My Major League Baseball All-Star Picks

Every true Major League Baseball fan would love the opportunity to choose the players for the All Star Game. If I were blessed with that task, the following players would make up my team.

Pitchers

First up at the pitcher's mound is Dan Haren of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

On the year, Haren has started 15 games, pitched 101.1 innings and struck out 101. His record is 7-5 with one complete game.

On the fantasy side of things, Haren racked up 47 fantasy points in one week which is tops for my team this year.

Haren begin his career in 2003 with the St. Louis Cardinals. He has been a member of the All Star Team three times once as an Oakland A in 2007 and then with the Diamondbacks in 2008 and 2009.

My second pitching choice is Clay Buchholz of the Boston Red Sox.

Buchholz is 9-4 on the year. He has pitched 84.1 innings and struck out 58.

In week 8, he scored 45 fantasy points which is second best to Haren on my team for the year.

Buchholz began his career with Boston in 2007. He has a career win-lost record of 21-18 and has never appeared on the All-Star Team.

My third choice would be Anibal Sanchez of the Florida Marlins.

Sanchez went 10-3 in 2006 which was his rookie season. That year he threw 114.1 innings and struck out 72. The numbers decreased the following season, but this year he could be on his way to another 10 win season or better. So far he is 6-4 with 81 innings pitched and 61 strike outs.

Like Buchholz he scored 45 fantasy points in week 8 to tie Buchholz for second place on my fantasy list. He has never appeared on the All-Star Team.

Houston Astro Roy Oswalt would make a pitching appearance on my All-Star Team.

Oswalt is one of my favorite fantasy baseball choices. I have selected him 13 times over the years and he has averaged 27.46 fantasy points per week and is my sixth overall ranking fantasy player. His win lost record so far in 2010 does not reflect how well he has pitched.

Out of 14 starts he has only recorded five wins and eight losses. He has pitched 92.1 innings and struck out 89. Oswalt began his career with the Astros in 2001 and has appeared on the All-Star Team three times.

The pitching roster would not be complete without Andy Pettitte of the New York Yankees.

Pettitte is another one of my favorite fantasy players of the past decade. I have selected him 51 times and has produced 1,338 fantasy points. This year marks his 16th year in the Major Leagues and he has 237 career wins. So far in 2010 he has recorded eight wins, two losses, 62 strike outs and only 25 walks.

Surprisingly, Pettitte has only appeared on the All-Star Team two times, 1996 and 2001.

Relief pitchers

After sending those five to the mound, it would be time for the closer, which would have to be Mariano Rivera.

Rivera is my top closer in fantasy baseball, averaging 23.59 fantasy points per week.

He began his career with the Yankees in 1995 and has saved 541 games since. Twice he has saved 50 or more games a year. This year he has pitched 22.1 innings, struck out 20 and saved 15 games. He is a 10 time All-Star.

If Rivera can't close the door, then Boston Red Sox Jonathan Papelbon would be my next choice.

Papelbon has been closing games for the Red Sox since 2005. During this time he has saved 166 games and has 15 so far this year. He is a four- time All Star.

Infielders

Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals would be the hands down choice for first base.

He began his career in 2001 and has slammed 381 home runs since. Fielding wise he has only committed 67 errors in his 10 year career. Pujols is an eight time All Star.

Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox would be my second baseman.

He began his career with the Red Sox in 2006 and has only committed 23 errors since. He is handy with the bat as well as he currently has a .303 career batting average. He is a two-time All Star.

My shortstop would be from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the form of Rafael Furcal.

Furcal began his career with the Atlanta Braves in 2000. He is in fifth year with the Dodgers and though the injury bug has slowed him down a pinch he is still a threat on the bases, good with the glove and not bad with the bat. Currently he has 280 career stolen bases and should reach 300 sometime in 2011 if not this year. Furcal made the All-Star team in 2003.

At third base is New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez.

Rodriguez has been with the Yankees so long that it is easy to forget that he began his career with the Seattle Mariners in 1994 and later played for the Texas Rangers from 2001-03.

