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Throughout the season, CBS Sports’ MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable that breaks down pretty much everything. Breaking news, a historical question, thoughts on the future of baseball, anything. Last week we discussed the disappointing Mets and Padres. This week we’re going to tackle the All-Star Game starters.
Who should be the starting pitchers of the All-Star Game?
RJ Andersen: As always, there are plenty of defensible combinations. My vote here means absolutely nothing, not even to myself, which is why I feel free to write that I’m a sucker for the host team’s pitcher to start the game. That means Luis Castillo for the AL. In NL I think Justin Steele or Bryce Elder are two of the most logical choices. I’m going with Steele.
Day Perry: Of course I’d pick Ohtani if I could, but his blistering issues won’t let that happen. I would also go with Kershaw in NL, but his shoulder is barking. So… My All-Star philosophy is that my selections should be a mix of established star power, or something close to it, and in-season performance. In other words, I’m not going to pick anybody who had an alien character in the first half, nor am I going to pick a future Hall of Famer who’s been garbage during the season in question. Those guidelines led me to Gerrit Cole in the AL. NL is a harder choice, but I’m leaning towards Marcus Stroman. Whatever, dude.
Matt Snyder: I think a rematch would have been pretty cool, but both Clayton Kershaw and Shane McClanahan are battling injuries. I see the case for Shohei Ohtani, of course, but he could definitely use a break and has had multiple injuries on the mound lately. Now that we’ve eliminated a few big names, let’s dive in.
On the NL side, I’m going with Marcus Stroman. He’s a bit of a bigger name than Elder and Steele and has been at the top of the NL leaderboard in terms of speed stats all season. He’s also a showman and that follows what the All-Star Game is all about. There’s the added bonus that Stroman will most likely be placed for free agency after the season, and the possibility of the Cubs finishing as sellers later in the month.
In the AL I take Gerrit Cole with me. There’s a “lifetime achievement” element to it since he never entered the All-Star Game, but he deserves it. He leads AL pitchers in Baseball-Reference’s version of WAR while leading in ERA, innings and strikeouts.
Mike Axisa: Yes, Shohei Ohtani was the first to come to my mind — the All-Star Game is a pointless exhibition, so put the game’s biggest star front and center — but that won’t happen because of his recent blister problem. I’m with RJ. I like it when the receiving team’s pitcher gets the nod, though I wouldn’t go for Castillo. George Kirby was added as a replacement earlier this week and I would like to see him start. His 86/9 K/BB is just absurd. Gerrit Cole would be my backup plan, then Joe Ryan.
As for NL, Marcus Stroman is a solid pick, plus he’s a bit of a showman who would have fun with it. I’m going for Spencer Strider anyway. He entered the game on Wednesday with 30 (!) more strikeouts than anyone else in the NL, despite only being 14th in the league in the innings. Nothing will top Pedro Martinez in the 1999 All-Star Game, but Strider against Corey Seager, Randy Arozarena and Ohtani in the first inning would be pretty electric. Those are my picks: Kirby and Strider.
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