Who Would You Have on your AL Central All-Star Team?

[Hunter McCall]

The AL Central is considered one of the weaker divisions in Major League Baseball, but that doesn't mean the division lacks top-end talent.

Image courtesy of © Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

 

Heading into spring training, I put together an all-star team comprised of the best players at each position in the AL Central. Here's what I came up with.

Catcher
Winner: Christian Vazquez MIN
This position was a fun one to compare. With Yasmani Grandal, Salvador Perez, and newcomers Christian Vazquez and Mike Zunino, it was tough to pick the best overall catcher out of the bunch. Vazquez got the edge over the rest because of his defensive ability.

In 2022, Vazquez was among the league's best defensive players, accounting for 11 DRS. In comparison, Grandal had -5, Perez -4, and Zunino -2. At the plate, Grandal and Zunino are coming off down years, so it is hard to call either the best at the position. As for Perez… read on.

First Base
Winner: Josh Naylor CLE
First base is arguably the worst overall position in the AL Central. The position is chock-full with youngsters like Alex Kirilloff, Spencer Torkelson, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Andrew Vaughn, who could be excellent baseball players in the future. However, after a 20-home run season in which he produced 1.8 WAR, the 25-year-old Naylor gets the edge over the rest of the field in 2023.

Second Base
Winner: Andres Gimenez CLE
What a year it was for Andres Gimenez. 7.6 WAR and sixth in the MVP voting. Gimenez made significant strides in his game last year and cemented himself as one of the best second basemen in MLB. Jorge Polanco is the only other noteworthy second baseman in the division. While he is probably a top 10-second baseman in the MLB, he is still notably behind the skillset of Gimenez.

Shortstop
Winner: Carlos Correa MIN
The new $200M man put together another stellar season in 2022, earning himself a hefty contract extension that could span the rest of his career. MLB Network ranked Correa as the second-best shortstop in all the MLB, right behind the Phillies' new addition Trea Turner. Bobby Witt Jr.'s future is bright, but for the moment, the best shortstop in the Central award belongs to Correa.

Third Base
Winner: Jose Ramirez CLE
Third base was the biggest no-brainer of all. Jose Ramirez is among the best players in the league and has been providing top-level talent for Cleveland since 2016. There are some talented third basemen in the Central, but none were even close to Ramirez, a perennial MVP candidate.

Left Field
Winner: Steven Kwan CLE
Steven Kwan had an excellent rookie campaign for the Guardians, producing 5.5 WAR, finishing third in the AL Rookie of the Year race, and winning a Gold Glove. Kwan was a contact machine, drawing two more walks than strikeouts. Andrew Benintendi comes in second place here as the only other noteworthy left fielder.

Center Field
Winner: Byron Buxton MIN
Buxton is one of the best baseball players on the planet when healthy. He has every tool one could hope for in a star player. The only problem is Buxton has had a hell of a time staying healthy. Since he became an everyday player in the MLB in 2016, Buxton has played more than 92 games only once. Despite the minimal playing time, Buxton still has put up better numbers than the rest of the division and was ranked the second-best center fielder by MLB Network. If Buxton was to play 130 games, he could push for an MVP award.

Right Field
Winner: Max Kepler MIN
Right field is another relatively weak position. Kepler gets the edge here over the field. An elite-level defender, who has shown flashes with the bat, Kepler produced 2.1 WAR in what was considered a down year in 2022. Kepler is also a candidate for positive regression at the plate in 2023 with the banning of the shift.

Designated Hitter
Winner: Salvador Perez KC
While Perez doesn't have it defensively behind the plate, he can still swing the bat with the best of them. Perez hit 48 home runs in 2021, and while injuries limited his production in 2022, he still produced 23 home runs, 76 RBIs, and 2.7 WAR.

