Winners of three straight games in the annual event, the American League All-Stars look for their fourth straight win the MLB All-Star Game, as they challenge the National League’s best at San Diego’s Petco Park on Tuesday, July 12th.

A.L. All-Stars: David Ortiz and Mike Trout lead the charge

Having won three straight All-Star games, the American League brings a star-studded lineup to the table, highlighted by the two-time MVP Mike Trout and David Ortiz, the retiring 40-year old playing like he’s 25. However, they are just two of the nine fan-voted starters, put together in this starting lineup by manager Ned Yost.

1. 2B Jose Altuve, Astros

2. CF Mike Trout, Angels

3. 3B Manny Machado, Orioles

4. DH David Ortiz, Red Sox

5. SS Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox

6. 1B Eric Hosmer, Royals

7. RF Mookie Betts, Red Sox

8. C Salvador Perez, Royals

9. LF Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox

LHP Chris Sale, White Sox

Altuve makes his fourth appearance in the All-Star Game and will serve as the leadoff hitter for the lineup. He is certainly a solid choice to head the order for Yost, as he enters with a .341 batting average and a .417 on-base percentage. He is both a power and speed threat and could electrify the crowd in San Diego.

Mike Trout has been a staple in the A.L. lineup recently, having made an appearance in this event every year since his rookie campaign in 2012. He won the MVP award at this game the past two years. Last year, he led off the game with a home run off of Zack Greinke. His eighteen home runs and fifteen stolen bases make him a viable two-way threat. He also is hitting .322 with a .425 on-base percentage. With the way he is playing, there is no reason to think he wouldn’t collect a third straight MVP award.

Manny Machado has the tough task of following Trout in the lineup, the but the rising Orioles’ star is more than up to the task. Though he has been playing shortstop for Baltimore recently, he will get the start at the hot corner for the A.L. He makes his third All-Star game appearance in 2016, which has been his best season in his young career. Although not much of a threat on the basepaths, Machado has mashed 19 home runs to go with a ..318 batting average. A two-time Gold Glove winner at third base, Machado could provide some dazzling highlights over at third base as well.

David Ortiz appropriately bats cleanup in his final All-Star game. The slugger, on his way to a retirement, is not in this lineup as a gift for his final year. Ortiz has slugged his way to 22 home runs, 34 doubles, a .332 batting average and .426 OBP. Because, that’s what every 40-year old does. He’ll likely get a couple of at bats in his 10th All-Star appearance, but his first since 2013.

Ortiz’s teammate, Xander Bogaerts, normally precedes the designated hitter in the lineup, when the duo play together for the Red Sox, but in this game, Bogaerts slides down to the fifth spot where he follows up Ortiz in the lineup. In his inaugural All-Star appearance, Bogaerts hits more for average than power, but his home run number (10 over 85 games) has improved from last year’s mark of seven. He has also hit at a torrid clip, booming his way to a .329 batting average, nine points higher than last year.

Eric Hosmer snagged the first-base start for the American League and will bat sixth. Some might have thought he and Bogaerts should have flip-flopped in the order, as Hosmer has hit 13 home runs this season, but Yost, manager of Hosmer on the Royals, must have liked Bogaerts’ average, which sits 30 points higher than Hosmer’s .299 average. So Hosmer will bat sixth instead, the first hitter in this lineup that enters with an average of under .300. A three-time Gold Glove winner, Hosmer will display his talents both defensively and offensively in his first All-Star game appearance. He is mostly a power threat, but he does occasionally pick his moments to swipe a few bags, averaging eleven steals per year in his career.

A leadoff hitter for the Red Sox, dazzling young star Mookie Betts bats seventh for the American League, a testament to the strength of this lineup. He offers more power than a traditional leadoff hitter, with 18 dingers on the year, paired with an impressive .304 batting average. Betts has appeared in every single Sox game this season, making his numbers that much more impressive. He will roam right field for the American League, where he has played flawless defense for Boston.

