Don’t forget to vote using all the email addresses/devices you have! As it currently stands (MLB released an update about twenty minutes ago), Bregman, Springer and Brantley would all start the game. They said that Brantley is in a close race for the 3rd starting OF spot. Full rosters will be announced tonight.
I know the all-star vote is so trivial compared to actual games, but Brantley is in a very tight race. I’ve got nothing against Judge, but he’s 1% behind Brantley for the 3rd and final starting OF spot. He’s a great player, but he’s played in 25 games and in no way deserves to start over Brantley. Make sure you vote and get creative so you can vote multiple times!
Astros need 3 more to break the record of 6 in 3 consecutive games. JV, Pressly, and..... Chirinos/Osuna/Cole Osuna is likely the most likely. Chirinos has slumped hard recently. Cole's record and ERA are suspect, but the K's help.
Bregman becomes the franchise's first 3B starter. Which other positions have never happened? They all seem covered. Be cool knowing how every team stacks.
According to B-R, never had starters at RF (will most likely change this year) or catcher. Also, no Astro has ever hit a 2B or 3B in the ASG. No Astro pitcher has a win or a save.
My guess on reserves and pitchers. 11 position players and 12 pitchers C James McCann C Robinson Chirinos 1B C.J. Cron 2B Whit Merrifield SS Gleyber Torres 3B Rafael Devers OF Eddie Rosario OF Austin Meadows OF Trey Mancini OF Domingo Santana DH J.D. Martinez P Justin Verlander P Charlie Morton P Mike Minor P Lucas Giolito P Jake Odorizzi P Jose Berrios P Aroldis Chapman P Brad Hand P Shane Greene P Ken Giles P Ryan Pressly P Blake Treinen Certainly worthy: Tommy LaStella, Gerrit Cole, Edwin Encarnacion, Marcus Stroman, Roberto Osuna, Tim Anderson, Joey Gallo, Jose Abreu, Matt Chapman, Xander Bogaerts, Mookie Betts, Luke Voit
My guess on remaining Astros who will be selected: Verlander: guaranteed to make it and might even be the AL SP Cole: if he doesn’t make it it would be a ridiculous snub. ERA below 3.5, very low WHIP and leads league in K’s. Should make it. Pressley: despite recent struggles, numbers are still elite. Should he helped by fact that players vote for All-Stars very early compared to when fans vote, so his numbers were otherworldly when players voted. Don’t think Chirinos makes it.
I know this may be blasphemy to some, but I voted Gallo as my AL OF starter along with Trout and Springer. He deserves to start and it's really not even close imo.
Not a problem with me at all. TBH, my dislike of the Rangers is NOT because they play in Dallas, but because they call themselves "Texas" and there's another team in Texas (as petty as that sounds, I hate teams claiming an entire state when they share it with another team). I voted for Hunter Pence for DH, although that's certainly going to be far more acceptable since he is after all, a (now former) Astro. He really deserved it, hats of to him for revitalizing his career. I still root for him when not against us.
Doesn't bother me one iota. In the preliminary voting, I only voted for Bregman, Chirinos, Reddick, and Brantley out of all players in both leagues. I didn't vote for every one our guys on the ballot, because half of them have been injured most of the season, so I wanted someone more deserving from another team to get the spot. Since I don't follow the rest of the league, I figured I'd just abstain entirely to let the rest of the league fans sort it out. That's basically my passive way of doing what you did by voting for Gallo, but both are in the spirit of "the most deserving players of this year ought to be there."
For all the credit Astros fans have been given (see: MLB's tweet), Indians fans played just as much, if not an even bigger role, in getting him the starting spot. He deserves it, since he played in CLE his entire career until now, but there were so many other great choices. And Indians fans came out in force for both him and Santana (also very deserving).
Well, Astros did it... 6 All-Stars for the 3rd straight season. Verlander, Cole and Pressley were all selected to the AL All-Star pitching staff.
