Friday Roundup

The staff at Around The Majors and a couple of guests each listed their All-Star game ballots. Here is who I chose:

A.L. Starters:
C: Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins
1B: Victor Martinez, Cleveland Indians
2B: Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers
SS: Jason Bartlett, Tampa Bay Rays
3B: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays
LF: Jason Bay, Boston Red Sox
CF: Adam Jones, Baltimore Orioles
RF: Shin-Soo Choo, Cleveland Indians

A.L. Reserves:
C: Kurt Suzuki, Oakland Athletics
1B: Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins
2B: Aaron Hill, Toronto Blue Jays
SS: Marco Scutaro, Toronto Blue Jays
3B: Chone Figgins, Los Angeles Angels
LF: Ben Zobrist, Tampa Bay Rays
CF: Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigers
RF: Torii Hunter, Los Angeles Angels

N.L. Starters:
C: Brian McCann, Atlanta Braves
1B: Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals
2B: Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies
SS: Hanley Ramirez, Florida Marlins
3B: David Wright, New York Mets
LF: Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers
CF: Carlos Beltran, New York Mets
RF: Justin Upton, Arizona Diamondbacks

N.L. Reserves:
C: Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals
1B: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee Brewers
2B: Freddy Sanchez, Pittsburgh Pirates
SS: Yunel Esobar, Atlanta Braves
3B: Chipper Jones, Atlanta Braves
LF: Adam Dunn, Washington Nationals
CF: Hunter Pence, Houston Astros
RF: Raul Ibanez, Philadelphia Phillies

Note: Starting OF's had to play the position they were picked at, but reserve OF's could play any OF position, so for ex. you could pick 3 LF's as reserves.

So how did I do?

To see all the ballots, including the ATM staff (Jake Cohen, John Connelly, Tyler Hissey, and Jake Russ) and Sarah Green of UmpBump.com, click here.

It's almost time for a mid-season review of our Top Prospects lists. We'll have a big post with each prospect, a quote from our original writeup, stats so far this season, and a discussion of whether they've moved up, moved down, or stayed about the same. For today I just wanted to hear your opinions on our pitching prospects list.

Pitchers:
1. David Price
2. Wade Davis
3. Jeremy Hellickson
4. Jeff Niemann
5. Mitch Talbot
6. Nick Barnese
7. Matt Moore
8. Heath Rollins
9. Jake McGee
10. Alex Cobb
11. James Houser
12. Kyle Lobstein
13. Joseph Cruz
14. Albert Suarez
15. Ryan Reid
Honorable Mentions (Shane Dyer, Austin Hinkle, Justin Garcia, Chris Mason, Alexander Colome, Matt Gorgen, Will Kline, David Newmann, and Jason McEachern)

So who's moved up, moved down, stayed the same, dropped off, needs to be added?

John Sickels is taking a look back at players he picked as "Sleepers" before the season. Here is what he has to say about Joseph Cruz:

20 years old, 2-3, 3.22 with a 52/12 K/BB in 45 innings for Class A Bowling Green, 49 hits allowed. Hittable, but shows good control and has a strong K/IP ratio. I like him so far, just need to see the hits come down a bit.

And Matt Moore:

20 years old, 3.41 ERA with an 86/40 K/BB in 58 innings for Class A Bowling Green, just 35 hits allowed. Exceptional K/IP and H/IP marks show terrific dominance potential. He needs to get the walks down, but a power arm like his from the left side needs to be closely tracked. I think the Rays have another top pitching prospect on their hands.