Kansas City Royals’ Catcher Salvador Perez has again proved himself to be one of the best catchers in the league, earning another All-Star game appearance, his fourth straight. He has won three Gold Gloves behind the plate while doing more than holding his own at it. Hitting .283, Perez has also hit 14 home runs, making himself a viable offensive threat. Given his defensive prowess, this has been more than enough to warrant a fourth straight selection to the All-Star Game.

Surrendering the center field slot to Mike Trout, Boston Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. slides over to left field, where he makes his first All-Star game appearance. He plays Gold Glove-worthy defense in the outfield, continuously amazing with dazzling catches that amaze the Fenway Faithful. And, at long last, his bat has become a respectable weapon, allowing him to stay in the starting lineup. A torrid start to the season had Bradley batting over .340, although very few expected him to maintain that clip. He has cooled off, but still hitting at a respectable .296 clip, paired with 14 home runs and 7 stolen bases. He doesn’t steal often, but he rarely gets caught when he does, having only been nabbed once in his career while trying to swipe a base.

And finally, starting on the mound for the American League All-Stars will be southpaw Chris Sale. There had been discussion about whether Sale, who had scuffled in his previous start, would indeed get the nod. But, particularly after the injury to Danny Salazar, Sale was deemed the best option by Yost. With 14 wins already, he is well on his way to besting his career high of 17 wins in a season, pairing that impressive number with a 3.38 ERA.

That might seem a little high for the five-time All-Star, especially given he is starting. However, Yost had very few options other than Sale and Red Sox knuckleballer Steven Wright. Wright leads the league in ERA, but he has struggled in his last three starts, which made Yost more inclined to give Sale the ball. Sale does have a minuscule 1.04 WHIP, which helped make his case as the starter in this game.

N.L. All-Stars: Plethora of Cubs attempt to push N.L. to first victory in four years.

In his All-Star game managerial debut, New York Mets’ skipper Terry Collins was given a starting nine chock-full of Chicago Cubs’ players, courtesy of the fan base in the Windy City. He initially had to pencil five Chicago starters into the lineup, but the Cubs’ outfielder Dexter Fowler suffered an injury that forced his withdrawal from the game. So with four Cubs to fit into the lineup, plus five other players and a pitcher, Collins pieced together this lineup.

1. 2B Ben Zobrist, Cubs

2. RF Bryce Harper, Nationals

3. 3B Kris Bryant, Cubs

4. DH Wil Myers, Padres

5. C Buster Posey, Giants

6. 1B Anthony Rizzo, Cubs

7. CF Marcell Ozuna, Marlins

8. LF Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies

9. SS Addison Russell, Cubs

RHP Johnny Cueto, Giants

Chicago’s Zobrist, who many considered a surprise starter on the All-Star squad, will likely be considered a surprise at the top of this lineup as well. Whereas the A.L. lineup will begin their offensive attack with five straight .300+ hitters, the N.L. leads off with Zobrist, who enters hitting at a .283 clip. With slightly above average power this season (13 home runs), and not a ton of speed (4 stolen bases), Zobrist is certainly an interesting pick to head this N.L. lineup. We’ll see what the versatile three-time All-Star can do, given the honor of leading off for his team in the All-Star Game.

Harper, like Trout, has been a near-certainty to represent his Nationals’ squad in the All-Star Game. Harper has made the team in four of his five years in the MLB. Last year’s MVP winner enters hitting just .256, making some people wonder if it was just his name that got him into the All-Star game this year. However, Harper does boast 19 home runs and 13 stolen bases, making him a solid two-way threat. However, given his average, it’s another interesting pick by Collins, slotting Harper near the top of this lineup.

Another Cub, Kris Bryant makes a well-deserved second All-Star Game appearance in as many chances. Last year’s Rookie of the Year winner holds down the third spot in the lineup, and he will be a threat to go deep off of any pitcher at any time. If Zobrist or Harper get on in the first inning, Bryant, owner of 25 dingers this season, could put multiple runs up on the scoreboard right away. He is also hitting .286, the best average of any of the first three batters in this lineup.

