Tall task naming NL starting shortstop
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Got my American League All-Star ballot finished. Got my NL ballot right here.
Got a boat load of Mountain Dew, a determination to avoid hanging chads and a shiny new dartboard to settle, once-and-for-all, the most difficult decision on either All-Star ballot this year: Who to pick as the NL shortstop?
Wanna argue? OK, the NL, let's go. ...
Shortstop: Man, this is tough. Let's come back to it later.
First base: Prince Fielder, Milwaukee.
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| Jose Reyes is not only exciting, he also has some pop. (Getty Images) |
No, Fielder is following up an outstanding rookie season with a sensational sophomore year. Even if Pujols and Howard had been on all season -- and how about the comeback season of Washington's Dmitri Young? -- Prince still may have been the guy. He leads the NL in homers (27) and is tied for the lead in RBI (62) at midweek.
He plays hard, he's prepared and he's developing into one of the game's riveting personalities. Brewers general manager Doug Melvin told me two springs ago that he's never looked at a young prospect and been so sure of future stardom as he had been while watching Fielder grow through the Brewers' system. Just another example of how shrewd Melvin is, and of why the Brewers have such a bright future.
Second base: Chase Utley, Philadelphia.
The tobacco-chewing, dirt-eating, grass-stained, hell-raising Phillies of 1993 (Lenny Dysktra, Darren Daulton, John Kruk and crew) would have taken Utley in as one of their own. OK, maybe he's not a hell-raiser, but he's got the best combination of tools going right now of any NL second baseman. And best of all, he's a dirt-under-the-fingernails guy who only knows one speed: Balls out.
In Florida, Dan Uggla is showing that he's no one-year wonder. In Cincinnati, Brandon Phillips is blossoming. In Arizona, if you haven't paid much attention to Orlando Hudson when he's playing defense, you're missing one of the best shows in the bigs.
Utley? Not only can he hang with Uggla (16) and Phillips (13) in the home run department (Utley had 13 at midweek), his batting average (.327) and on-base percentage (.410) both top NL second basemen. And he can catch the ball.
