Box-Toppers endorses fans' AL All-Star picks but rips up the NL lineup

Fans seem to be doing a good job so far of voting for an American League All-Star team that makes sense, according to Box-Toppers statistics.

But the National League team that fans are picking could use some wholesale changes to better coincide with position leaders in Box-Toppers points.

There's still time to correct those mistakes. Voting for the All-Star Game closes this week, July 4. The All-Star Game is July 16 at Citi Field in New York.

Box-Toppers stats agree (or largely agree) with eight of the nine AL position players currently leading in voting for the All-Star Game. However, Box-Toppers only agrees with two of the eight NL vote leaders. In the chart (at right), the fan vote leaders are listed, followed by their current rank by position in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season, followed by a Box-Toppers judgment of fans' selections.

Box-Toppers stats indicate the biggest snubs are:

• Paul Goldschmidt of the Diamondbacks should be top NL first baseman. He leads among NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season (8.7) and also leads his position in points over the 2012 and 2013 season (13.2). Current fan voting leader, Joey Votto of the Reds, is 14th among NL first basemen in Box-Toppers points in 2013 (1.5)  and ninth place over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons (6.7). As of June 23, Votto led in fan voting among NL first basemen with 2.7 million votes. Goldschmidt was in second place with 2.3 million.

• Carlos Gonzalez of the Rockies should be among the top NL outfielders. He leads all NL batters in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season (9.5) and also leads all NL batters in points over the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons (18.7).  Two of the current fan voting leaders for NL outfield do not rank very highly in their position in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season: Carlos Beltran of the Cardinals ranks 33rd and Justin Upton of the Braves ranks 45th. Gonzalez ranks fourth in fan voting for NL outfield with 2.1 million votes. Beltran has 3.5 million, Upton has 2.5 million and Bryce Harper of the Nationals has 2.4 million.

In the chart at right, Box-Toppers gives its judgment as either "Good" (these are the players Box-Toppers stats would deem worthy of an All-Star start), "OK" (these are not necessarily the most worthy players, but they are among Box-Toppers points leaders in that position) or "Should be's" (these are players Box-Toppers stats would deem unworthy of the honor and suggesting a substitute who is leading or is among the leaders in Box-Toppers points).

In the American League, Box-Toppers suggests only one substitute: Adam Jones of the Orioles, vote leader among AL outfielders should be replaced with Yoenis Cespedes of the Athletics. Jones ranks 19th among AL outfielders in Box-Toppers points for 2013 while Cespedes is the leader. 

In the National League, Box-Toppers can only endorse two of the fans' selections: Brandon Phillips of the Reds at second base and Bryce Harper of the Nationals in the outfield.

Here are AL All-Star voting leaders as of June 23

Here are NL All-Star voting leaders as of June 23

The chart below shows Box-Toppers points leaders by position so far through the 2013 season. The columns to the right look at players over the longer run, seeing who is leading in Box-Toppers points for the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. 

The chart also includes Box-Toppers points leaders among starting, middle relief and closing pitchers, even though fans don't get to vote on those. 

Here is how the Box-Toppers All-Star teams stand as of today:  

 

Box-Toppers all-stars graphic.png
ALL-STAR VOTE LEADERS  
 AL PLAYERSTEAMRANK BY POS.BOX-TOPPERS JUDGMENT
1BChris Davisbal al1Good
2BRobinson Canonyy al1Good
SSJ.J. Hardybal al3Good
3BMiguel Cabreradet al1Good
CAJoe Mauermin al2Good
OFAdam Jonesbal al19Should be Yoenis Cespedes, OAK
OFMike Troutana al5Good
OFNick Markakisbal al6OK
DHDavid Ortizbos al3OK
     
 NL PLAYERSTEAMRANK BY POS.BOX-TOPPERS JUDGMENT
1BJoey Vottocin nl14Should be Paul Goldschmidt, ARI
2BBrandon Phillipscin nl1Good
SSTroy Tulowitzkicol nl5OK, but should be Everth Cabrera, SD
3BDavid Wrightnym nl12Should be Pedro Alvarez, PIT
CAYadier Molinastl nl8Should be Brian McCann, ATL
OFCarlos Beltranstl nl33Should be Carlos Gonzalez, COL
OFJustin Uptonatl nl45Should be Matt Holliday, STL
OFBryce Harperdc nl2Good

RANK BY POS: Where the player ranks by fielding position in Box-Toppers points for the 2013 season. 