Starting Pitcher
Winner: Dylan Cease CHW
One could argue for Shane Bieber, but Cease was undoubtedly better in 2022. Cease was unstoppable, producing 6.4 WAR, second in the Cy Young voting, and 22nd in the AL MVP race. Just entering his prime, Cease should only get better in the coming years and terrorize the division for years.

Relief Pitcher
Winner: Emmanuel Clase CLE
Emmanuel Clase is nightmare fuel for opposing hitters. Clase wrapped up 2022 to the tune of 42 saves, a 1.36 ERA, and 2.8 WAR. He was voted MLB Networks' best relief pitcher, so it was hard not to choose him as the best relief pitcher in the AL Central. However, I should also mention another relief pitcher who produced 2.8 WAR in 2022 and has similarly nasty stuff. Jhoan Duran put together quite the rookie year for the Twins and should continue to thrive in his role in the back end of the bullpen.

Totals
CLE: 5 
MIN: 4
CHW: 1
KC: 1
DET: 0

Debate on! Where do you agree? Where do you disagree? Let me know in the comments!

 

 

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[MMMordabito]

Good objective list.  It should be interesting to see who keeps their spot and who gets knocked out in 2023.  Who would be your top 5 starters and top 3 relievers?

Also, inb4 "How is Kepler on here?"

[IndianaTwin]

It seems to me that either…

a) the AL Central is really bad in RF; or

b) maybe we shouldn’t be clamoring so much to trade Kepler.

[jrod23]

Oscar Gonzalez is another guy with very little prospect love, but translated well to the bigs.  He deserves an honorable mention.

[Hunter McCall]

39 minutes ago, MMMordabito said:

Good objective list.  It should be interesting to see who keeps their spot and who gets knocked out in 2023.  Who would be your top 5 starters and top 3 relievers?

Also, inb4 "How is Kepler on here?"

Great question! My top 5 starters would be:

1. Dylan Cease

2. Shane Bieber

3. Triston McKenzie

4. Pablo Lopez

5. Lucas Giolito

Top 3 relievers:

1. Emmanuel Clase

2. Jhoan Duran

3. Liam Hendricks

As far as Max Kepler, it may not always look pretty, but he positively contributes to the Twins. He also benefits in this exercise from a very weak right field group.

[Hunter McCall]

34 minutes ago, IndianaTwin said:

It seems to me that either…

a) the AL Central is really bad in RF; or

b) maybe we shouldn’t be clamoring so much to trade Kepler.

Both are true in my opinion! Good thought!

[Hunter McCall]

22 minutes ago, jrod23 said:

Oscar Gonzalez is another guy with very little prospect love, but translated well to the bigs.  He deserves an honorable mention.

Agreed, probably could’ve mentioned Gonzalez at the right field position!

[Doctor Gast]

6 hours ago, Hunter McCall said:

Great question! My top 5 starters would be:

1. Dylan Cease

2. Shane Bieber

3. Triston McKenzie

4. Pablo Lopez

5. Lucas Giolito

Top 3 relievers:

1. Emmanuel Clase

2. Jhoan Duran

3. Liam Hendricks

As far as Max Kepler, it may not always look pretty, but he positively contributes to the Twins. He also benefits in this exercise from a very weak right field group.

Pretty right on, that'll reflect the strength of the teams. The division championship could go go either way between MN & CLE. But my money is on MN.

[Hunter McCall]

1 hour ago, Doctor Gast said:

Pretty right on, that'll reflect the strength of the teams. The division championship could go go either way between MN & CLE. But my money is on MN.

As is mine. I think the Twins have a lot of players who will experience positive regression from last season, especially in the games played category. I’m not sure all the Guardian players will put up the same numbers. I think they have some really good players, but I think some of them come back to Earth a bit.

The Twins also have the more aggressive front office who have shown to be willing to put their chips in the middle of the table at the deadline just as they have this offseason.

[TwinsDr2021]

Hard to argue with any of those besides catcher, I am taking Perez for sure. What is really shows is how terrible the division is and how the bad where the Twins the last two years.

