Rotohelp.com

by Tim Polko

Please head to MLB.com to vote before 11:59 pm EDT tonight.

Rather than stuff the virtual ballot box when it debuts in May, we always wait until the last week of balloting before casting our All-Start votes. By taking into account the additional weeks of stats, as well as the developing voting trends, we believe we cast both more knowledgeable and more strategic votes.

We prefer to vote for the best player at each position. However, if an unworthy player appears in the mix for a starting job according to the most recent tallies, we also favor some level of tactical voting to minimize the number of potential Mike Williams clones appearing in the game.

Given those strictures, we have listed our recommended ballot and then provided a more in-depth look at the teams we would select if occupying the shoes of Messrs. Torre and Manuel.

Rotohelp's Recommended 2010 All-Star Ballot

	American League		National League
C	J. Mauer, MIN		B. McCann, ATL
1B	J. Morneau, MIN		A. Pujols, STL
2B	R. Cano, NYY		M. Prado, ATL
3B	E. Longoria, TB		D. Wright, NYM
SS	D. Jeter, NYY		H. Ramirez, FLO
OF	C. Crawford, TB		R. Braun, MIL
OF	J. Hamilton, TEX	A. Ethier, LAD
OF	I. Suzuki, SEA		A. McCutchen, PIT
DH	V. Guerrero, TEX

American League

Catcher: Reigning MVP Joe Mauer of the Twins will not match his 2009 performance, but he remains the best catcher in the league and certainly will start. Boston's Victor Martinez should be the backup, and due to his recently-announced DL stint, we can replace him and add another All-Star here.

First Base: In a very tight voting race, Minnesota's Justin Morneau deserves the start, current runner-up Mark Teixeira should enjoy the game on TV, and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, holding down third place, absolutely should be the backup. Support Morneau, and in addition to Cabrera, also expect Paul Konerko of the White Sox to claim a spot on the bench.

Second Base: New York's Robinson Cano deservedly will start, although the recent injury suffered by Boston's Dustin Pedroia should not keep him from claiming a backup slot before he gets replaced. Baltimore's Ty Wigginton also seems as good a candidate as any from the moribund Orioles, and his position flexibility means we do not have to replace Pedroia with another second basemen.

Third Base: While Boston's Adrian Beltre may deserve the start, he can serve as the backup to Tampa's Evan Longoria, who probably needs a little more support to assure that ARod stays home this year.

Shortstop: Both of the current vote leaders here merit selection, though we have no problem supporting Yankee Derek Jeter as the starter. The Rangers' defensive superstar Elvis Andrus should hold down this position in the second half of the game.

Outfield: The top several candidates here all could make the team, but given the relatively unimpressive years of Nelson Cruz, Nick Swisher, and Curtis Granderson, stuck in the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions in the voting, the current top three all merit your votes: Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, Josh Hamilton of Texas, and the Rays' Carl Crawford. Only Ichiro even appears mildly questionable, but he still looks like a better option than the three aforementioned runners-up.

On the bench, former teammates Vernon Wells of Toronto and Alex Rios now of the White Sox demand All-Star berths and arguably deserve to start. Of the half-dozen decent candidates for the sixth outfield slot, Detroit's Brennan Boesch does not rank higher only due to the Tigers' delay in promoting him; his offensive performance ranks with anyone in the league, though he probably will be left off the roster since the AL players would never vote him onto this team's bench.

Designated Hitter: The Rangers' Vlad Guerrero will start in front of his ex-home crowd, a stark reminder to Angels fans that replacing Vlad with Hideki Matsui while seeing the former head to Texas constitutes most of the difference between the two teams' current records. Despite a slow start, Boston's David Ortiz seems an excellent candidate for the reserve spot here.

Starting Pitchers: Roughly a dozen pitchers can lay claim to the starting job, but right now, Boston's Jon Lester seems a great pick. The top of our pitching card also includes Tampa's Jeff Niemann, Toronto's Ricky Romero, Seattle's Felix Hernandez, and Anaheim's Jered Weaver. The second tier should include Fausto Carmona as Cleveland's rep, Trevor Cahill as Oakland's rep, and probably Seattle's Cliff Lee, Boston's Clay Buchholz, and token veteran Andy Pettitte of the Yankees.

Relievers: Only Jose Valverde of the Tigers seems assured a job, but the Royals' Joakim Soria looks like a great representative for that club, and leaving off the Yankees' Mariano Rivera just seems silly given his continued dominance.

Replacements: Three of our selected pitchers seem likely to pitch on All-Star Sunday, so Joel Pineiro can replace teammate Jered Weaver, Jeff Niemann defers to David Price, who also owns superior traditional stats, and Andrew Bailey seems a great alternative to Trevor Cahill. The injuries to Victor Martinez necessitates a replacement catcher, which looks the Yankees' Jorge Posada, and then as the best remaining omitted position player, the versatile Kevin Youkilis of Boston should replace Dustin Pedroia.

