*** NEWS *** » Which players are worthy of participating July 17

Now that fan voting is finished Alexander Mattison Jersey , it’s a good time to take a hard look at All-Star Game selections.


Let’s touch on this topic first: Shohei Ohtani is incredibly talented and fascinating to watch, but the Los Angeles Angels‘ two-way Japanese star simply hasn’t been on the field enough to earn a spot. Not at pitcher OR designated hitter.

Ohtani just returned to the lineup from an elbow injury that’s knocked him off the mound for now. He’s only made nine major league pitching starts, and the Angels have limited his at-bats all season due to concerns about the rookie’s workload.

So while it would definitely be fun to see him in baseball’s summer showcase, there are several more deserving American League sluggers at DH. It wouldn’t be fair to deny one of them in favor of Ohtani. And he’s unavailable to pitch at this point.

Let him win his invitation next season with a fully healthy and productive first half. Or the year after that. Or whenever it happens.

Buzzkill, I know.

But even without Ohtani, there’s plenty to watch for leading up to the first All-Star Game in the nation’s capital since the Senators hosted at RFK Stadium in 1969.

Start with Atlanta outfielder Nick Markakis. With more than 2,150 career hits, he’s poised to make an All-Star team for the first time in his 13th big league season.

Matt Kemp, Miles Mikolas and Mike Foltynewicz are enjoying feel-good comebacks.

Robinson Cano, the MVP of last year’s game http://www.thevikingsfootballauthentic.com/dru-samia-jersey-authentic , will sit this one out while serving a drug suspension.

Injuries may keep familiar stars such as Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, Carlos Correa and Corey Seager from returning, but in their place should be exciting newcomers like Aaron Nola, Ozzie Albies, Alex Bregman and Eddie Rosario.

The American League has won five times in a row and is 17-3-1 in the last 21 years.

”I want to win. I always want to win. It’s not playing for home-field advantage anymore in the World Series, but all these guys are competitors and they want to win for their respective league,” said National League manager Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

There’s a logjam at shortstop in the AL, and the NL bullpen is loaded.

That sort of thing is where it gets complicated: Each roster has 32 spots, with 12 going to pitchers. Every club must be represented, too.

Online voting for the starters at each position ended at midnight Thursday Nick Bosa Jersey , and the teams will be revealed Sunday night.

”I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be a great experience,” said Houston’s AJ Hinch, who will manage the AL squad. ”It’s as casual a game as you’ll play with the biggest names on the stage, and all the attention that comes with it. It’s a big deal.”

Disregarding fan and player balloting, here are our picks:

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AMERICAN LEAGUE

FIRST BASE – Jose Abreu of the White Sox gets the start, barely nudging out Toronto switch-hitter Justin Smoak.

SECOND BASE – AL MVP Jose Altuve from the World Series champion Astros is backed up by 34-year-old Oakland veteran Jed Lowrie, whose first All-Star nod is probably long overdue.

SHORTSTOP – Cleveland whiz Francisco Lindor is in the lineup. Top trade target Manny Machado from lowly Baltimore, and Jean Segura from Seattle are on the bench. Gold Glove winner Andrelton Simmons of the Angels is really tough to leave out.

THIRD BASE – Jose Ramirez gives the Indians both starters on the left side of the infield. Bregman backs up at the hot corner, from Houston.

CATCHER – Wilson Ramos is a big reason the Rays are holding their own. Perennial pick Salvador Perez represents the struggling Royals despite his subpar season.

OUTFIELD – Angels star Mike Trout plays center, with Boston’s Mookie Betts in left and Yankees masher Aaron Judge in right. Reserves include Rosario from the Twins, Mitch Haniger from the Mariners Christian Wilkins Jersey , and Nicholas Castellanos from the Tigers.

DESIGNATED HITTER – J.D. Martinez has been worth every penny during his first season in Boston. Texas’ Shin-Soo Choo and New York hulk Giancarlo Stanton, last year’s NL MVP, both still play the outfield sometimes, which helps. Seattle slugger Nelson Cruz is a very difficult omission.