 

[Riverbrian]

I'll take Austin Meadows in RF. 

I'd let Perez qualify for catcher and be the catcher. 

DH if you must... I'd be looking at Eloy. 

The rest looks right in my opinion. 

[Hunter McCall]

17 minutes ago, TwinsDr2021 said:

Hard to argue with any of those besides catcher, I am taking Perez for sure. What is really shows is how terrible the division is and how the bad where the Twins the last two years.

 

As I mentioned, Vazquez is an above-average hitting catcher and one of the best fielding catchers in the league. Perez is a better hitter, but he’s known for being a defensive liability, which is why I gave the edge to Vazquez there and called Perez the best DH in the division. That was certainly the most debatable position in the division in my opinion! There’s four guys with a pretty good track record there!

[Hunter McCall]

21 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I'll take Austin Meadows in RF. 

I'd let Perez qualify for catcher and be the catcher. 

DH if you must... I'd be looking at Eloy. 

The rest looks right in my opinion. 

You could make a valid argument for all of these!

[mikelink45]

At catcher Perez by a mile - are we showing home town bias before he even plays a game in the central when Vasquez is chosen?  Perez has been the most dependable player on the KC team.  But I hope you are right - we could use a good catcher again.

Schoop does not rate in the top two, but he has put together a good career for Detroit and would be my third 2B.

I am leaning to Luis Robert's in CF in a tie with Buxton.

Austin Meadows over Kepler in RF

Josh Bell at DH

I give Detroit their only player on the list and the Twins are down one.  

[Hunter McCall]

25 minutes ago, mikelink45 said:

At catcher Perez by a mile - are we showing home town bias before he even plays a game in the central when Vasquez is chosen?  Perez has been the most dependable player on the KC team.  But I hope you are right - we could use a good catcher again.

Schoop does not rate in the top two, but he has put together a good career for Detroit and would be my third 2B.

I am leaning to Luis Robert's in CF in a tie with Buxton.

Austin Meadows over Kepler in RF

Josh Bell at DH

I give Detroit their only player on the list and the Twins are down one.  

As stated, I chose Vazquez because Perez has been a notoriously bad fielder. Vazquez had 11 defensive runs saved last year, which ranked him 28th in the league amongst all defensive players and 4th amongst catchers. Perez has a great bat, which is why I chose to put him in the DH category.  I considered Meadows at RF, but he only played 36 games in 2022. I considered Josh Bell as well but I left him out. I probably could have given him the nod over Naylor at 1B but I chose to ride the momentum of Naylor.

As for Robert, I don't think there is a realistic argument to be made to consider him anywhere near Buxton. He has been almost more injury prone than Buxton and far less productive. He's a great player, and in my mind he finishes second at center field on this list, but Buxton is just on another level.

Great arguments to be made though! I appreciate the feedback!

[miracleb]

About a week ago I talked about the top three pitchers on Cleveland being tough to beat.  Several Cleveland players on this all-star list as well.  Maybe they DIDN'T do it with mirrors last year.........and this year will be tough to beat again!

[LastOnePicked]

42 minutes ago, miracleb said:

Maybe they DIDN'T do it with mirrors last year.........and this year will be tough to beat again!

Correct, they didn't. They're legitimate. The Twins had a splashy offseason and start 2022 with an injury-prone roster of veterans. The Guardians have a top-notch manager and an exciting and talented young roster. By July, it won't even be close. It's fun to see Twins fans all hyped up, but rebuilding would have been much wiser.

[Hunter McCall]

1 minute ago, LastOnePicked said:

Correct, they didn't. They're legitimate. The Twins had a splashy offseason and start 2022 with an injury-prone roster of veterans. The Guardians have a top-notch manager and an exciting and talented young roster. By July, it won't even be close. It's fun to see Twins fans all hyped up, but rebuilding would have been much wiser.

