things Doyers. - True Blue LA

the nl central

• Brewers open "The Selig Experience". - MLB
• Carlos Gomez versus Madison Bumgarner. - SBNation
• The Brewers could be calling up Ty Wagner. - Brew Crew Ball
• Is Pedro Alvarez making adjustments? - Bucs Dugout
• Standings:
  

St. Louis Cardinals	31	16	.660
Chicago Cubs	25	21	.543
Pittsburgh Pirates	25	22	.532
Cincinnati Reds	19	27	.413
Milwaukee Brewers	16	32	.333

viva el stuff...

• Ben Cerutti looks at the Cardinals prospects in this fanpost. - Viva el Birdos
• VEB DAY IS SATURDAY!!!! INFO HERE. - Viva el Birdos

other things...

• Leo Drey, Missouri's largest private landowner and conservationist, passes away at 98. - STLToday
• Sticky puck. - SBNation
• Bouncey hoop. - SBNation
• RILEY CURRY! - SBNation

weekly scoreboard:

Tuesday, May 26	Diamondbacks	4	Cardinals	6	AZSP Recap	VEB Recap
Wednesday, May 27	Diamondbacks	3	Cardinals	4	AZSP Recap	VEB Recap

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