MLB All-Star ballot: Under-the-radar picks for each position, including Brice Turang, Alec Burleson and more

Voting for the annual All-Star Game (July 16 in Texas) is underway. You can vote on MLB.com here. I will do this many times with two different sets of ballots this season and post them both for you to see.

I already posted the vote where I choose who I believe is the best player of 2024 in each position. We may see some of those players here, but this will be the least obvious and least popular player vote. In other words, we will see mega names like Juan Soto, Aaron Judge, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Ronald Acuña Jr. (before his injury) and Bryce Harper at or near the top of the vote count. Oh, and Shohei Ohtani is obviously going to win NL DH. This is about everyone else.

If you don’t fancy aligning yourself with all the biggest names, it might be fun to eliminate them from some of your ballots (remember, you can vote multiple times) and go with other players for a little variety. . No, this isn’t about “participation trophies”, because I’m not voting for bad players. As noted, I will leave the door open to voting here for the same player I voted for in my main poll. I’m simply spreading the love a little more for players who deserve a stronger look. Every player here deserves consideration for an All-Star spot.

American League

Catcher – Adley Rutschman, Orioles. Can we now call Rutschman an establishment candidate? He was an All-Star last year and did big business in the Home Run Derby. Additionally, he was a former No. 1 overall pick and a top prospect. Tough call. I think it’s okay to use him here since he was once an All-Star and hasn’t won the vote yet. I understand that some people would disagree, in which case you would choose between Ryan Jeffers, Connor Wong, and Cal Raleigh.

I admit this must be controversial. I can easily see arguments that Rutschman should not be allowed here.

First base – Josh Naylor, Guardians. He was the best play on the board and had never been an All-Star before. He’s played in nine postseason games, including some high-profile ones, but I still feel like he’s a little under the radar. He’s an easy double pick.

Second baseman – Andrés Giménez, Guardians. While you can argue for Jose Altuve and the “star power” guard might like Marcus Semien, especially with the World Series champion Rangers as host, both are eliminated here for being too obvious. This makes pickings slim here. It’s either Davis Schneider or Giménez and we’re going with the exceptional defender in a first-place team.

Third baseman – Jordan Westburg, Orioles. José Ramírez and Rafael Devers are out, as is Alex Bregman if he were to get hot enough to be mentioned. It comes down to Westburg and Isaac Paredes and there is no wrong answer. I have to choose one and it’s Westburg. The young man is hitting .285/.341/.498 (143 OPS+) with 11 doubles, three triples, nine homers, 36 RBI, 30 runs and six steals.

Shortstop – Bobby Witt, Jr., Royals. I said in my other poll that there was such a tie between Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson, even though neither of them were close to any kind of supersaturation point in terms of attention that I would put one on each. That means since I took Gunnar in the first, Witt goes here.

Outfielders – Steven Kwan, Guardians; Riley Greene, Tigers; Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays. All of our top three selections have now been released. Judge and Soto are such big names that I mentioned them here in the introduction. Kyle Tucker is a two-time All-Star and everyone has seen a lot of him in all of the Astros’ postseason runs as well.

Did Kwan play enough? He only played in 35 games, but he’s back on the field and I hope he stays that way before the break. If that happens, he will have done a lot of work. He also accumulated a lot of value in that short period of time, hitting .361/.418/.500 with excellent defense.

After that, the options quickly diminish. Greene is a great talent and deserves a look while Varsho overcomes his low batting average with great defense and versatility on the field in addition to power and base-stealing ability.

Jarren Duran of the Red Sox also has an argument here.

Designated Hitter – Brent Rooker, A’s. Yordan Alvarez and Giancarlo Stanton are easily “obvious” names, so they are eliminated and that clears the way for a deserving All-Star in Rooker. He broke out with 30 home runs last season and is now hitting .279/.368/.553 (166 OPS+) with 12 home runs and 39 RBI.

National League

Catcher – Patrick Bailey, Giants. I think we have to eliminate William Contreras because even though he hadn’t made the All-Star team before (he did), his brother helped increase his name recognition. Will Smith plays for the Dodgers, so he’s out too. That clears the way for Bailey, although he is limited to 38 games.

First baseman – Christian Walker, Diamondbacks. We have two easy outs here in Bryce Harper and Freddie Freeman (along with Pete Alonso and Matt Olson if they were having good enough seasons), which clears the way for LaMonte Wade Jr. Walker has never been an All-Star and is an excellent defender , as well as having 12 homers and 38 RBI while slashing .260/.354/.466 (135 OPS+). He’s the piece here, as we can’t be sure Wade will return in time.

Second baseman – Brice Turang, Brewers. Luis Arraez saw a huge rebound in his batting average last season and that should happen again. Ketel Marte is an established star and played in the World Series last year, so I’m going to finish with these two. I’d vote for either of them if there wasn’t a viable alternative, but Turang is hitting .295 with a .361 OBP and 21 stolen bases for a first-place team. It deserves a look.

Third base – Alec Bohm, Phillies. We had a lot of “very obvious” eliminations here in Matt Chapman, Nolan Arenado, Austin Riley, Manny Machado… but they all finished behind Bohm in my main poll. Is Bohm too well known to be chosen here? I don’t think he is. He was never an All-Star and even in two deep playoffs, the Phillies had too many big names to overshadow him. Bohm is chosen in both votes. The toughest omission on both ballots was the Brewers’ Joey Ortiz, and if you think Bohm is an “obvious” guy, Ortiz is a great selection.

Shortstop Elly De La Cruz, Reds. It’s hard to say De La Cruz is under the radar or anything, but he has no chance of beating Mookie Betts in the voting and has never been an All-Star. He has not yet completed a year of service. He’s also struggling a lot at the plate right now, but that still leaves him with a 113 wRC+ and a 113 OPS+. He leads the majors with 32 stolen bases. I really want to see him in the All-Star Game, so he’s the piece here.

Outfielders – Jurickson Profar, Padres; Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers; Jazz Chisholm Jr., Marlins. Profar was once baseball’s top prospect, and 11 years later, he’s still not an All-Star. He has been so valuable to the Padres this season that he is the top pick in both ballots.

The other two choices on the main ballot, Christian Yelich and Fernando Tatis Jr., are certainly too obvious to be accepted on this ballot. Is it Hernandez? He started the game in 2021 and is now with the Dodgers, but I don’t think he is what famous. Given the dearth of All-Star worthy players here, I’ll sign him.

Jazz has a cool name and has already been on the cover of MLB The Show, but he’s still not well-known among casual sports fans. He is having a quality season and gets third place here.

Designated Hitter – Alec Burleson, Cardinals. A difficult. Ohtani is out. Does Marcell Ozuna count here? He is a two-time All-Star and has long been a standout hitter. I’m inclined to look elsewhere. Joc Pederson, JD Martinez and Kyle Schwarber are also very well known. Donovan Solano only played in 19 games.

It looks like Burleson. He is hitting .276 with eight homers and 22 RBI.