As if Orioles do not have enough reasons to watch the All-Star game with three players in the starting line-up, Wins Above Replacement (WAR) calculates that another Oriole is the most valuable player in the league. Third baseman Manny Machado has produced 5.0 additional wins for the Orioles according to WAR, but he happens to play the same position as the second best player in the league. Below are the rankings for the 48 players who will start the game on the bench or in the bullpen.
WAR does not rate adjust to allow for players who have been injured, it just measures their total value to date. Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers would rank almost in the middle of this list with a WAR of 2.3 despite playing only 30 games to date, making a strong case that he should be one of the final additions after having one of the best write-in campaigns ever. Players are often selected based partly on their careers, so clearly Torii Hunter benefits from being one of the greatest center fielders even though this year his defensive ratings have dropped substantially.
Several players on the list with a WAR of less than 2.0 had very high WAR calculations last season. For purposes of this list, we assumed the players with the highest WAR ratings would start at pitcher and in the NL at DH.
Best Bench/Bullpen players on All-Star rosters not starting.
1, Manny Machado, 3B, Baltimore, AL, 5.0.
2, Everth Cabrera, SS, San Diego, NL, 4.8.
3, Adam Wainwright, RHP, St. Louis, NL, 4.5.
4, Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Boston, AL, 4.4.
5, Cliff Lee, LHP, Philadelphia, NL, 4.4.
6, Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona, NL, 4.3.
7, Andrew McCutchen, OF, Pittsburgh, NL, 4.3.
8, Matt Harvey, RHP, N.Y. Mets, NL, 4.2.
9, Jason Kipnis, 2B, Cleveland, AL, 4.0.
10, Clay Buchholz, RHP, Boston, AL, 4.0.
11, Hisashi Iwakuma, RHP, Seattle, AL, 3.8.
12, Felix Hernandez, RHP, Seattle, AL, 3.7.
13, Matt Carpenter, 2B, St. Louis, NL, 3.6.
14, Buster Posey, C, San Francisco, NL, 3.4.
15, Max Scherzer, RHP, Detroit, AL, 3.4.
16, Yu Darvish, RHP, Texas, AL, 3.3.
17, Travis Wood, LHP, Chi. Cubs, NL, 3.1.
18, Bartolo Colon, RHP, Oakland, AL, 3.1.
19, Patrick Corbin, LHP, Arizona, NL, 3.0.
20, Jordan Zimmermann, RHP, Washington, NL, 3.0.
21, Jean Segura, SS, Milwaukee, NL, 2.9.
22, Domonic Brown, OF, Philadelphia, NL, 2.7.
23, Jeff Locke, LHP, Pittsburgh, NL, 2.6.
24, Aroldis Chapman, LHP, Cincinnati, NL, 2.5.
25, Jesse Crain, RHP, Chicago, AL, 2.5.
26, Justin Verlander, RHP, Detroit, AL, 2.4.
27, Jason Castro, C, Houston, AL, 2.3.
28, Jhonny Peralta, SS, Detroit, AL, 2.3.
29, Salvador Perez, C, Kansas City, AL, 2.2.
30, Alex Gordon, OF, Kansas City, AL, 2.2.
31, Jose Fernandez, RHP, Miami, NL, 2.2.
32, Edwin Encarnacion, 1B/DH, Toronto, AL, 2.1.
33, Marco Scutaro, 2B, San Francisco, NL, 2.0.
34, Madison Bumgarner, LHP, San Francisco, NL, 1.9.
35, Justin Masterson, RHP, Cleveland, AL, 1.9.
36, Joe Nathan, RHP, Texas, AL, 1.9.
37, Pedro Alvarez, 3B, Pittsburgh, NL, 1.8.
38, Brett Cecil, LHP, Toronto, AL, 1.8.
39, Michael Cuddyer, OF, Colorado, NL, 1.6.
40, Ben Zobrist, OF/INF, Tampa Bay, AL, 1.4.
41, Craig Kimbrel, RHP, Atlanta, NL, 1.4.
42, Mariano Rivera, RHP, NY Yankees, AL, 1.4.
43, Nelson Cruz, OF, Texas, AL, 1.3.
44, Glen Perkins, LHP, Minnesota, AL, 1.2.
45, Allen Craig, 1B, St. Louis, NL, 1.1.
46, Prince Fielder, 1B, Detroit, AL, 0.9.
47, Jason Grilli, RHP, Pittsburgh, NL, 0.9.
48, Torii Hunter, OF, Detroit, AL, 0.5.
HERE ARE THE COMPLETE ROSTERS FOR BOTH LEAGUES:
AL Starters
C Joe Mauer, Twins
1B Chris Davis, Orioles
2B Robinson Cano, Yankees
SS J.J. Hardy, Orioles
3B Miguel Cabrera, Tigers
OF Mike Trout, Angels
OF Adam Jones, Orioles
OF Jose Bautista, Blue Jays
DH David Ortiz, Red Sox
AL Pitchers
RHP Max Scherzer, Tigers
RHP Felix Hernandez, Mariners
RHP Clay Buchholz, Red Sox
LHP Brett Cecil, Blue Jays
RHP Justin Verlander, Tigers
RHP Justin Masterson, Indians
LHP Chris Sale, White Sox
RHP Mariano Rivera, Yankees
RHP Bartolo Colon, Athletics
RHP Yu Darvish, Rangers
RHP Hisashi Iwakuma, Mariners
RHP Jesse Crain, White Sox
RHP Joe Nathan, Rangers
LHP Glen Perkins, Twins
AL Reserves
1B Prince Fielder, Tigers
OF Torii Hunter, Tigers
SS Jhonny Peralta, Tigers
2B Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox
OF Nelson Cruz, Rangers
UTIL Ben Zobrist, Rays
C Jason Castro, Astros
1B Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays
OF Alex Gordon, Royals
2B Jason Kipnis, Indians
3B Manny Machado, Orioles
C Salvador Perez, Royals
NL Starters
C Yadier Molina, Cardinals
1B Joey Votto, Reds
2B Brandon Phillips, Reds
SS Troy Tulowitzki, Rockies
3B David Wright, Mets
OF Carlos Beltran, Cardinals
OF Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies
OF Bryce Harper, Nationals
NL Pitchers
LHP Clayton Kershaw, Dodgers
LHP Patrick Corbin, Diamondbacks
RHP Matt Harvey, Mets
RHP Adam Wainwright, Cardinals
RHP Jason Grilli, Pirates
RHP Jordan Zimmermann, Nationals
RHP Craig Kimbrel, Braves
LHP Aroldis Chapman, Reds
LHP Travis Wood, Cubs
RHP Jose Fernandez, Marlins
LHP Cliff Lee, Phillies
LHP Jeff Locke, Pirates
LHP Madison Bumgarner, Giants
NL Reserves
OF Andrew McCutchen, Pirates
OF Michael Cuddyer, Rockies
C Buster Posey, Giants
3B Pedro Alvarez, Pirates
OF Domonic Brown, Phillies
SS Everth Cabrera, Padres
2B Matt Carpenter, Cardinals
1B Allen Craig, Cardinals
1B Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks
OF Carlos Gomez, Brewers
SS Jean Segura, Brewers
2B Marco Scutaro, Giants
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