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The Fantasy Fix\’s All-Star Team Through One-Third of the Season

Why wait until the All-Star Game to vote? Here’s The Fantasy Fix’s picks one-third of the way through. Of course the usual big boys like Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, and Joe Mauer are there, but surprises like Alex Rios, Phil Hughes and Carlos Marmol made the list too.
Let’s see if they can keep it up til the big game…

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Catcher
Joe Mauer
25 R 2 HRS 24 RBIS 1SB .319
No surprise here. The reigning AL MVP is right on pace to put up big numbers yet again. He’s hands above the rest and should be for a few more years. It will be interesting to see if the new crop of young catchers (Buster Posey, Bryce Harper, Matt Weiters) give him a run for top spot.

First Base
Miguel Cabrera
35 R 15 HRS 49 RBIS 2SB .351
Cabrera is on pace to hit 160 rbis although his career high is 127. Cabrera is still only 27 and will undoubtedly go down as one of the games best.

Yo “B”, Don’t forget about me!
Justin Morneau
36 R 12 HRS 37 RBIS .372
.372. Say it again. Three-seventy-two! Apparently Morneau thinks he can put up Mauer numbers. Injured or not injured – Morneau is consistent. Pass the soda pop.

FYI – One month ago Konerko would have been #1. We knew it couldn’t last the whole season – three homers in May (still leading the league with 16 though). He’s putting up Bautista numbers but with half the strikeouts and a batting average 30 points higher.

Second Base
Robinson Cano
40 R 12 HRS 42 RBIS 2SB .373
Hands down the best 2B so far. Don’t let Cano’s lazy looking swing fool you, he’s clutch whether starting a rally or hitting for power. 2008’s numbers are long forgotten. Number One 2B pick next year? Utley who?

Shortstop
Derek Jeter
34 R 5 HRS 31 RBIS 5SB .303
Its amazing watching Jeter etch himself in Yankee history as one of the all-times best. He just hit his 450th double trailing only Lou Gehrig.

Third Base
Evan Longoria
36 R 10 HRS 42 RBIS 10SB .316
The heart of the Rays offense is right on pace to put up similar monster numbers just like last year. Its crazy to think he’s only in his third year and he will only get better.

Outfield
Carl Crawford
41 R 5 HRS 30 RBIS 17SB .316
He’s 3rd in runs and 4th in Stolen Bases. With the way Tampa Bay is playing this year, the stolen bases are translating into runs and it looks like he will easily surpass last years 96 and his career high of 104.

Alex Rios
33 R 11 HRS 27 RBIS 16SB .319
Just imagine for a minute that Rios stayed in Toronto this year… yeah they'd still lose the division but it would be a cool story. He's brought himself back to 2007 numbers after a let down the past two years. Another forgotten player finally making a comeback!

Vernon Wells
34 R 13 HRS 37 RBIS 2SB .306
A sleeping giant awoke in Wells this year. Like Rios, Wells has seen a major drop off from All-Star numbers since 2006. Vernon is two homers shy of what he hit all last year in 420 less at bats. Currently he has an 11 game hitting streak too.

Yo “B”, Don’t forget about me!
Jose Bautista
37 R 16 HRS 42 RBIS 3SB .247
Practically put up his best numbers of his 7 year career in a third of the season. Only thing holding him back from a top fantasy option is his ridiculously low batting average. Happy for him but still don’t see this lasting all season.

Starting Pitchers
Armando Galarraga – haha just kidding, but I feel bad for this kid, can’t we just give him the notch anyway?

Phil Hughes
7-1 64 Ks 2.53 ERA 1.05 WHIP .203 BAA
I don’t think anyone thought Hughes would be this good this year. Not the Yankees. Not even Phil Hughes. He’s been lights out in 8 of 10 starts. Being on the forever winning Yankees, I wouldn’t be surprised if Hughes gets 17+ wins this year.

Yo “B”, Don’t forget about me!
David Price
8-2 53 Ks 2.29 ERA 1.14 WHIP .216 BAA
The AL league leader in wins is finally showing why he was the number one pick of 2007. Statistically he is only lacking in Ks.

Closer
Jose Valverde
20.2 Innings 13Ks 1W 11SV  0.44ERA 0.92WHIP .134BAA
He might not be leading the AL in saves, but 1 earned run in 20 innings is unreal.
Strikeouts are low but who cares when batters are hitting .134. Whatever it takes to get it done!

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Catcher
Miguel Olivo
24 R 8 HRS 25 RBIS 4SB .316
In his 9th season Olivo is cooking with fire out in Colorado. Miguel doesn’t seem to care that he is a career sub .250 hitter. The Rockies are only 3.5 games behind the Padres and Miguel is right in the center of the action.

