We’re a bit more than a month into the Major League Baseball season, so let’s make some early All-Star rosters. To do this, we’ll use FanGraphs’ combined WAR leaderboards, treat outfielders as interchangeable, and put everyone else at their primary position, including starters/relievers (with two catchers per roster). A 26-man roster for each league:
American League
Catcher:
Salvador Pérez (0.9 fWAR)
First Base:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1.8 fWAR)
Second Base:
Nick Solak (1.2 fWAR)
Shortstop:
Xander Bogaerts (1.4 fWAR)
Third Base:
José Ramírez (1.4 fWAR)
Outfield:
Mike Trout (2.4 fWAR)
Byron Buxton (2.4 fWAR)
Cedric Mullins II (1.5 fWAR)
Designated Hitter:
J.D. Martinez (1.6 fWAR)
Bench:
Yuli Gurriel (1.3 fWAR)
Shohei Ohtani (1.2 fWAR)
Alex Verdugo (1.2 fWAR)
Kyle Higashioka (0.8 fWAR)
Rotation:
Gerrit Cole (2.4 fWAR)
Tyler Glasnow (1.4 fWAR)
Shane Bieber (1.3 fWAR)
Nathan Eovaldi (1.3 fWAR)
Matthew Boyd (1.1 fWAR)
Bullpen:
Matt Barnes (0.9 fWAR)
Michael Kopech (0.9 fWAR)
Aroldis Chapman (0.8 fWAR)
James Karinchak (0.7 fWAR)
César Valdez (0.6 fWAR)
Paul Fry (0.6 fWAR)
Scott Barlow (0.6 fWAR)
Kendall Graveman (0.5 fWAR)
National League
Catcher:
Carson Kelly (1.4 fWAR)
First Base:
Jesús Aguilar (0.8 fWAR)
Second Base:
Jazz Chisholm (1.0 fWAR)
Shortstop:
Trea Turner (1.4 fWAR)
Third Base:
Kris Bryant (1.9 fWAR)
Outfield:
Ronald Acuña Jr. (2.2 fWAR)
Nick Castellanos (1.4 fWAR)
Bryce Harper (1.3 fWAR)
Bench:
Buster Posey (1.3 fWAR)
Justin Turner (1.3 fWAR)
Jesse Winker (1.1 fWAR)
Trent Grisham (1.0 fWAR)
Trevor Story (1.0 fWAR)
Rotation:
Jacob deGrom (2.5 fWAR)
Corbin Burnes (1.9 fWAR)
Clayton Kershaw (1.5 fWAR)
Aaron Nola (1.5 fWAR)
Zach Eflin (1.3 fWAR)
Bullpen:
Mark Melancon (0.8 fWAR)
Josh Hader (0.6 fWAR)
Richard Rodriguez (0.5 fWAR)
Dylan Floro (0.5 fWAR)
Blake Treinen (0.5 fWAR)
A.J. Minter (0.4 fWAR)
Giovanny Gallegos (0.4 fWAR)
J.P. Feyereisen (0.4 fWAR)
***
Interesting how many of the best players have already risen to the top. Interesting to see which relievers have been especially productive so far. Interesting that the Orioles got three guys on the list.
