American League
Catcher — Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
Mauer's numbers (34 R, 5 HR, 30 RBI, 6 SB, .386 avg) don't compare well to Ramon Hernandez of Baltimore and Victor Martinez in Cleveland, but he carries his team and has less hitting talent surrounding him. Plus, his defense is impeccable.
First Base — Nick Swisher, Oakland Athletics
David Ortiz is on the ballot at first base, but he plays there as rarely as Barry Bonds goes to Jeff Kent's house for dinner. Swisher has improved a bundle following a disappointing rookie year and his numbers (49, 17, 44, 1, .293) reflect that. His bat has kept the A's in the AL West.
Second Base — Jose Lopez, Seattle Mariners
While Richie Sexson and Adrian Beltre have struggled at the plate, Lopez has quietly amassed a team-leading 50 RBI, which have gone a long way to keeping Seattle in the hunt for the division.
Third Base — Troy Glaus, Toronto Blue Jays
A-Rod will win the ballot vote, but Glaus's numbers (50, 19, 50, 2, .266) are better. His average is worse than A-Rod's, but his slugging and OPS numbers are far higher. He's been a great pickup for a greatly-improved Toronto club. Hank Blalock has elevated his game this year in Texas and runs Glaus close.
Shortstop — Miguel Tejada, Baltimore Orioles
Tejada (52, 15, 49, 2, .331) has been accused of dropping off a notch or two, but he's still a class above the rest of the AL's shortstops. He brings more to the party than Derek Jeter, Orlando Cabrera, and Michael Young, and they are no slouches. The emergence of a resurgent Corey Patterson will help take the pressure off him to be the primary source of runs in Baltimore.
Leftfield — Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox
Ramirez may be a defensive liability, have a strange personality and run the bases like he has his shoes on the wrong feet, but boy can he carry a team for great stretches. Ortiz gets more hype these days, but the fear of pitching to Ramirez means Ortiz gets a chance to swing at something in the strike zone. After a sluggish start, Ramirez has returned to his excellent norm (35, 15, 40, 0, .303).
Centerfield — Vernon Wells, Toronto Blue Jays
Wells (36, 16, 49, 6, .324) has finally proved he's an elite player this year. His defense is outstanding, too. After years of coasting, he's taking the game seriously and it shows. He edges out Carl Crawford, Grady Sizemore, and Corey Patterson, who've all had outstanding first-halves.
Rightfield — Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox
Ichiro, Alex Rios, and Jonny Gomes have all had stellar starts to the season, but Jermaine Dye (36, 19, 47, 3, .302) is consistently underrated in Chicago. He has protection around him but he does nothing but produce at the plate day-in day-out. It's time to give the guy some love.
DH — Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians
Okay, it's not on the ballot, but it should be. Hafner edges out David Ortiz as his slugging and OPS numbers are superior.
Starting Pitching — Jose Contreras, Chicago White Sox
With due respect to Johan Santana, Roy Halladay, and Mike Mussina, I'm giving the start to Contreras. The rotation in Chicago has rocked a bit after last year's heroics, but the one constant has been Contreras (2.62 ERA and 1.01 WHIP). His K numbers aren't as spectacular, but, as Crash Davis said, strikeouts are fascist. Within a year or two, we'll be checking the box next to Francisco Liriano's name. Unless we check Scott Kazmir first.
Closer — Jonathon Papelbon, Boston Red Sox
The Sox sure got some value with a fourth round selection for this guy in the 2003 draft. He has 20 saves and not one blown until June 9th — what's not to like? He's headed to the rotation eventually, and god help the AL East when he does. Honorable mention goes to BJ Ryan, who's done an almost perfect job in Toronto. Manny Rivera has been his usual self and poor Joe Nathan is 7-for-7 in Minnesota, where saves are as rare as rocking horse dung.
Reliever — Scott Shields, Los Angeles Angels
Why don't these guys get more recognition — and more pay? Shields has a WHIP of 0.86 in 33 innings! This guy is named to perfection — the impenetrable shield to Francisco Rodriguez. He does it year-in-year out with the minimum of fuss.
National League
Catcher — Michael Barrett, Chicago Cubs
The Cubs have stunk all season, but Barrett (25, 8, 29, 0, .295) has earned his corn. Catcher is a thin position in the NL and he edges out rookie Josh Willingham in Florida, who might move to first next year unless his defense improves.
First Base — Albert Pujols, St Louis Cardinals
Derrek Lee's injury ruined the two-horse race for best first baseman. Pujols is on the DL right now, but he'll still finish with monster numbers — again. His defense is impeccable and (scarily), he's still improving. There's no better player in the game. I hope his biggest slug of the year comes at Jeff Pearlman's head after what the former SI writer said on Slate.com. Kudos to Nomar in Los Angeles for a rebound season at a new position.
Second Base — Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
Utley's numbers aren't spectacular (52, 12, 40, 6, .303), but he stands out from a mediocre pack. Dan Uggla in Florida deserves a mention for a great first half.
Third Base — Miguel Cabrera, Florida Marlins
The homers (9) might be down, but the production is still there on a young ballclub. In his third year, Cabrera is a veteran in the clubhouse and the pressure might have told but 44 RBI and a .339 average isn't to be scoffed at. He edges David Wright, who's defensively challenged and has more talent surrounding him.