34th Man Voting: While all the players whose performance demands All-Star berths already appear on our team, several strong candidates remain for the final fan vote. The best options among the available choices include Mike Young of the Rangers, both Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, Toronto's Alex Gonzalez, and given the value of his position flexibility, Tampa's Ben Zobrist.

National League

Catcher: Colorado's Miguel Olivo probably deserves the start, but since he does not appear among the top five vote-getters right now, the backup slot seems his best bet. Instead, given his similarly strong performance and a great chance to overtake current leader Yadier Molina, Atlanta's Brian McCann warrants your vote and should claim the starting gig in his fifth straight All-Star appearance.

First Base: Three of the top four NL position players all reside here, but with a slight statistical edge and a giant head start in balloting, Albert Pujols of the Cardinals merits the top slot. Of course, both San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez and Cincinnati's Joey Votto also deserve All-Star berths, so hopefully Manuel finds a way to take all three. Lastly, San Francisco would not have a hope of contending without their savvy free agent pickups, and Aubrey Huff, whether playing first or outfield, deserves this recognition for his outstanding comeback campaign.

Second Base: Philadelphia's Chase Utley likely will win this, but even before his injury, he did not deserve to start over Atlanta's Martin Prado, the NL's best second baseman, who should receive as many late votes as possible. Also, since the Diamondbacks need a representative from among their unimpressive cadre of borderline contenders (including J.Upton, S.Drew, D.Haren, & I.Kennedy), Kelly Johnson seems a good fit, allowing us more flexibility when choosing Utley's replacement.

Third Base: Placido Polanco currently possesses an inexplicable edge on the Mets' David Wright, who again ranks among the best players in the league. Cincinnati's Scott Rolen also would belong in the starting lineup in many years, but he will settle for a backup slot on this roster.

Shortstop: Loafing or not, Florida's Hanley Ramirez remains the class of this position in the majors. Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki should receive the backup nod, though like Utley, he will spend the game on the sidelines.

Outfield: No position in either league invited tougher competition than outfield in the NL, where perhaps as many as a dozen candidates can field persuasive cases. Unfortunately, phenom Jason Heyward does not belong in this group despite the strong likelihood that he will receive a starting nod, which he thankfully will decline due to injury. We can support the cases of the other two likely starters, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and the Dodgers' Andre Ethier, though with your third vote, please support Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen, whose offensive performance alone warrants a start even before considering his superb defense.

Washington's Josh Willingham claims the next slot, followed closely by the Cardinals' dynamic duo of Colby Rasmus and Matt Holliday. In the tightest race for any slot, Philadelphia's Jayson Werth appears the strongest candidate for the 33rd spot on the roster, relegating similarly deserving players like Marlon Byrd, Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, and Corey Hart to the 34th Man Voting.

Starting Pitchers: Probable Cy Young and MVP hopeful Ubaldo Jimenez requires both a team berth and the starting nod, though Florida's Josh Johnson and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay would be strong contenders for the start in many other years. Atlanta's Tim Hudson and the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright hold a slight edge for the first five starting slots, but five more starters should appear here: Chris Carpenter of St. Louis, Yovani Gallardo of Milwaukee, Ryan Dempster of the Cubs as their lone representative, Roy Oswalt of the Astros (for now) as their lone representative, and the Mets' Mike Pelfrey as the tenth and final NL starter.

Relievers: We fully expect Charlie Manuel to select more than three relievers, but for now, we support the Cardinals' Ryan Franklin, the Padres' Heath Bell, and the Giants' Brian Wilson as the best three candidates.

Replacements: While Kelly Johnson's inclusion reduces the need for another second baseman, Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks easily warrants Utley's spot. Shortstop presents a tougher choice, but the Dodgers' Rafael Furcal can replace Tulo in a close contest with Jose Reyes. Finally, with Pelfrey set to start next Sunday, Manuel can replace him with one of the previously overlooked left-handed relievers, clearing a path for Atlanta's Billy Wagner to provide the missing piece of this bullpen.

34th Man Voting: As mentioned, Marlon Byrd, Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, and Corey Hart all deserve this recognition, but the 34th slot should go to the Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips, who sits one hot streak away from challenging Prado, Utley, and Weeks atop the league's second base leader boards.

Of course, this allows the American League to enter the July 13th game as likely favorites to win a record 14th straight Midsummer's Classic.

Today's Fantasy Rx: In the finest Chicago tradition, vote early and vote often, at least as often as possible prior to 11:59 pm EDT tonight.

Click here to read the previous article.

Please e-mail your comments to tim@rotohelp.com.