First Base
Albert Pujols
32 R 12 HRS 39 RBIS 5SB .318
The game's best is doing his usual…destroying those poor little leatherballs.
Even while in his mothers womb Pujols was hitting 40 homers. I know it makes no sense but neither does how good he is year in and year out.

Second Base
Martin Prado
40 R 4 HRS 27 RBIS 1SB .324
Somehow the Braves are on top in the NL East. They swept the Phillies and their leadoff hitter has a 7 game hit streak. He already has 24 multi-hit games too! He won’t get you steals but if he keeps this up he will easily surpass 100 runs.

Shortstop
Troy Tulowitzki
40 R 7 HRS 27 RBIS 3SB .308
Tulo’s finally has found his power with 6 homers in the past 13 games. Having a stronger start than number one SS, Hanley Ramirez. Proving all those doubters wrong!

Third Base
Scott Rolen
31 R 13 HRS 37 RBIS .289
So of course the top NL 3rd baseman so far is Scott Rolen. Wait, what? Somehow in his 15th season, Rolen is back to his All-Star numbers. From 1997-2004 he was one of the best, but injuries plagued him. So far he’s healthy as an ox and is putting up sick numbers for a guy who probably only has another year or two left in him. Good for you old man, you can go do Viagra commercials like Rafael Palmeiro now.

Outfield
Ryan Braun
39 R 8 HRS 33 RBIS 11 SB .317
The Home Runs aren’t there yet but he’s pretty much on pace for everything else. Plus he’s way ahead of schedule on stolen bases. 3 years of crazy strong numbers since entering the league and year 4 is right on track.

Matt Kemp
44 R 11 HRS 31 RBIS 7 SB .281
Speed. Power. The hot girlfriend. The LA lifestyle. The numbers to back it up. Nuff said.

Andre Ethier
25 R 11 HRS 38 RBIS .360
Just by looking at the numbers you wouldn’t realize that Ethier just returned from the DL after missing 2 weeks. We’ll see if he can pick up where he left off.

Yo “B”, Don’t forget about me!
Cargo and J-Hey what more can you say?
Carlos Gonzalez
34 R 7 HRS 34 RBIS 7 SB .303
Jason Heyward
29 R 10 HRS 38 RBIS 4 SB .287

Starting Pitchers
Ubaldo Jimenez
10-1 70 Ks 0.78 ERA 0.90 WHIP .172 BAA
The closest thing to a ’68 Gibson year we are going to see. In his only loss he gave up 2 hits and 1 run! No one is hotter, no one is more dominant right now.

Yo “B”, Don’t forget about me!
Roy Halladay
7-3 70 Ks 1.99 ERA 0.99 WHIP .229 BAA
Take away the two bad games and Halladay is right there up there with Jimenez. Ubaldo pitches a no-hitter and Doc one-ups him with a perfect game.

Adam Wainright
7-3 77 Ks 2.28 ERA 1.01 WHIP .215 BAA
Wainright’s insane season is getting overshadowed by Jimenez and Halladay. It feels like if you can’t throw a no-hitter, no one will pay attention to you. Is it possible he will finish with better numbers than 2009?

Closer
Carlos Marmol
25 Innings 50Ks 1W 11SV  1.44ERA 1.12WHIP .151BAA
I'm shocked to say this but Marmol has been the most dominant thus far. He's averaging 2Ks per inning!  To put that in perspective – Marmol has 3 less Ks than David Price in 50 less innings! The deciding factor was that batters are hitting 60 points lower than Broxton.

Yo “B”, Don’t forget about me!
Jonathan Broxton
24.1 Innings 35Ks 3W 13SV  1.11ERA 0.90WHIP .211BAA
Broxton is about as dominant a closer as you can get. He continues the legacy of Eric Gagne in LA and undoubtedly will have as good or better a season than 2009.

Do you think the list will stay the same by the All-Star game? Who will stay on the list and who will fall off?
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Tags: Fantasy Baseball Advice, Fantasy Baseball Blog, The Fantasy Fix, Fantasy Marx, MLB, NL, AL, All-Star game, Joe Mauer, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Morneau, Paul Konerko, Robinson Cano, Derek Jeter, Evan Longoria, Carl Crawford, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells, Jose Bautista, Armando Galarraga, Phil Hughes, David Price, Jose Valverde, Miguel Olivo, Albert Pujols, Martin Prado, Troy Tulowitzki, Scott Rolen, Ryan Braun, Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, Carlos Gonzalez, Jason Heyward, Ubaldo Jimenez, Roy Halladay, Adam Wainright, Carlos Marmol, Jonathan Broxton, Bob Gibson, Rafael Palmeiro, Hanley Ramirez, Chase Utley, Lou Gehrig, Buster Posey, Bryce Harper, Matt Weiters, Minnesota Twins, Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Florida Marlins, San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles

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