Shortstop — Edgar Renteria, Atlanta Braves
Jimmy Rollins, Rafael Furcal, and Jose Reyes are basestealers who have shortcomings elsewhere in their games. Renteria just plays consistent ball and gets on base far more often than any of the aforementioned — at least this season. The Braves are struggling, but Renteria has held his end up.
Leftfield — Alfonso Soriano, Washington Nationals
Most likely he won't be in Washington past July and he didn't want to move from second base, but Fonz has put up big numbers (49, 23, 47, 15, .298) all year, despite hitting in cavernous RFK. He seems to be a bit of a cancer in the clubhouse and he often dogs it on the basepaths, but there's no denying the talent. Carlos Lee and Matt Holliday would not disgrace any ballot paper.
Centerfield — Jason Bay, Pittsburgh Pirates
I was in a fantasy draft a couple of months ago and had the fortune to land both Bay and Carlos Beltran with the ninth and 16th selections. A fellow GM scoffed at me for wasting prime picks on a "one-month wonder" (Beltran) and a "overrated fantasy tease" (Bay). Canadian-born Bay (45, 19, 52, 5, .308) gets the nod purely because he lacks a David Wright or Carlos Delgado to support him. Their numbers are virtually identical.
Rightfield — Lance Berkman, Houston Astros
Berkman predominantly plays first base, but appears enough in right to get the vote over Bobby Abreu, who's on a slight down year. Berkman (34, 18, 56, 1, .311) has led the Astros bats with little support. He might never replicate his 2002 numbers (42 homers and 128 RBI), but he's a solid pro who gets on with his job without fanfare.
Starting Pitcher — Pedro Martinez, New York Mets
There's no much left to say about Pedro (2.94 ERA, 0.94 WHIP). Every five days, he goes on the mound and blows away hitters. The K's are still there and he's unlucky to have only 6 wins. There were skeptics when Omar Minaya stole him away from Boston (me included) and we've been left with egg on our faces.
Brandon Webb (2.06, 1.07) has emerged from hibernation in Arizona to be the pitcher everyone suspected he could be after a great rookie season in 2003. With an upgraded defensive infield behind him, Webb has had a remarkable first half of the year, going 8-1. He'd be a worthy all-star. Tom Glavine, Bronson Arroyo, and Jason Schmidt have all had great first halves, also.
Closer — Tom Gordon, Philadelphia Phillies
There were doubters when the Phillies signed Gordon (1.61, 0.89) to a big contract to replace Billy Wagner. Gordon had done a solid job setting up Manny Rivera in New York for two seasons, but by September of both seasons, he was showing signs of wear at 38-years-old. All he's done since is nail down 18 saves with only a single save blown, to the Mets.
Reliever — Takashi Saito, Los Angeles Dodgers
31.2 innings and 41 K's with 4 saves is an impressive rookie season, even for a 36-year-old veteran from Japanese baseball. In 24 appearances, he's only allowed runs to score in four games. What more can you ask for?
These Boys Should Be Playing at Kauffman Stadium
Catcher — Jason Kendall, Oakland Athletics
A single home run in his last 776 at bats. He can't drive in runs and he clogs the basepaths. He is good at getting hit on his body armor though. All that for $11 million this year.
First Base — Darin Erstad, Los Angeles Angels
Why does everybody love this guy? His career slugging year is .541 and he plays power positions. He earns $8.75 million. With his numbers, you'd better be good in the clubhouse because you're stinking the diamond out.
Second Base — Marcus Giles, Atlanta Braves
It's a good thing Giles still knows how to get a walk because he can't remember how to hit.
Third Base — Adrian Beltre, Seattle Mariners
Paul DePodesta let Beltre walk and spent the money on JD Drew. Think Seattle would trade Beltre for Drew straight up?
Shortstop — Adam Everett, Houston Astros
It's a good thing Everett has a slick glove because he looks like he's hitting with matchsticks.
Leftfield — Luis Gonzalez, Arizona Diamondbacks
There's no nicer guy in the game than Gonzo, but he hasn't had a good year since 2003 and it's sad to watch his decline. No doubt that Jeff Pearlman has an opinion as to why he's suddenly so poor.
Centerfield — Juan Pierre, Chicago Cubs.
Pierre was supposed to be a sparkplug in Wrigley. He may have stole 20 bases, but his OBP is a derisory .284.
Rightfield — Shawn Green, Arizona Diamondbacks.
Green is hitting at .314, but of his 69 hits only 17 have got him past first base. He's an expensive roadblock.
Starting Pitching — Randy Johnson, New York Yankees
He's old, he's grumpy, and he's expensive. The numbers say this is his last year.
Closer — Chris Reitsma, Atlanta Braves
He's blown 4 saves and has an ERA of over 9. Atlanta fans are reduced to yearning for John Rocker.
Reliever — Kyle Farnsworth, New York Yankees
Farnsworth earns $5 million this year, but consistently fails to justify it. He's walked 18 batters in just 29.1 innings. Joe Torre is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Octavio Dotel.
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