Rotohelp Our Philosophy		2010 All-Star Voting Recommendations by Tim Polko Today's Fantasy Rx Please head to MLB.com to vote before 11:59 pm EDT tonight. Rather than stuff the virtual ballot box when it debuts in May, we always wait until the last week of balloting before casting our All-Start votes. By taking into account the additional weeks of stats, as well as the developing voting trends, we believe we cast both more knowledgeable and more strategic votes. We prefer to vote for the best player at each position. However, if an unworthy player appears in the mix for a starting job according to the most recent tallies, we also favor some level of tactical voting to minimize the number of potential Mike Williams clones appearing in the game. Given those strictures, we have listed our recommended ballot and then provided a more in-depth look at the teams we would select if occupying the shoes of Messrs. Torre and Manuel. Rotohelp's Recommended 2010 All-Star Ballot American League National League C J. Mauer, MIN B. McCann, ATL 1B J. Morneau, MIN A. Pujols, STL 2B R. Cano, NYY M. Prado, ATL 3B E. Longoria, TB D. Wright, NYM SS D. Jeter, NYY H. Ramirez, FLO OF C. Crawford, TB R. Braun, MIL OF J. Hamilton, TEX A. Ethier, LAD OF I. Suzuki, SEA A. McCutchen, PIT DH V. Guerrero, TEX American League Catcher: Reigning MVP Joe Mauer of the Twins will not match his 2009 performance, but he remains the best catcher in the league and certainly will start. Boston's Victor Martinez should be the backup, and due to his recently-announced DL stint, we can replace him and add another All-Star here. First Base: In a very tight voting race, Minnesota's Justin Morneau deserves the start, current runner-up Mark Teixeira should enjoy the game on TV, and Detroit's Miguel Cabrera, holding down third place, absolutely should be the backup. Support Morneau, and in addition to Cabrera, also expect Paul Konerko of the White Sox to claim a spot on the bench. Second Base: New York's Robinson Cano deservedly will start, although the recent injury suffered by Boston's Dustin Pedroia should not keep him from claiming a backup slot before he gets replaced. Baltimore's Ty Wigginton also seems as good a candidate as any from the moribund Orioles, and his position flexibility means we do not have to replace Pedroia with another second basemen. Third Base: While Boston's Adrian Beltre may deserve the start, he can serve as the backup to Tampa's Evan Longoria, who probably needs a little more support to assure that ARod stays home this year. Shortstop: Both of the current vote leaders here merit selection, though we have no problem supporting Yankee Derek Jeter as the starter. The Rangers' defensive superstar Elvis Andrus should hold down this position in the second half of the game. Outfield: The top several candidates here all could make the team, but given the relatively unimpressive years of Nelson Cruz, Nick Swisher, and Curtis Granderson, stuck in the fourth, fifth, and sixth positions in the voting, the current top three all merit your votes: Seattle's Ichiro Suzuki, Josh Hamilton of Texas, and the Rays' Carl Crawford. Only Ichiro even appears mildly questionable, but he still looks like a better option than the three aforementioned runners-up. On the bench, former teammates Vernon Wells of Toronto and Alex Rios now of the White Sox demand All-Star berths and arguably deserve to start. Of the half-dozen decent candidates for the sixth outfield slot, Detroit's Brennan Boesch does not rank higher only due to the Tigers' delay in promoting him; his offensive performance ranks with anyone in the league, though he probably will be left off the roster since the AL players would never vote him onto this team's bench. Designated Hitter: The Rangers' Vlad Guerrero will start in front of his ex-home crowd, a stark reminder to Angels fans that replacing Vlad with Hideki Matsui while seeing the former head to Texas constitutes most of the difference between the two teams' current records. Despite a slow start, Boston's David Ortiz seems an excellent candidate for the reserve spot here. Starting Pitchers: Roughly a dozen pitchers can lay claim to the starting job, but right now, Boston's Jon Lester seems a great pick. The top of our pitching card also includes Tampa's Jeff Niemann, Toronto's Ricky Romero, Seattle's Felix Hernandez, and Anaheim's Jered Weaver. The second tier should include Fausto Carmona as Cleveland's rep, Trevor Cahill as Oakland's rep, and probably Seattle's Cliff Lee, Boston's Clay Buchholz, and token veteran Andy Pettitte of the Yankees. Relievers: Only Jose Valverde of the Tigers seems assured a job, but the Royals' Joakim Soria looks like a great representative for that club, and leaving off the Yankees' Mariano Rivera just seems silly given his continued dominance. Replacements: Three of our selected pitchers seem likely to pitch on All-Star Sunday, so Joel Pineiro can replace teammate Jered Weaver, Jeff Niemann defers to David Price, who also owns superior traditional stats, and Andrew Bailey seems a great alternative to Trevor Cahill. The injuries to Victor Martinez necessitates a replacement catcher, which looks the Yankees' Jorge Posada, and then as the best remaining omitted position player, the versatile Kevin Youkilis of Boston should replace Dustin Pedroia. 