STARTING PITCHERS – Luis Severino is in line to become the first Yankees pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roger Clemens in 2001. Other right-handers include Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Charlie Morton from Houston, plus Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer from Cleveland. The left-handers are Boston ace Chris Sale and Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell. Seattle lefty James Paxton is our top pick to replace Verlander, who doesn’t plan to pitch in the All-Star Game because he’s scheduled to start two days before.

RELIEVERS – Four filthy closers in the bullpen: Yankees lefty Aroldis Chapman, plus right-handers Craig Kimbrel (Boston), Edwin Diaz (Seattle) and Blake Treinen (Oakland).

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NATIONAL LEAGUE

FIRST BASE – Braves cornerstone Freddie Freeman starts over Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt, who overcame a miserable May with a monster June.

SECOND BASE – The unexpected starter at a competitive position is Scooter Gennett from the Reds. Right behind him are flashy Javier Baez from the Cubs and 21-year-old igniter Ozzie Albies from the surprising Braves.

SHORTSTOP – San Francisco pro Brandon Crawford is backed up by Colorado bopper Trevor Story.

THIRD BASE – No

WASHINGTON — A pair of old friends will reconnect when the Boston Red Sox visit the Washington Nationals on Monday night.

Former teammates Rick Porcello (9-2, 3.60) of the Red Sox and Max Scherzer (10-4 http://www.thedolphinsfootballauthentic.com/michael-deiter-jersey-authentic , 2.04) square off for the first time in the opener of a three-game series.

Porcello and Scherzer spent five seasons together with the Detroit Tigers, reaching the 2012 World Series before losing to the San Francisco Giants.

Since leaving Detroit, Porcello won the 2016 American League Cy Young Award and Scherzer is making a strong case for his third straight National League Cy Young. Both have been aware this matchup was coming.

“Looking forward to it. We’ve been texting back and forth,” Porcello told the Boston Globe. “We’ve had a good time with it and I’m sure we’ll both get a kick about going against each other once the game starts.”

Scherzer is looking for his first win since June 5, though he’s pitched well enough to win each of his past four starts, allowing two earned runs or less in each outing. The Nationals are 1-3 in those starts and were shut out in each loss.

“I think everybody’s been punched in the face before of not having success,” Scherzer told The Washington Post after his last start, a 1-0 loss to the Marlins. “This is the big leagues; they are going to keep coming down your throat and keep attacking you.”

Scherzer, Washington’s only dependable starter of late, is 4-4 with a 6.05 ERA in 10 starts versus Boston.

Porcello allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings last time out in a no-decision against the Angels.

He’s 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in his lone start against Washington, an eight-inning effort in April of 2015.

The Nationals (42-40) squandered an early 3-0 lead in Philadelphia on Sunday and fell 4-3 in 13 innings on Andrew Knapp’s pinch-hit walk-off home run as Washington dropped a second straight weekend series to their division rivals.

Washington managed only four hits in eight innings against the Philadelphia bullpen in the finale.

“Offensively http://www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-zach-allen-jersey , we’ve got to do more,” outfielder Adam Eaton told The Post. “That’s plain and simple. We score early and then we can’t coast. We can’t take our foot off the accelerator. We got to keep going.”

The Nationals are now 6-15 in their past 21 games and fell six games behind Atlanta in the NL East.

In each of their last nine losses, they’ve scored three or fewer runs.

“We’ve got to start striking out less,” manager Dave Martinez told MASN, “putting the balls in play, driving in runs when we have the ability to drive in runs.”

Boston (56-29) finished a three-game series against the Yankees on a forgettable note Sunday night, getting routed 11-1 behind starter David Price as New York blasted six home runs, including three by Aaron Hicks.

Price allowed eight runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.

The Red Sox dropped two of three and travel south percentage points behind the Yankees in the AL East.