Predicting the MLB All Star Game with Ry The Guy || Collab Week!

Edition #70

HEADLINES:

JORDAN MONTGOMERY SIGNS WITH UNEXPECTED TEAM

A'S ROTATION (DOES IT REALLY MATTER?)

NFL KICKOFFS WILL NOW BE VERY VERY WEIRD

HIP-DROP TACKLES IS OUT OF HERE

NFL LEAGUE MEETINGS RECAP

KICKOFF RULE GIVING PLAYERS MORE MONEY

DANG BIG CONTRACT FOR L’JARiUS SNEED. OMG.

TRUMP IS CHEATER AT… GOLF???

MASTERS QUALIFICATION

SUPER KINGS WITH AMAZING PLAY

What happened to the man who lost 1 crore betting on the IPL?

OH YEAH. TALK ABOUT A COMEBACK

INTRO:

Opening Day.

The smell of the hot dogs, nachos, french fries, heck, all the baseball park food. It’s crazy. It’s all coming back baby. 1 more damn day.

Yeah, sure. This isn’t really like Opening Day. I mean, the Dodgers and the Padres played a short series in South Korea, but even with all the drama and all the anticipation, it doesn’t matter unless it’s here. It’s local.

We saw Mookie and Manny go yard in Seoul, can they crack all-stars? What about Ohtani or Tatis? Kim or Freeman? As we continue collab week here at Sports Square, let’s welcome Ry The Guy and we’re going to sort all the all-stars. Without further ado? Let’s get started!

Predicting the All-Stars

Smayan:

Let’s get right into this. Why don’t we start with the pitchers? We’re only going to predict one because of a space limitation, but let’s put some in-depth advice.

Starter:

Tyler Glasnow

Okay, we can’t judge Tyler only after one start. To me? He did good. To the world? He did okay and that was because of his curveball, which wasn’t his best. 

“It was bad. The whole game I just didn’t have it. Honestly, my slider today was just kind of what I was pitching off of and everything else felt kind of inconsistent. I tried to get it back later, but it was just one of those day where it was not really there.” Tyler Glasnow

Okay, man. Your curveball wasn’t there, but his slider was CRAZY good (responsible for ALL of his strikeouts). His fastball touched 98 mph, which is another amazing sign. How can you not consider this stupendous? Or even good? 

Yamamoto may not perform the best, but with how the season is going so far, we should all have very high hopes for Tyler Glasnow. Don’t ya think, Ry? I mean, I didn’t even write this factor in for choosing Glasnow, but most of the high-profile pitchers (e.g. Shohei Ohtani, Gerrit Cole) are injured. Who do you think deserves this better than Glasnow?

Ry: 

Glasnow could start, but I would be a bit surprised. I think if Scherzer comes back soon, it could be him. 

Max Scherzer has been one of the best pitchers in history throughout his career. He has a 3.15 career ERA and a 4.5 K/BB ratio. That means for every walk he gives up he strikes out 4.5 batters.

He has a 12-6 average W-L record with 214 career wins and 108 losses over 16 seasons with 6 different teams. He started game 7 of the 2019 World Series where the Nationals won 6-2.

But, Scherzer is not likely to return in the early season cutting that possibility.

There are plenty of other pitchers that could take the NL starting position, Zac Gallen could go back-to-back. Pitchers like Zach Wheeler and Spencer Strider also could make that All-star list.

But one dark horse pitcher you’ll want to watch out for is Mackenzie Gore. For those of you who don’t know who Gore is, he is a starter for the Nationals. He was added to the team as a part of the Juan Soto Padres trade. He struck out Soto when he faced him last year, so we all know who won that trade.

In his 2 years in the MLB, he has a 1.42 WHIP, with a 1.4 WHIP in 2023. His ERA was not great, but he was in his second season and his first full season. He had 151 strikeouts in 2023, tied 46th in the league. In his 2 year career, he has a 9.3 K/9. 10 K’s per 9 innings in 2023 and 9.3 in 2022.

I’m not saying it will happen Smayan, but I would not be surprised.

Let’s head on to the next part. What do you think about the infield? I’ll put my view after you tell me yours Smayan!

Smayan:

Well, if you need a manual, we have one at Sports Square, but let me save you a bit of time and tell you about the infield. 

If you don’t have a good one, you’re dead. 

The infield consists of 5 positions: catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, and third base. Ry and I are going to go over all that.

Catcher:

Adley Rutschman for AL. Will Smith for NL. 

I think the one thing I’ve heard a lot of people say is that Jonah Heim is the best catcher in the AL. I object every single time. The reason so is grit. 

I was playing the Road to the Show mode in MLB The Show 24. As you may all know, they brought back the storyline mode, but when I got called up to the MLB (took me a few days of playing), it was crazy how they said the same thing coaches in Little League say to their players. Grit. Adley has that. Jonah, from what I’ve seen so far, doesn’t.