Wil Myers, the Padres’ first baseman, will not have to worry about defense in this game, as he slides into the designated hitter role. He also enters hitting .286, but with 19 home runs. He’s a bit speedier than your average cleanup hitter, having swiped fifteen bases this season, only getting caught three times. He’s an electric player that will be fun to watch in his All-Star Game debut.

Buster Posey provides more offense than your average catcher, earning him a well-deserved spot in the All-Star Game starting lineup. Posey and Yadier Molina normally battle for the starting spot, but Posey has been far and away the best catcher in the National League this year, spurring the Giants’ to the N.L. West lead. He enters hitting .292 with eleven home runs and five stolen bases. The former MVP winner makes his fourth appearance in the All-Star Game.

Anthony Rizzo is the third Chicago starter to be slotted into the starting lineup by Collins, as he gets the nod at first base. He has been a spark all year for the Cubs, and really unarguably the best first baseman in the league. He enters hitting at a .299 clip, paired with 21 home runs this season. Some people might have wanted Rizzo hitting higher than sixth, as he boasts similar statistics to his teammate Bryant, but Collins has decided the sixth spot is best for Rizzo, who makes his third straight All-Star appearance.

Marcell  Ozuna replaces Dexter Fowler in the lineup, representing the Marlins’ in this game. It’s strange that Ozuna, hitting .307 this year, wasn’t an original starter. It’s also strange that Collins has dropped him to seventh in the order when he boasts a spectacular average to go along with 17 dingers. He’ll start in center field in his All-Star game debut.

Coming off a disappointing showing in the Home Run Derby, Carlos Gonzalez looks to rebound in the All-Star Game, where he has been surprisingly shoved into the eighth slot in Collins’ order. Gonzalez is hitting at a torrid pace, ripping the cover off the ball on his way to a .318 average and nineteen long balls. He almost certainly should be starting higher in this lineup, but instead, the three-time All-Star will look spark the National League from near the bottom of the lineup.

Chicago’s fourth starter is Addison Russell. Russell is a result of the fan vote, as there is virtually no reason he should even be in the All-Star game, let alone start the event at shortstop. Russell has hit just eleven home runs while hitting a meek .237, easily the worst mark of any starter on either side. He doesn’t feature a ton of speed, with just two stolen bases, and he hasn’t jumped off the pages with any statistic this season. However, forced to put Russell in the lineup somewhere, Collins dropped Russell to the #9 spot.

The one starter Collins did get to choose was his starting pitcher, and he chose Johnny Cueto, the Giants’ hurler. Boasting a 13-1 record, Cueto has been rather dominant this year, his ERA a sparkling 2.47 mark. He boasts a 1.00 WHIP, a sparkling mark even in the pitcher-heavy National League. With two complete game shutouts under his belt, plus opponents hitting just .224 against him, Cueto will be a tough matchup for the American League lineup.

Johnny Cueto and Chris Sale, the MLB's two winningest pitchers, get the nod on the bump for their squads. Photo: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Prediction

This writer picks the American League to win their fourth straight All-Star Game for several reasons. They have a better lineup, with seven hitters batting over .300. Terry Collins was given two starters hitting over .300 in the National League, and he dropped them to seventh and eighth in the order which makes very little sense. He also has to deal with the result of a fan vote that has given him a .237 hitter in his lineup. The N.L. lineup is a little too inconsistent to deal with Chris Sale. And while Cueto is very good, the American League boasts a deep lineup with plenty of depth coming off the bench. Home run leader Mark Trumbo will enter the game after the starters depart, joined by the likes of Josh Donaldson, Robinson Cano, Francisco Lindor, and Miguel Cabrera. 

The N.L., lacking star pitchers Clayton Kershaw, Madison Bumgarner, and Stephen Strasburg, don't have enough of the high-quality pitching they are known for to stave off this attack. And their offense doesn't have the firepower that the American League has. They are given a tough task of dealing with Sale, a knuckleballer, probably Cole Hamels, and then a host of elite relievers that Yost has at his fingertips. 

Pick: American League 7 National League 3

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