- Jose Ramirez is the only MLB player to top 30 HRs and 30 stolen bases in past calendar year.
- Pete Alonso leads the majors with 123 RBI and is second to Aaron Judge in homers with 46.
- Shohei Ohtani is top 11 in two hitting (runs, stolen bases) and two pitching (ERA, WHIP) categories.
- Surprises: Tony Gonsolin has lowest ERA among starters and Dylan Cease leads in strikeouts.
The All-Star Game is a little later than usual this year, which puts our annual exercise of picking the most deserving players for the July 19 Midsummer Classic slightly ahead of the curve.
But our selection process is a little different because we don’t just use stats from the first three months of this season. It’s much more instructive to see which players have proved themselves over a full year’s worth of games.
With some assistance from BaseballHQ.com, here are the statistical leaders at each position over the second half of last season and the first half of this one – from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. (Minimum 20 games at a position in either 2021 or 2022 to qualify.)
Our picks for AL and NL starters are in bold.
ALL-STAR GAME: Nine players who should be first-time All-Stars in 2022
Catcher: Willson Contreras or JT Realmuto in NL?
Even though he’s battled a thumb injury for a good chunk of this season and could be sidelined until September, Salvador Perez of the Royals had such an amazing 2021 that no other American League catcher can come close to matching his 40 home runs, 76 runs scored and 107 RBI over the past full season.
However, Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk – who leads all AL catchers with a .293 average and is second with 51 runs scored – could threaten Perez’s crown next year.
The NL is a three-man battle with the Cubs’ Willson Contreras edging out JT Realmuto and Will Smith. Contreras has the advantage in batting average (.267), while Smith tops NL catchers in homers (27) and RBI (85). Realmuto leads the league with 74 runs and laps the field with 19 stolen bases.
However, it’s Contreras’ consistency – he ranks among the top five catchers overall in all five of the major fantasy categories – that gives him the nod.
First base: Paul Goldschmidt, Freddie Freeman, Pete Alonso all worthy
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. isn’t quite on pace to repeat last year’s amazing numbers, but he’s still packing plenty of punch at the plate. The Blue Jays star leads AL first basemen with 40 home runs and 101 runs scored over the past full season – and his 91 RBI rank second to Jose Abreu’s 98.
Perhaps the toughest call of all is in the NL, where three superstars have all produced at an elite level.
Player A: .270, 46 HR, 123 RBI, 93 R
Player F: .321, 23 HR, 86 RBI, 117 R
Player G: .338, 39 HR, 122 RBI, 117 R
As one might expect two-time defending All-Star Home Run Derby champion Pete Alonso leads the league with 46 homers. No one – at any position in either league – has scored more runs than Freddie Freeman since last July 1.
But Paul Goldschmidt has the majors highest overall batting average, is right behind Alonso in RBI and is tied with Freeman for the most runs. At age 34, Goldschmidt may be having the best season of his career.
One other note: Don’t forget about the Rockies’ C.J. Cron, who ranks seventh at the position in batting average (.298), fourth in homers (34), third in RBI (117) and eighth in runs scored (84).
Second base: Tommy Edman’s speed or Ozzie Albies’ power?
Second base has a number of players who can move to other spots around the diamond. Taking that into consideration, Jorge Polanco is the best fit in the AL. He’s the only one at the position in either league with over 100 RBI over the past calendar year, and he’s just two home runs behind Marcus Semien’s major league-leading 34.
Semien had an even larger lead over Polanco in stolen bases (17 vs. 8) and runs (96 vs. 82), but hitting under .200 for the first two months of this season resulted in Polanco’s decisive 28-point edge in batting average – .267 to .239.
The NL spot comes down to whether you prefer more speed or pop at the keystone. Tommy Edman was the only second baseman to score more than 100 runs and steal more than 30 bases (108 and 35 to be exact).
Ozzie Albies hit more homers (23), to go with 83 RBI and 88 runs, but his .250 batting average was 18 points below Edman’s.
Shortstop: Bo Bichette, Trea Turner remain elite
Bo Bichette isn’t quite hitting for average the way he did last season, but he’s doing everything else and piling up the counting stats. The Blue Jays standout ranks among the top eight shortstops in four of our five categories – with 26 homers, 90 RBI, 18 stolen bases and an AL-leading 97 runs scored over the past full season.
Trea Turner was the consensus No. 1 overall fantasy pick entering this season because he does everything exceptionally well. He ranks in the top three at the position in average (.321), runs (98), RBI (95) and steals (29). And his 25 home runs are only three behind NL leader Willy Adames.
Dansby Swanson is a worthwhile runner-up, with 27 homers, 97 RBI and 93 runs, but he can’t match Turner in average or steals.
Third base: Jose Ramirez, Manny Machado show all-around excellence
When it comes to combining elite power and speed, no one does it better than the Guardians’ Jose Ramirez. Let’s count the ways: He’s the only player in the majors with at least 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases over the past full season. He also leads all third basemen with 116 RBI over that span and is tied with Rafael Devers for the most runs with 105.
Devers does have a slight edge in homers (36 vs. 34) and his .302 average is 20 points higher than Ramirez’s, but the huge difference in steals makes it no contest.
There’s one other third baseman to reach triple di