Dreamland: 2020 Would-Have-Been MLB All-Star teams

First Base

AMERICAN: Matt Olson (A’s), Trey Mancini (Orioles)

NATIONAL: Pete Alonso (Mets), Freddie Freeman (Braves)

More than any other position, first base is completely unbalanced between the two leagues. Pickings are slim in the AL, making this is as good a place as any to squeeze an Oriole onto the team. Olson has yet to make an All-Star squad, but he blasted 36 home runs last year, won his second Gold Glove, and appears to be on an upward trajectory.

By contrast, the NL has the six best players at the cold corner in the majors. Unfortunately, they can’t all make the team. Alonso, the reigning Rookie of the Year, likely wins the fan vote. Freeman is a consistently outstanding player, but hecould easily be subbed out for any of the All-Star-caliber snubs.

SNUBS: Josh Bell (Pirates), Paul Goldschmidt (Cardinals), Max Muncy (Dodgers), Anthony Rizzo (Cubs), Luke Voit (Yankees)

Second Base

AMERICAN: D.J. LeMahieu (Yankees), Whit Merrifield (Royals)

NATIONAL: Ketel Marte (Diamondbacks), Mauricio Dubon (Giants)

The pickings are slim at second base compared to the other infield spots. Both LeMahieu and Merrifield excel at multiple positions, but call the keystone their primary home. The former hit .327 last year and found his power stroke after leaving Coors Field for Yankee Stadium. The latter led the league with 206 hits and 10 triples last season and is the lone Royals representative. Marte is expected to play second base full time after moonlighting in center field in 2019. He finished fourth in the NL MVP voting a year ago. Picking Dubon is admittedly a risk, but there really aren’t any likely All-Stars on the Giants’ bland roster. The former top prospect showed some offensive promise in a 30-game cup of coffee last season.

SNUBS: Ozzie Albies (Braves), José Altuve (Astros), Gavin Lux (Dodgers), Jonathan Villar (Marlins)

Third Base

AMERICAN: Matt Chapman (A’s), Alex Bregman (Astros), José Ramírez (Indians), Anthony Rendon (Angels) 

NATIONAL: Nolan Arenado (Rockies), Manny Machado (Padres), Eugenio Suárez (Reds)

We are witnessing a golden age of third basemen. There are about 14-15 great players at the hot corner among the 30 teams in the bigs. That makes it the most difficult spot at which to pick All-Stars. Bregman nearly won the MVP last year, but it would be tough for Astros to win the fan vote after the cheating scandal. Chapman is arguably the best defensive player in the game, regardless of position. Ramirez was an MVP finalist in both 2017 and 2018. He started slowly a year ago but rebounded in the second half. 

After winning the World Series with the Nationals, Rendon signed a massive contract with the Angels this winter. Machado was one of the big free agents from a year prior who should bounce back from a down season. Arenado has collected seven Gold Gloves in seven seasons and led the league in homers three times. Suárez finished second in MLB with 49 dingers last year.

SNUBS: Kris Bryant (Cubs), Rafael Devers (Red Sox), Josh Donaldson (Twins), Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (Blue Jays), Jeff McNeil (Mets), Yoán Moncada (White Sox), Justin Turner (Dodgers)

Shortstop

AMERICAN: Francisco Lindor (Indians), Xander Bogaerts (Red Sox)

NATIONAL: Fernando Tatís, Jr. (Padres), Javier Báez (Cubs), Trevor Story (Rockies)

This is another loaded position with plenty of snubs that were tough to leave off the rosters. Lindor is a true do-it-all superstar who will be the most prized free agent in baseball in the winter (along with Mookie Betts). It’s a down year for the Red Sox -- Boagaerts is their only All-Star. He set personal bests in 2019 with a .384 on-base percentage, .555 slugging percentage and 33 home runs. When he was healthy last year, Tatís was the most exciting rookie in the game at just 20. He has the makings of an All-Star Game mainstay for a long time. Báez and Story have each made the past two All-Star teams.

SNUBS: Tim Anderson (White Sox), Jorge Polanco (Twins), Marcus Semien (A’s), Andrelton Simmons (Angels), Trey Turner (Nationals), Gleyber Torres (Yankees)

Outfield

AMERICAN: Austin Meadows (Rays), George Springer (Astros), Mike Trout (Angels) | Backups: Yordan Álvarez (Astros), Joey Gallo (Rangers), Luis Robert (White Sox)

Trout is the easiest pick on the whole roster. The consensus best baseball player in the world has finished first or second in the MVP voting in seven of the past eight seasons. Springer has been on the past three All-Star teams. He enjoyed his best offensive season in 2019, hitting 39 home runs in just 122 games. Meadows is just scratching the surface of his upside. The 25-year-old was an All-Star in his first full season a year ago. 

Bizarrely, none of the backups played a full season in 2019. Álvarez was called up in June and won the Rookie of the Year with an incredible .655 slugging percentage. Gallo lost more than half of an otherwise brilliant season to injuries, but he hits the ball harder than just about anybody. He might not make as much contact as you’d like, but his strikeouts are mitigated by drawing tons of walks. 

Robert hasn’t even played in the major leagues yet, but MLB Pipeline ranked him their No. 3 overall prospect in the game this spring. He signed a long-term major league contract in January, so he would’ve been in the White Sox’s Opening Day lineup. A pair of conspicuously absent Yankees -- Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton -- were both injured in spring training before the shutdown.

