Picking the NL All Stars

I think there have been many more top notch individual performances in the National League this year, and in some cases that makes it a little bit easier to pick a team.

Here we go.....


C - Geovany Soto, Chicago Cubs - Not sure if he still qualifies as a rookie or not, as he's been up each of the last three years. But this is his first real long-term assignment. He's ripping it up at the moment. He's got 6 homers, 24 RBI, and is hitting about .333. He also has 13 doubles and a triple, so his slugging percentage is .623 and the OPS is 1+. Impressive.



1b - Lance Berkman, Houston - Berkman's recent offensive tear has given him the advantage over a few other deserving candidates including Conor Jackson and Albert Pujols. But Berkman's .380 average and 12 homers and 35 runs batted in gets him my vote.



2b - Chase Utley, Philadelphia - May be the easiest pick of all of them. Utley has 13 homers, and is hitting about .336. He's really as much of an MVP candidate as any.



3b - Chipper Jones, Atlanta - He just seems to keep getting better with age. His torrid start includes an amaing 1.179 OPS. That's of the highest quality. He's missed a little bit of time due to injury, but he's got 10 homers and a +400 batting average.



SS - Rafael Furcal, Los Angeles - Another position with a great competition going on. Could easily have selected Hanley Ramirez or Miguel Tejada but Furcal deserves it slightly more at the moment.

OF - Nate McLouth, Pittsburgh - There probably isn't a more surprising start in the majors than Nate McLouth. He's hitting .315 with 9 homers and 29 Runs driven in.

OF - Pat Burrell, Philadelphia - The boos are over for this guy, for now in Philly. He's got a 1+ OPS and he's thriving in this power laden offense. In his free agent year, he's making the most of it.

OF - Xavier Nady, Pittsburgh - He's always a quick starter and he's made this an all Pennsylvania outfield. With 18 extra-base hits, he has driven in 34 runs thus far.

DH - Albert Pujols, St. Louis - Pujols is the most deserving of the position players I didn't pick to go here, and he earned my vote when he scored from second base on an infield groundout earlier in the week in Colorado.