The Guardians are good, but I couldn't disagree more with this take. The front office decided to invest in top-end talent to accompany the up-and-coming young talent they have in the majors and set to hit the majors in the next couple years. Burning it down would've been a waste of a pretty talented roster. The Twins have locked up their two superstars for at least the next six years and have plenty more talent close to the majors. I will continue to take the optimistic route and choose to believe in the team I love and respect what the front office is trying to do.

[Minny505]

MJ Melendez needs a spot on this team. The dude is a masher.

I'll take him at DH over Perez. I'd consider him a push in RF or C, despite the rough .

Yet, he isn't mentioned anywhere.

And Vaughan is a better choice at 1B. Naylor is worse than Kepler vs LHP. That's an impressive feat. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Javy Baez at every position because good lord that would be entertaining.

[ddubbl1]

You nailed it, but I might have Gallo in right over Kepler for his arm. Cool idea for an article/ question.

[Hunter McCall]

33 minutes ago, Minny505 said:

MJ Melendez needs a spot on this team. The dude is a masher.

I'll take him at DH over Perez. I'd consider him a push in RF or C, despite the rough .

Yet, he isn't mentioned anywhere.

And Vaughan is a better choice at 1B. Naylor is worse than Kepler vs LHP. That's an impressive feat. 

MJ Melendez had a .217 BA, .706 OPS, and only produced 0.5 WAR in 2022. He's okay, but not good enough to earn a spot on this list, or even be mentioned in my opinion.

As far as Andre Vaughn, he had a -0.2 WAR last year. If you can't help your team win, there's no spot for you on an all-star team. I think Vaughn will be a very good player in the future, but he isn't there right now. 

I appreciate the comment! This is just how I see it, and my justification for leaving those players off.

[Hunter McCall]

Just now, ddubbl1 said:

You nailed it, but I might have Gallo in right over Kepler for his arm. Cool idea for an article/ question.

Thank you very much! I thought about having Gallo in right, but decided to leave Kepler there for the moment until the Twins decide otherwise. I think there is a very real possibility the Twins do switch the two though! I appreciate the comment!

[Dave The Dastardly]

Gotta agree with your list. Though I'd go with Shane Bieber over Dylan; though Dylan will probably never Cease to amaze me.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Hunter McCall]

1 hour ago, Dave The Dastardly said:

Gotta agree with your list. Though I'd go with Shane Bieber over Dylan; though Dylan will probably never Cease to amaze me.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

I appreciate the comment! That one was very close too! Couldn’t go wrong with either guy! Love the pun as well😂

[Minny505]

5 hours ago, Hunter McCall said:

MJ Melendez had a .217 BA, .706 OPS, and only produced 0.5 WAR in 2022. He's okay, but not good enough to earn a spot on this list, or even be mentioned in my opinion.

As far as Andre Vaughn, he had a -0.2 WAR last year. If you can't help your team win, there's no spot for you on an all-star team. I think Vaughn will be a very good player in the future, but he isn't there right now. 

I appreciate the comment! This is just how I see it, and my justification for leaving those players off.

I guess I don't understand the exercise then🤷‍♂️

[Hunter McCall]

20 minutes ago, Minny505 said:

I guess I don't understand the exercise then🤷‍♂️

Not saying you’re wrong, just informing why I personally didn’t include them!

[dxpavelka]

On 2/9/2023 at 8:03 PM, IndianaTwin said:

It seems to me that either…

a) the AL Central is really bad in RF; or

b) maybe we shouldn’t be clamoring so much to trade Kepler.

I'll give you A but will lean towards B.

[IndianaTwin]

11 hours ago, dxpavelka said:

I'll give you A but will lean towards B.

I think the answer is probably c) both of these. 

[Melissa]

Fun topic and savvy analysis - thanks, Hunter! If you (and I) do have a home team bias, maybe that just balances out the not infrequent commentary that suggests other people have a built-in pessimistic take on the Twins and their management?