Yankees: Predicting which players will make the AL All-Star team

The Yankees roster is stacked with All-Star caliber players from top to bottom but which of them will represent the team at this year’s Midsummer Classic in Washington D.C?

The Yankees have gotten contributions all across their roster in every facet of the game, but that doesn’t mean everyone can be an All-Star. There’s a handful of guys on their roster who are deserving but might not make it simply because there aren’t enough roster spots to go around. You could probably make a strong case for as many as 10 Yankees to make the AL squad, but that would be unprecedented and likely isn’t going to happen.

Pitchers Jonathan Holder and Chad Green have been two of the best relievers the AL have to offer, but probably won’t be recognized ahead of Yankee relievers with stronger track records like Aroldis Chapman and Dellin Betances.

Gary Sanchez was the best power hitting catcher in baseball before he landed on the DL, but he’s hitting .190 which will be taken into account. Aaron Hicks and Giancarlo Stanton should both receive consideration as well, but their slow starts could cost them because there’s a handful of AL outfielders with better batting averages and total RBI.

If Didi Gregorius was in the National League he’d have a much better shot to make his first All-Star appearance. However, the AL is filled with All-Star worthy shortstops which will probably leave Didi on the outside looking in once again. Miguel Andujar has had an outstanding rookie season, but third base is another position filled with talented players like Jose Ramirez, Alex Bregman, and Mike Moustakas.

Finally, CC Sabathia has remained a consistent force in the Yankee rotation at 37 years old and deserves serious consideration. He’s 10th in the league in ERA at 3.02, but he’ll probably also be a victim of the roster crunch and more overpowering starters with higher strikeout totals will get selected ahead of him.

The names above will likely miss out on going to D.C for the All-Star festivities but the Yankees will still have plenty of representatives come July 17th. With that being said here are the five Yankees I predict will make the AL roster.

Based on the final voting update for the starting lineups it’s pretty much a sure thing that Aaron Judge will be in the starting outfield for the AL for the second straight season. Judge is more than deserving of this honor as he’s followed up his historic rookie season with another outstanding first half in his sophomore campaign.

Judge’s numbers speak for themselves. He’s top three among AL outfielders in home runs, RBI, and total WAR. He’s hitting a respectable .281 with an OPS of .979, and he’s playing gold glove caliber defense out in right field.

Judge is the clear face of this Yankees team and he’s arguably the face of Major League Baseball today. He’s a guy every fan would pay to see play in this game as he’s the perfect representation of what an All-Star should be. It’s a shame he won’t be defending his Home Run Derby title, but you can’t blame him for choosing not to after seeing how it might have affected him in the second half of last season.

Regardless of that, just seeing Judge face off against the likes of Max Scherzer or Jacob deGrom will be good enough for me.

It will be up to Astros manager AJ Hinch to decide who he wants to start on the mound for the AL squad, but the leading choice right now should be Luis Severino. Sevy was an All-Star in Miami last season but he didn’t get to pitch in the game.

That will change this season as Sevy is right on track to be able to start this year’s game since his last appearance before the break comes next Thursday in Cleveland. That would put him on regular rest to hopefully start the game and pitch the first two innings.

No Yankee pitcher has started an All-Star game since 2001 when Roger Clemens took the mound during his memorable 20-3 season. Right now Severino is on track for a similar type of season that would also go down as one of the best in franchise history. Sevy currently leads baseball with 13 wins and leads the AL in ERA (1.98) and total WAR (4.9). He’s top five in WHIP (0.95) and innings pitched and he’s sixth in the league in strikeouts with 138.

Sevy has been unhittable all season long and has emerged as the clear-cut ace of the Yankees starting rotation. His development into one of the games top starters has been incredible to watch and the crazy part is that he’s only going to get better.

Let’s just hope Hinch doesn’t pick one of his own guys to take the mound because it would be a real shame if Sevy didn’t get the nod. Other options like Chris Sale and Justin Verlander have been in this spot before so it’s time to switch things up with a younger option who truly has earned the opportunity like Sevy has.

Just like it would be a thrill to watch Judge face some of the NL’s best aces it would be even cooler to watch Sevy try to overpower the NL’s top sluggers (Harper, Freeman, Arenado).

Torres is currently on the 10-day DL so whether he can play in the game or not is unknown, but there’s no doubt he deserves to be there just to experience his first All-Star game. The rookie phenom has arguably been the Yankees MVP since his call-up in late April. He’s the clear front-runner for AL Rookie of the Year and behind Jose Altuve, he’s the best second basemen the AL has to offer.

Nobody at the position throughout the game has slugged higher than Torres’ percentage of .555. In the AL he’s top four in home runs, RBI and BA in only 218 at-bats. Torres production has been incredible and he’s done most of his damage batting ninth in the Yankees lineup. The impact he has made since his arrival has been irreplaceable.

I can’t remember a player who has helped elevate his team to an elite level as much as Torres has. It shouldn’t matter if he’s injured or not, he is an All-Star any way you look at it and will be one for years to come. He is special and at only 21-years old he’s already established himself as one of the most exciting players in the game today. There’s no telling how much better he can be because the sky is truly the limit for him.

As I said earlier, there’s a handful of players in the Yankees bullpen who are deserving of a spot on the AL All-Star team. They’ve been that dominant and nobody over the past two months has been more untouchable than Dellin Betances. Back in May, not many would have believed Betances would find his way back to his fifth straight All-Star game. However, he has completely turned his season around after his slow start and is pitching as well as we’ve ever seen him pitch.

Once again he is among the leaders in K’s in the AL (2nd) and is on pace for another 100 strikeout campaign. Since 2014, nobody has struck out more hitters out of the bullpen than Betances so even though his 2.63 ERA is only fifth best among Yankee relievers he gets the nod for another All-Star game because of his otherworldly strikeout totals.

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Betances is striking out 15.8 batters per 9 innings which would be a career high. Since May 6th he’s only given up two earned runs in 23.2 innings and his season ERA has dropped from 5.79 to 2.63 entering play Friday. His control issues that lingered from the end of last season have disappeared, specifically with his fastball which has been the best of his career.

Fastball control and throwing it a lot more than in the past has been the difference for Dellin because when he can pair 98 mph plus with his wipeout breaking ball hitters just won’t touch him.

A lot of fans might have given up on him after his very poor April, but Dellin has clearly put the work in to reinvent himself to a degree. For that, he deserves to go to D.C for his fifth All-Star game.

The final member of the Yankees who will represent the team in Washington D.C is closer Aroldis Chapman. Outside of maybe Luis Severino, there isn’t a Yankee more deserving of playing in this year’s Midsummer Classic.

He deserves that honor with how dominant he has been up to this point. This is the best version of Chapman Yankee fans have seen and a lot of it has to do with his much-improved slider. We always knew about his 103-105 mph heater, but the slider has been an added weapon for him that has kept hitters guessing all season.

Chapman is third in the league in saves but you’d be hard-pressed to find a better closer in the game right now. He’s converted 24 of 25 save opportunities and he’s on pace to set a career high in ERA (1.43). He’s also on pace to strikeout over 120 and his opponent batting average of .133 is the best amongst AL closers.

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It’s a sure thing that Chapman will make his first All-Star game as a Yankee (5th overall) and don’t be surprised if he’s on the mound in the ninth inning if the AL team has a lead.