34th Man Voting: While all the players whose performance demands All-Star berths already appear on our team, several strong candidates remain for the final fan vote. The best options among the available choices include Mike Young of the Rangers, both Brett Gardner and Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees, Toronto's Alex Gonzalez, and given the value of his position flexibility, Tampa's Ben Zobrist. National League Catcher: Colorado's Miguel Olivo probably deserves the start, but since he does not appear among the top five vote-getters right now, the backup slot seems his best bet. Instead, given his similarly strong performance and a great chance to overtake current leader Yadier Molina, Atlanta's Brian McCann warrants your vote and should claim the starting gig in his fifth straight All-Star appearance. First Base: Three of the top four NL position players all reside here, but with a slight statistical edge and a giant head start in balloting, Albert Pujols of the Cardinals merits the top slot. Of course, both San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez and Cincinnati's Joey Votto also deserve All-Star berths, so hopefully Manuel finds a way to take all three. Lastly, San Francisco would not have a hope of contending without their savvy free agent pickups, and Aubrey Huff, whether playing first or outfield, deserves this recognition for his outstanding comeback campaign. Second Base: Philadelphia's Chase Utley likely will win this, but even before his injury, he did not deserve to start over Atlanta's Martin Prado, the NL's best second baseman, who should receive as many late votes as possible. Also, since the Diamondbacks need a representative from among their unimpressive cadre of borderline contenders (including J.Upton, S.Drew, D.Haren, & I.Kennedy), Kelly Johnson seems a good fit, allowing us more flexibility when choosing Utley's replacement. Third Base: Placido Polanco currently possesses an inexplicable edge on the Mets' David Wright, who again ranks among the best players in the league. Cincinnati's Scott Rolen also would belong in the starting lineup in many years, but he will settle for a backup slot on this roster. Shortstop: Loafing or not, Florida's Hanley Ramirez remains the class of this position in the majors. Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki should receive the backup nod, though like Utley, he will spend the game on the sidelines. Outfield: No position in either league invited tougher competition than outfield in the NL, where perhaps as many as a dozen candidates can field persuasive cases. Unfortunately, phenom Jason Heyward does not belong in this group despite the strong likelihood that he will receive a starting nod, which he thankfully will decline due to injury. We can support the cases of the other two likely starters, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun and the Dodgers' Andre Ethier, though with your third vote, please support Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen, whose offensive performance alone warrants a start even before considering his superb defense. Washington's Josh Willingham claims the next slot, followed closely by the Cardinals' dynamic duo of Colby Rasmus and Matt Holliday. In the tightest race for any slot, Philadelphia's Jayson Werth appears the strongest candidate for the 33rd spot on the roster, relegating similarly deserving players like Marlon Byrd, Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, and Corey Hart to the 34th Man Voting. Starting Pitchers: Probable Cy Young and MVP hopeful Ubaldo Jimenez requires both a team berth and the starting nod, though Florida's Josh Johnson and Philadelphia's Roy Halladay would be strong contenders for the start in many other years. Atlanta's Tim Hudson and the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright hold a slight edge for the first five starting slots, but five more starters should appear here: Chris Carpenter of St. Louis, Yovani Gallardo of Milwaukee, Ryan Dempster of the Cubs as their lone representative, Roy Oswalt of the Astros (for now) as their lone representative, and the Mets' Mike Pelfrey as the tenth and final NL starter. Relievers: We fully expect Charlie Manuel to select more than three relievers, but for now, we support the Cardinals' Ryan Franklin, the Padres' Heath Bell, and the Giants' Brian Wilson as the best three candidates. Replacements: While Kelly Johnson's inclusion reduces the need for another second baseman, Milwaukee's Rickie Weeks easily warrants Utley's spot. Shortstop presents a tougher choice, but the Dodgers' Rafael Furcal can replace Tulo in a close contest with Jose Reyes. Finally, with Pelfrey set to start next Sunday, Manuel can replace him with one of the previously overlooked left-handed relievers, clearing a path for Atlanta's Billy Wagner to provide the missing piece of this bullpen. 34th Man Voting: As mentioned, Marlon Byrd, Adam Dunn, Manny Ramirez, and Corey Hart all deserve this recognition, but the 34th slot should go to the Cincinnati's Brandon Phillips, who sits one hot streak away from challenging Prado, Utley, and Weeks atop the league's second base leader boards. Of course, this allows the American League to enter the July 13th game as likely favorites to win a record 14th straight Midsummer's Classic. Today's Fantasy Rx: In the finest Chicago tradition, vote early and vote often, at least as often as possible prior to 11:59 pm EDT tonight. Click here to read the previous article. Please e-mail your comments to tim@rotohelp.com.
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