Another thing. Jonah Heim had way less at bats than Adley in the last two years, but even then Jonah had more strikeouts than Rutschman. Adley also drew more walks, had a better average, and in mlb.com rankings, is in Tier 1 by himself. 

For the NL, I think Will Smith deserves his chance to shine bright by himself. Sure, there is always William Contreras and J.T. Realmuto, but check this stat out. He has OPS+ marks of 133, 162, 127, 124, and 114 in his five seasons for the Dodgers. He’s also averaged 131 games played, 23 home runs, 80 RBIs, and 73 runs scored with a .820 OPS over the last three years. Crazy!

My first base pick would be Freddie Freeman and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The AL is pretty much decided, but the NL could be a big fight. The only thing that’s pushing me towards picking Freeman is the stats. Although Olson has more RBIs and walks, Freeman has a better average, more hits, and more runs in! While comparing these two players, we can’t say anything about the injuries, as Matt Olson played every single game of the 2023 season and Freddie Freeman played every single game except the last one.

My second base pick is Marcus Semien and Luis Arraez. We all know how Arraez was on that .400 chase. It was crazy! Unbelievable! Obviously, I don’t expect that, but I feel like he’ll be a pretty solid choice at 2nd base. He ended up with a very good average, .354. He struck out only 35 TIMES! Out of 147 games! What! He got 204 hits too! Semien? He played 162 games last season, had 185 hits, 100 RBIs, and 72 walks! Woah~

My third base pick is going to be José Ramírez and Austin Riley. Jose because he has averaged a 143 OPS+ over the last four years and has hit at least 30% better than league-average in six of the last seven seasons! Wild! He also has the highest wRC+ among qualified third basemen. Austin Riley’s a pretty hard pick. There are people like Matt Chapman and Manny Machado in the same league, but Austin’s going to go over the top, just like the usual. I mean, look at his stats!

2023: .281/.345/.516, 37 HR, 127 wRC+, 5.2 fWAR

Shortstop’s a pretty hard position. There are SO many people who deserve this spot. Those guys are Mookie Betts and Corey Seager. Okay, so maybe we don’t know how good Mookie will be at shortstop. For all that’s being said, he could be the worst shortstop we’ve ever seen! But, his hitting will substitute for all of it. Even if his defense is going to suck. Corey Seager. We’ve seen all that this guy’s done. 

Ry. What are you thinking?

Ry The Guy:

Alright, and now for me. I’ll start from behind the plate and work around the numbers.

Strong catching options are Adley Rutschman, Jonah Heim, and maybe even Yainer Diaz or Bo Naylor.

Let’s start with Adley. Last year he hit .277, 20 homers, 80 RBIs, and .809 OPS. He also had 31 doubles. He is one of the best catchers in the AL, maybe even the whole MLB.

Next is reigning World Series Champ Jonah Heim. Last year he hit .258 with 18 HRs, 95 RBI, and .755 OPS. In the playoffs, he hit 3 HRs to help Texas. Not only are all of these catchers good hitters, but they’re even better defensively.

For the NL, there are so many to choose from. There’s JT, Will Smith, Sean Murphy, William Contreras, and maybe but not likely Keibert Ruiz.

JT, Wil Smith, and Sean Murphy have been three of the best catchers for a while now, and remain atop my catcher power rankings if I were to make them.

JT has been a huge part of the Phillies team in the playoffs and the playoff pushes the last two years. He even hit an inside-the-park home run against Sean Murphy in the playoffs.

My catcher's picks are JT and Adley.

1st base: Obviously Bryce Harper is always an All-star candidate for his great hitting, but he can play well in the field too. Rhys Hoskins is the Brewers’ only decent player especially now that Woodruff won’t pitch this season, so that will help him look better than he already is. But my pick is Freddie Freeman. That Dodger team is unreal, so they will have many picks. 

For the AL I do have not as good of an idea as for the NL, but I do think Vladdy will get it. Vladdy has been good in his career, and who else is there? Josh Naylor is good, he has power, but he does not meet Vladdy in any circumstance. Rizzo is also a good option, he can hit and field. Fielding better than Vlad but can’t catch up to his hitting.

2nd Base: Two unbeatable words, Marcus and then Semien. Marcus Semien has been the best 2nd baseman in the AL all of last year, only matched by no one. Lowe is a good 2nd, but Semien can hit tanks, and make great plays, he can do it all. Semien started last year in the AL’s 4-3 loss.

For the NL, I would have to take either Ozzie Albies or Ketel Marte. Both have good defense and hitting. Both are on playoff teams that played well all season. But if I had to choose between them, I’d choose Ketel Marte. I’d pick him because he is just slightly better overall. Plus, I think the MLB will feel bad if the All-Stars are all Dodgers and Braves.

3rd Base: Austin Riley had a great year last year to become my first candidate for starter in the NL. He has power and fielding ability. Don’t sleep on power hitter Jake Burger though, he is one of the better home run hitters in the league.

