2013 All Star Selections

     The Rockies are going to be well represented at the All Star game on July 16th. The Rosters were announced yesterday and the Rockies had three players selected for the team. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki were selected as starters for the game and Michael Cuddyer was selected as a reserve. This will be the first time since Todd Helton in 2003 that the Rockies have had a starter selected by the fans in the midsummer classic. In 2011 Tulowitzki started the game but was a replacement for the injured Jose Reyes.

     Troy Tulowitzki will be making his third appearance in the All Star game. Prior to his injury this year, Tulo was putting up MVP type numbers and could have possibly made a run at the Triple Crown. on the year he is hitting .347 with 16 home runs and 51 RBI in just 61 games played. He has an on base percentage of .413 and is slugging .635. His defense is back to Gold Glove caliber as well and he has only one error in 273 chances at the shortstop position. He is getting ready to return from the disabled list as the broken rib that he suffered is nearly healed. He has said that he will play in the All Star game if he is back playing games with the Rockies prior to then, if not then he will forego his spot and make sure that he is back at 100% before rushing back.

     Carlos Gonzalez is going to be making his second All Star game appearance this year and will be starting in the outfield. He started  the game last year as he was appointed the Designated Hitter by manager Tony LaRussa. Gonzalez is having a great year both offensively and defensively and he currently leads the National League in home runs with 24. He is hitting .303 with 24 home runs and 63 RBI. Gonzalez has also turned in a number of highlight reel plays in the outfield this year and leads all of baseball with nine outfield assists. There is no question that he should be an All Star and should garner some MVP votes as long as he keeps hitting like he has been.

     Michael Cuddyer will be making his second All Star game appearance this year and now has been a member of both the American and National league teams. He was an All Star in 2011 as a member of the Twins. It is hard for a player to be as underrated as Cuddyer is especially with the kind of numbers that he is putting up this year. On the year he is hitting .341 with 15 home runs and 52 RBI. Cuddyer is second in the National League in batting average, behind Yadier Molina who is batting .346. he has found the fountain of youth this year and is having one of the best statistical years he has ever had.

     The Starters for the National League are as follows:
Yadier Molina, Catcher
Joey Votto, First Base
Brandon Phillips: Second Base
Troy Tulowitzki, Shortstop
David Wright, Third Base
Carlos Beltran, Outfield
Carlos Gonzalez, Outfield
Bryce Harper, Outfield

     The Reserves for the National League are as follows:
Madison Bumgarner, Pitcher
Aroldis Chapman, Pitcher
Patrick Corbin, Pitcher
Jose Fernandez, Pitcher
Matt Harvey, Pitcher
Jason Grilli, Pitcher
Clayton Kershaw, Pitcher
Craig Kimbrel, Pitcher
Jeff Locke, Pitcher
Cliff Lee, Pitcher
Adam Wainwright, Pitcher
Travis Wood, Pitcher
Jordan Zimmerman, Pitcher
Pedro Alvarez, Third Base
Dominic Brown, Outfield
Everth Cabrera, Shortstop
Matt Carpenter, Second Base
Allen Craig, First Base
Michael Cuddyer, Outfield
Paul Goldschmidt, First Base
Carlos Gomez, Outfield
Andrew McCutchen, Outfield
Buster Posey, Catcher
Marco Scutaro, Second Base
Jean Segura, Shortstop

     The only Rockies player that has a case for being in the All Star game but was not selected is Rex Brothers. Brothers has been dominant this year and has an ERA of 1.02. He filled in nicely for Rafael Betancourt as the closer when Betancourt was on the shelf with a groin injury. Opponents are hitting just .200 against him and he is averaging one strikeout per inning. He has had a great year but unfortunately for him, there are a lot of great closers in the National League and not many setup guys have the chance to be selected to the team. He should have a chance later on in his career when he takes over as the teams primary closer.