2013 SEASON   2012-13 SEASONS  
ALPLAYERTEAMBTP PLAYERTEAMBTP
First baseDavis, Chris 2478bal al6 Davis, Chris 2478bal al18
Second baseCano, Robinson 2092nyy al4.5 Kipnis, Jason 2933cle al9.5
ShortstopDrew, Stephen 2210bos al4.5 Hardy, J.J. 2071bal al10.2
Third baseCabrera, Miguel 1776det al10.7 Cabrera, Miguel 1776det al22.4
CatcherArencibia, J.P. 2781tor al5.5 Mauer, Joe 1869min al14
Outfield 1Cespedes, Yoenis 3008oak al4.5 Trout, Mike 2949ana al14.5
Outfield 2Johnson, Kelly 2018tb al4.5 Hamilton, Josh 2332ana al11.5
Outfield 3Nava, Daniel 2740bos al4.5 Cespedes, Yoenis 3008oak al10.5
Designated hitterEncarnacion, Edwin 2098tor al5.7 Butler, Billy 2330kc al15.2
Starting pitcher 1Masterson, Justin 2462cle al11.7 Verlander, Justin 2112det al30.8
Starting pitcher 2Sale, Chris 2806chi al10.7 Hernandez, Felix 2064sea al27.4
Starting pitcher 3Buchholz, Clay 2363bos al10.1 Sale, Chris 2806chi al26.4
Starting pitcher 4Iwakuma, Hisashi 3048sea al9.7 Darvish, Yu 3003tex al25.8
Middle relieverTazawa, Junichi 3151bos al4 Chen, Bruce 1170kc al8
Closing pitcherPerkins, Glen 2506min al6 Rodney, Fernando 1803tb al11
NL       
First baseGoldschmidt, Paul 2935ari nl8.7 Goldschmidt, Paul 2935ari nl13.2
Second basePhillips, Brandon 1691cin nl5 Phillips, Brandon 1691cin nl14.5
ShortstopCabrera, Everth 2625sd nl4.5 Cabrera, Everth 2625sd nl7.5
Third baseAlvarez, Pedro 2817pit nl5.2 Freese, David 2710stl nl14.2
CatcherMcCann, Brian 2179atl nl6 McCann, Brian 2179atl nl12
Outfield 1Gonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl9.5 Gonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl18.7
Outfield 2Harper, Bryce 3011dc nl5.9 Braun, Ryan J. 2300mil nl16
Outfield 3Pollock, A.J. 3142ari nl4.7 Holliday, Matt 1836stl nl15.7
Starting pitcher 1Corbin, Patrick 3027ari nl11.4 Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl31.5
Starting pitcher 2Miller, Shelby 3134stl nl11.4 Lynn, Lance 2992stl nl27.1
Starting pitcher 3Harvey, Matt 3075nym nl11 Bumgarner, Madison 2753sf nl25.4
Starting pitcher 4Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl10.7 Strasburg, Stephen 2736dc nl25.4
Middle relieverCollmenter, Josh 2863ari nl5 Collmenter, Josh 2863ari nl7
Closing pitcherChapman, Aroldis 2826cin nl6 Chapman, Aroldis 2826cin nl20
AL top pitcherMasterson, Justin 2462cle al11.7 Verlander, Justin 2112det al30.8
AL top batterCabrera, Miguel 1776det al10.7 Cabrera, Miguel 1776det al22.4
NL top pitcherCorbin, Patrick 3027ari nl11.4 Kershaw, Clayton 2494lad nl31.5
NL top batterGonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl9.5 Gonzalez, Carlos 2460col nl18.7