For the AL, I’m going to have to go to either Gunnar Henderson or Jose Ramirez. Gunnar had a great rookie year for Baltimore. Jose is one of the few great hitters for Cleveland while he is also one of their many gold-glove tier fielders. Josh Jung started last year, and I thought that was dumb.

Shortstop: There are lots of players that could go here. Witt, Seager, or even Bichette. Others I think could happen are Jeremy Pena and Trevor Story. Trevor Story was out with an injury last year, so he could not play and show how good he is. Jeremy Pena is my pick to start because when he is playing well, he can play better than anyone.

My NL pick did not play well at all last year until the end of the season. He played amazingly during the World Baseball Classic but did not continue that to the MLB season. He won a World Series in 2019 with Washington, and his name is Trea Turner. I think this is going to be a comeback season for him, possibly posting some of the best numbers of his life. A nice second is Mookie Betts, but I think Trea is going to break out the season.

Alright, Smayan that's my infield, let’s start with you for the outfield.

Smayan:

Coming back to what you said about Betts, man, I get goosebumps when he makes those plays out there, but another one of those guys is Ronald José Acuña Blanco Jr. This guy created his own new club! The 40/70 (40 home runs, 70 stolen bases) club. No, he will not have the same level of success, but even if he dies off a bit, he’ll still have a crazy season if not a record-breaking season. How about Juan Soto? Complete change of scenery for him (again), and with him, the Yankees complete their outfield. I mean, picture this. Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Juan Soto. He’s also in an easier division (maybe not, but still) and we all know that he cooks in the playoffs.

What about Teoscar Hernandez? What do you think about him? Cedric Mullins? Luis Robert Jr.? Mike Trout? There’s so much talent in Center Field. Heck, it’s the same all around the outfield. (Can we consider Ohtani? He might play the field…) Without further ado, here are my picks and a brief explanation.

LF:

AL: Juan Soto (EXPLAINED ABOVE)

NL: Kyle Schwarber. Remember in 2022? When the man led the NL with 46 home runs? We will get a revival of that.

CF:

AL: Julio Rodriguez. Yes. Mike Trout is amazing. He can easily get an appearance, but J-Rod had 180 hits, a .275 average, and 103 RBIs.

NL: Jung Hoo Lee. My gut…

RF:

AL: Adolis Garcia. What he did in the World Series last year should be nothing short of his performance this season.

NL: Ronald Acuña Jr. (EXPLAINED ABOVE)

Ry:

Now. Now. Don’t always go with your gut.

My turn! I’m going to start with the NL, and then move on to the AL after.

So for the NL, I think we can all agree with Ronald Acuna Jr. to start in right field, assuming that's where he plays during the season. While Cody Bellinger would be a good pick for center field, why pick the former MVPs for every spot? A good young center fielder by the name of Johan Rojas has some of the best defensive talents in the league. According to the Phillies vs. Rays broadcasting crew on MLB.TV from Monday’s game, they said that Rojas may be the best defensive center fielder in all of baseball. But, he has been struggling to hit last postseason, and this spring, but is set in the Phils opening day lineup. I think that if can hit around .250 this season with at least 5 home runs at the break, he could make his claim for starting this game. Lastly for the NL is left field. I think this one will have to go to young star Corbin Carroll. Carroll led the Arizona Diamondbacks to the World Series last year but lost to Texas 4-1.

For the AL, this may sound crazy but what if it was all Yankees? I don’t think it will happen, but if Judge stays healthy and Stanton goes above and beyond then it might happen. I think Soto will start because of his tremendous power at the plate and his ability to make noise in the field as well. Don’t be surprised if Judge makes it. He can hit homer after homer if he is healthy, but he also has a very good average. Last is going to be Randy Arozarena or as I like to call him Randy The GOAT. I call him that because of his one year when he set the record for postseason homers. I think he will play very well this season and earn a starting spot.

Roster Picks

SMAYAN:

I go in order of AL, NL

Pitcher: Tyler Glasnow

Catcher: Rutschman, Smith

1st Base: Guerrero, Freeman

2nd Base: Semien, Arraez

3rd Base: Ramirez, Riley

Shortstop: Seager, Betts

LF: Soto, Schwarber

CF: Rodriguez, Hoo Lee

RF: Garcia, Acuña

RY THE GUY:

Pitcher: Mackenzie Gore

Catcher: AL- Adley NL- JT

1st Base: NL- Freddie AL- Vladdy

2nd Base: AL- Semien NL- Marte

3rd Base: AL- Gunnar NL- Austin Reily

SS: AL- Pena NL- Trea

OF: AL- Judge, Soto, Arozarena NL- Acuna Jr, Rojas, Carroll.

Conclusion

With that, we come to an end to this edition. Did you like it? Make sure to like this post and subscribe. Argue with any of the decisions Ry and I made? You have all the right to go down in the comments and swear at us.