BBA: 2011 All-Star Selections

The Baseball Bloggers Association annually select their own All-Stars. They've been popping up all over the internet the last couple of weeks. Here are links to a couple of fantasy blogs and my own picks.

Dear Mr. Fantasy - National League

Dear Mr. Fantasy - American League

Colorado Springs Fantasy Baseball Addict

Bleacher GM

American League

Catcher - Alex Avila - This season has been great so far, but I think 2012 will be the real breakout.

First Base - Adrian Gonzalez - The best player in baseball this season, an almost certain MVP.

Second Base - Robinson Cano - Dustin Pedroia may be the slightly better player this year, but not for fantasy purposes, in most leagues anyway.

Shortstop - Asdrubal Cabrera - I was starting to think. he'd never get it together but he certainly has this season.

Third Base - Alex Rodriguez - He's back! The four stolen bases give him a slight edge over Adrian Beltre.

Left Field - Alex Gordon - Finally! How much did you pay for him? Did you just pick him up on waivers? You lucky dog!

Center Field - Curtis Granderson - The batting average isn't great, but this season, fantasy owners have nothing to complain about when it comes to the Yankees center fielder.

Right Field - Jose Bautista - He's faded from his incredible start to the season (how could he not?) but is still the most valuable keeper in most AL-only leagues.

Designated Hitter - David Ortiz - Victor Martinez has had quite a season but he just doesn't have the oomf that Ortiz provides. What's oomf? Homeruns, baby.

The Fantasy League All-Star Teams

As I was putting this together I began to wonder. Do fantasy owners get anything out of their players being voted to All-Star teams? I have to admit I get a sort of cheap thrill from it. It feels like a mild validation, especially when the younger guys on my keeper league teams are voted in. I would love to hear your opinions on this in the comments section below.

The criteria I used to put these together involved more than just a list of the best players. It also considered the players that came at a discount or seemed to arise out of nowhere to have great value in the first half. Let me know if you agree with my choices or if you think I'm a blithering idiot.

American League Fantasy All-Stars

C Victor Martinez, Boston Red Sox
C John Jaso, Tampa Bay Rays

1B Justin Mourneau, Minnesota Twins
3B Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox
CR Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers

2B Robinson Cano, New York Yankees
SS Elvis Andrus, Texas Rangers
MI Mike Aviles, Kansas City Royals

OF Josh Hamilton, Texas Rangers
OF Carl Crawford, Tampa Bay Rays
OF Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers
OF Brennan Boesch, Detroit Tigers
OF Brett Gardner, New York Yankees

DH Vladimir Guerrero, Texas Rangers

SP Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners
SP Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins
SP Jered Weaver, Los Angeles Angels
SP David Price, Tampa Bay Rays
SP Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers

P Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays
P Joaquin Benoit, Tampa Bay Rays

RP Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers
RP Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals

National League Fantasy All-Stars

C Geovanny Sota, Chicago Cubs
C Miguel Olivo, Colorado Rockies

1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds
3B Scott Rolen, Cincinnati Reds
CR Aubrey Huff, San Francisco Giants

2B Kelly Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks
SS Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles Dodgers
MI Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins

OF Josh Willingham, Washington Nationals
OF Andre Ethier, Los Angeles Dodgers
OF Colby Rasmus, St. Louis Cardinals
OF Corey Hart, Milwaukee Brewers
OF Andrew McCutchen, Pittsburgh Pirates

UTL David Wright, New York Mets

SP Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
SP Roy Halladay, Philadelphia Phillies
SP Yovani Gallardo, Milwaukee Brewers
SP Ubaldo Jimenez, Colorado Rockies
SP Jaime Garcia, St. Louis Cardinals

P Carlos Marmol, Chicago Cubs
P Sean Marshall, Chicago Cubs

RP Heath Bell, San Diego Padres
RP Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers

Time for you to Chime In
Who are your all-stars? Who has been essential to your fantasy team that isn't listed above. Are All-Star posts useless on Fantasy Sites? I wanna hear it from you in the comment section.

The 2009 First Half Fantasy Baseball All-Stars

There are just two weeks left to vote for your MLB All-Stars. I tend to pick my favorite fantasy players on my All-Star ballots, which is usually a pretty good indicator that they deserve a spot. If this were my fantasy team it would probably be a little short on stolen bases. But then it would win every other category running away...

Catchers

Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins

Honorable Mention: Pablo Sandoval, Brian McCann

Corner Infielders

1B - Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
3B - Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
CI - Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

Honorable Mention: Adrian Gonzalez, Mark Teixeira, Joey Votto, Prince Fielder

Middle Infielders

2B - Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
SS - Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays
MI - Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers

Honorable Mention: Ben Zobrist, Aaron Hill

Outfielders

OF - Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies
OF - Brad Hawpe, Colorado Rockies
OF - Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels
OF - Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
OF - Nelson Cruz, Texas Rangers

Honorable Mention: Adam Jones, Adam Lind, Jason Bay, Johnny Damon

Pitching Staff

Rotation:

1. Zack Greinke, Kansas City Royals
2. Josh Johnson, Florida Marlins
3. Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays
4. Tim Lincecum, San Francisco Giants
5. Felix Hernandez, Seattle Mariners

Bullpen:

1. Heath Bell, San Diego Padres
2. Francisco Rodriguez, New York Mets
3. Ryan Franklin, St. Louis Cardinals
4. Jonathan Broxton, Los Angeles Dodgers

So these are my choices for Fantasy Baseball's All-Star's. Who are your All-Stars?