SNUBS: Byron Buxton (Twins), Nelson Cruz (Twins), J.D. Martinez (Red Sox), Jorge Soler (Royals)

NATIONAL: Cody Bellinger (Dodgers), Mookie Betts (Dodgers), Christian Yelich (Brewers) | Backups: Ronald Acuña, Jr. (Braves), Bryce Harper (Phillies), Tommy Pham (Padres), Juan Soto (Nationals)

The starting outfielders have won three of the four MVPs in both leagues over the past two years. The neck-and-neck battle between Bellinger and Yelich was one of the most entertaining storylines of the 2019 season. Betts’ trade from Boston to Los Angeles was perhaps the most noteworthy transaction of the winter. Acuña led the NL with 37 stolen bases and 127 runs scored while swatted 41 home runs. 

Soto recorded an exemplary .401 on-base percentage. One is 22 and the other 21, so count on them to remain All-Star teammates for years to come. Harper was among the best players at this position last season even in a down year, and Pham is another new face in a new place following a trade from the Rays. He recorded his second 20-20 season (home runs and stolen bases) in 2019.

SNUBS: Shogo Akiyama (Reds), Michael Conforto (Mets), Starling Marte (Diamondbacks), Marcell Ozuna (Braves)

DH/Starting Pitcher

AMERICAN: Shohei Ohtani (Angels)

The one and only Ohtani remains a two-way unicorn. He didn’t pitch last season while recovering from Tommy John surgery, but he was cleared to throw again in December. It’s hard to believe that he hasn’t made an MLB All-Star roster yet.

Starters

AMERICAN: Justin Verlander (Astros), José Berríos (Twins), Matthew Boyd (Tigers), Gerrit Cole (Yankees), Lucas Giolito (White Sox), Tyler Glasnow (Rays), Charlie Morton (Rays), Hyun-Jin Ryu (Blue Jays)

Verlander and Cole are no longer teammates in Houston, but they remain the two best pitchers in the AL. They finished 1-2 in the Cy Young voting (Verlander won) and combined for 626 strikeouts. They’re joined by Morton, another former Astro who found the fountain of youth. He made his first two All-Star Games in 2018-19 at ages 34 and 35. 

Ryu led MLB with a 2.32 ERA last year, then jumped from the Dodgers to the Blue Jays as a free agent. Berríos is an up-and-comer with an outstanding changeup. Somehow, he’s the only Twins player on the roster, though six more are listed as snubs. Sorry, Minnesota fans! 

Giolito was once the top pitching prospect in baseball. He looked like a bust in 2018 when he allowed more walks and earned runs than anyone else in the AL. He nearly cut his ERA in half in 2019 and was named an All-Star. Glasnow only started 12 games due to injuries last year but posted a stellar 1.78 ERA. 

Boyd isn’t likely to be among the elite starting pitchers in baseball, but the Tigers lost 114 games last year. It’s not easy to find someone to represent them on the All-Star team.

SNUBS: Shane Bieber (Indians), Mike Clevinger (Indians), Zack Greinke (Astros), Jesús Luzardo (A’s), Lance Lynn (Rangers), Mike Minor (Rangers), Kenta Maeda (Twins), Blake Snell (Rays)

NATIONAL: Max Scherzer (Nationals), Walker Buehler (Dodgers), Yu Darvish (Cubs), Jacob deGrom (Mets), Jack Flaherty (Cardinals), Aaron Nola (Phillies), Stephen Strasburg (Nationals), Julio Urías (Dodgers)

Scherzer has finished in the top five in Cy Young voting in each of the past seven years. Of course, he finished behind winner deGrom for the award in 2018 and 2019. The rest of the starters are either established veteran aces or part of the next generation. Buehler has a 2.98 ERA over his first two full seasons. Darvish had trouble finding the strike zone in the first half of 2019 but was exemplary in the second half. 24-year-old Flaherty led the NL with just 6.2 hits-per-nine-innings last year. Nola surpassed 200 innings as well as 200 strikeouts in both 2018 and 2019. Strasburg led the NL with 18 wins and 209 innings for the World Series champions. Urías debuted in 2016 at just 19 years old. He’s missed time since then with injuries and a domestic violence suspension. If he can stay healthy, he has the talent to push Clayton Kershaw to No. 3 in the Dodgers' rotation.

SNUBS: Luis Castillo (Reds), Patrick Corbin (Nationals), Sonny Gray (Reds), Kyle Hendricks (Cubs), Clayton Kershaw (Dodgers), German Márquez (Rockies), Robbie Ray (Diamondbacks), Mike Soroka (Braves)

Relievers

AMERICAN: Nick Anderson (Rays), Aroldis Chapman (Yankees), Ken Giles (Blue Jays), James Karinchak (Indians) 

NATIONAL: Josh Hader (Brewers), Keone Kela (Pirates), Brandon Kintzler (Marlins), Kirby Yates (Padres)

Relievers are always a crapshoot because of their high variability from year to year. Chapman and Giles are consistently among the best in the game, with fastballs surpassing 100 mph. Anderson was an absolute strikeout monster last year, fanning 110  in 65 innings as a 28-year-old rookie. It’s rare to see a reliever prospect as hyped as Karinchak. He recorded 91 outs across three minor league levels, and 74 of them were strikeouts! He also whiffed eight in 5 ⅓ innings in the majors. 

It’s a similar pattern in the NL. Hader and Yates would be returning All-Stars who both struck out more than 15 batters-per-nine-innings last year. Kela and Kintzler are fine relievers, but they’re really here because someone had to represent the moribund Pirates and Marlins.

SNUBS: Sean Doolittle (Nationals), Liam Hendriks (A’s), Seth Lugo (Mets), Adam Ottavino (Yankees), Ryan Pressly (Astros), Emilio Pagán (Padres)