A-Rod has 591 career home runs and should easily obtain 600 this year. He is an incredible 12-time All-Star.

Behind the plate is Brian McCann of the Atlanta Braves.

McCann came on the scene in 2005 with a group of players that became known as the "Baby Braves." McCann and Jeff Francouer were believed to be the future. Francouer has moved on but McCann has been a staple. To date he has 97 career home runs. During his career he has only been charged with 32 passed balls. McCann is a four time All-Star.

Outfielders

Alfonso Soriano of the Chicago Cubs would be in my outfield.

Soriano reached hit home run number 300 this year and could be on pace to match or better last year's home run total of 20. In 58 games so far this year he has only committed four errors. Soriano is a seven time All-Star with his last appearance in 2008.

Rookie Jason Heyward of the Atlanta Braves would join Soriano in my outfield.

Heyward has given Braves fans something to get excited about.

He is playing a big part in the Braves so far successful season and send off of skipper Bobby Cox. Through the first 64 games, Heyward has 11 home runs, 44 runs driven in and 12 doubles.

Carlos Lee of the Astros would round out the outfield.

Lee began his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1999. He was tossed around for four years to four other teams before landing with the Astros in 2007. His career batting average is currently .289 and he has 317 career home runs. So far in 2010 he has 10 homers and is on pace to hit 30. He has three All-Star appearances with the last one coming in 2007.

Others

That rounds out the starters but every team must be represented in the All-Star game.

So my other team representatives would be the following.

Ty Wigginton, Baltimore Orioles. Wigginton leads the team with 13 home runs.

Juan Pierre, Chicago White Sox. Pierre has 27 stolen bases this year and is on pace to steal 53 this year. He has 500 career steals in his future if health allows.

Johnny Cueto, Cincinnati Reds. Cueto leads the Reds pitching staff with 70 strike outs and has a complete game shut out under his belt.

Travis Hafner, Cleveland Indians. Hafner has hit eight home runs so far this year and is projected to hit 31 which would almost double last year's total.

Miguel Olvio, Colorado Rockies. Olvio leads the club with a .304 batting average. He has eight home runs on the year.

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers. Cabrera is having a great year. He has 19 home runs, 59 runs batted in and is batting .331.

Kyle Davies, Kansas City Royals. When you think of Royals pitching you think of Zach Greinke, but Greinke has struggled this year. Davies has had his battles as well, but has 44 strikeouts on the year and four wins in 13 games.

Hideki Matsui, Los Angeles Angels. Matsui in his first year with the Angels has 62 hits including 12, doubles and nine home runs.

Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers. Fielder is on pace to possibly reach his 200th career home run this year.

Delmon Young, Minnesota Twins. Young is batting .302 and has eight home runs and 41 runs driven in on the year.

Jeff Francouer, New York Mets. There are many all-stars on the Mets team, but my choice would be Francouer. He has seven home runs on the year and is on pace to hit 20 which would be a season high.

Andrew Bailey, Oakland Athletics. Bailey is the team closer and has 12 saves on the years and 19 strikeouts.

Brad Lidge, Philadelphia Phillies. Lidge was perfect in 2008 and has been plagued with injuries since, But he is back and is back to All-Star status.

Zach Duke, Pittsburgh Pirates. Duke is a little off the pace with a 3-8 record but he is still my pick of the Pirates.

Chase Headley, San Diego Padres. Headley is in his fourth season and is on pace to more than double the number of homers he hit a year ago.

Barry Zito, San Francisco Giants. He is not the freak, but I like him. He is 7-3 on the year and has 63 strike outs this year.

Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners. Ichiro continues to be the headliner of the team. He leads the team with 20 stolen bases.

Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays. Soriano has 16 saves on the year and 21 strikeouts.

Lyle Overbay, Toronto Blue Jays. Overbay is only batting .238 but has seven home runs, and 28 runs batted in.

Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals. He has only made three starts but the hype seems to be well worth it. He is 2-0 and has 32 strikeouts. Look for a lot of All Star appearances from this rookie.