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The 2021 Spring Training All-Stars

The Pirates, Twins and Angels headline these star-studded squads.

Alex Kleinman
We Love Baseball 4/1/2021

Today, we will have regular season baseball. Can you believe it?

Immediately after the final out of the World Series, I began counting the days until pitchers and catchers reported for Spring Training. The offseason seemed oh so long, but the preseason seemed oh so short. In what seemed like an instant, February and March flew by, and so did Spring Training.

Before we can catch our collective breath, July will come and so will the 2021 All-Star Game in Atlanta. Wait, now that I think of it… we didn’t have an All-Star Game last year. I have an idea… what if we made up for last year’s abbreviated regular season by creating an All-Star matchup between the Grapefruit and Cactus Leagues based on this year’s Spring Training stats?

You thought 2020 had small sample sizes? Wait ’til you see the best hitters and pitchers from this year’s Spring Training!

Now, it’s important to not put too much weight into Spring Training stats since no team played 30 games. For example: no player had more than 72 ABs/23.1 IP, so it’s unlikely that someone like Kevin Newman can post a .606 BA over the regular season.

But here at Pitcher List, we like to have fun. And what’s more fun than creating a hypothetical All-Star game comprised of the best pre-season hitters?

The selection criteria will be the same as it is for the regular season All-Star game:

  1. Each MLB team must be represented.
  2. 32 players will be selected for each league.
  3. There are 20 position players and 12 pitchers on each roster.

Without further ado, here are the official 2021 Pitcher List Spring Training All-Stars:

 

The Cactus League All-Stars

 

STARTERS

 

C – Willson Contreras (CHC)

 

41 ABs, .317/.440/.756, 4 HR, 9 RBI, 9 R, 15 K:6 BB

The veteran Cubs catcher put together a solid ST, recording the highest OPS (1.196) among any catcher in the state of Arizona. Contreras has already been selected to the past two regular season All-Star games, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him representing the NL in Atlanta this year. He will have some stiff competition from some talented NL contemporaries, such as J.T. Realmuto and Will Smith. But Contreras showed he is in top form heading into April, rocking this blast in his penultimate at-bat of Spring Training.

 

1B – Matt Olson (OAK)

 

49 ABs, .327/.346/.796, 6 HR, 18 RBI, 11 R, 14 K:2 BB

It was a tough fight to claim the starting first base spot in the Cactus League, as the Rockies’ C.J. Cron put up an admirable .354/.415/.771 line. But Olson earned the nod due to his more productive at-bats, as he knocked in more than twice as many RBIs as Cron (who had just 8). The Oakland slugger has yet to earn a regular season All-Star nod, and 2021 looks difficult as he will have to out-slug the reigning AL MVP and AL HR leader in Jose Abreu and Luke Voit, respectively.

Don’t sleep on Olson’s power though.

 

2B – Chris Taylor (LAD)

 

45 ABs, .311/.392/.756, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 10 R, 16 K:6 BB

You know the Dodgers have a deep roster when someone like Taylor, whose 118 wRC+ since 2017 is the 7th best among all SS, is a projected bench player. Now, Taylor’s positional flexibility does mean that he qualifies for multiple spots on this All-Star roster. But Taylor was selected for 2B because there weren’t that many good second basemen across the Cactus League. Seager had the most HR of any middle infielder besides his teammate and fellow All-Star starter, Corey Seager.

 

3B – Ty France (SEA)

 

49 ABs, .327/.421/.714, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 10 R, 7 K:5 BB

France struggled to find regular playing time the past of couple years, but all that changed after his mid-season trade to Seattle. France began the 2020 season by hitting .309 in 55 ABs for the Padres, and he continued his hot start by hitting .302 in 86 ABs for the Mariners. France never stopped hitting .300, recording a .327 average across 49 ABs in ST.

If France can build upon his great Spring Training performance, then that young Seattle hitting core with Jarred Kelenic, Evan White, and Kyle Lewis looks quite promising.

 

SS – Corey Seager (LAD)

 

52 ABs, .346/.424/.827, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 14 R, 9 K:7 BB

Kyle’s brother was a red-hot slugger this March, smashing 8 dingers—tied with Joc Pederson for the most in Spring Training. Seager enters his contract year eyeing what could possibly be a $200 million contract. Since his debut in 2015, Seager has a 130 wRC+, which is the best among any shortstop.

Here he is taking his fellow Cactus League All-Star deep:

And here he is taking away the spotlight from his teammate Gavin Lux.

$200 million seems possible for this star who is somehow younger than Francisco Lindor, Trevor Story, and Xander Bogaerts.

 

LF – Joc Pederson (CHC)

 

45 ABs, .378/.431/1.000, 8 HR, 20 RBI, 12 R, 10 K:5 BB

A change of scenery has so far benefitted the former Dodger. Pederson led all of Spring Training in RBIs and was tied with Seager for the most HR, giving him a beautiful 1.000 SLG across his 18 games played. He has more home runs in Spring Training than he did in all of last season, and in far fewer ABs (2020 stats: 7 HR in 121 ABs). With a regular spot in the heart of the Cubs order, does Pederson stand a chance of setting his new single-season high for homers in 2021?

 

CF – Ketel Marte (ARI)

 

41 ABs, .341/.449/.732, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 11 R, 7 K:7 BB

Did you forget that Marte finished fourth in the NL MVP voting in 2019? That season, Marte showed his ability to hit 30+ homers while barely missing out on the batting title (Marte hit .3286 while Yelich won with .3292—a difference of just one hit). While Marte struggled to replicate that power surge in 2020, he still maintained phenomenal bat-to-ball skills. If he can fix that power outage and continue his hot Spring Training performance, Marte will easily be the star of the Diamondbacks roster in 2021.

 

RF – Joey Gallo (TEX)

 

44 ABs, .318/.404/.818, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 10 R, 15 K:7 BB

There are extremely few hitters who demolish a baseball as hard as Gallo.

From 2017 to 2019, here are the leaders in average exit velocity (min. 100 BBE):

2017 Aaron Judge (94.8 MPH) Joey Gallo (93.3 MPH) Nelson Cruz (93.2 MPH)
2018 Aaron Judge (94.7 MPH) Miguel Cabrera (94.4 MPH) Joey Gallo (94.4 MPH)
2019 Aaron Judge (96 MPH) Joey Gallo (94.8 MPH) Miguel Sano (94.4 MPH)

Gallo continued crushing the baseball this spring, recording the second-highest slugging percentage of any outfielder with at least 30 ABs. When Gallo isn’t throwing no-hitters and taking Greg Maddux’s daughter to prom, he’s usually rounding the bases.

Here’s one last Gallo fun fact I’ll leave you with: Career singles: 122. Career home runs: 120.

 

DH – Shohei Ohtani (LAA)

 

31 ABs, .548/.571/1.032, 5 HR, 8 RBI, 11 R, 4 K:3 BB

On the mound, Ohtani left a lot to be desired. He was properly shellacked for a 12.19 ERA/2.42 WHIP across 10.1 IP. He did notch 17 Ks, but at the cost of 10 walks, too.

At the plate, however, Ohtani was a behemoth.

Ohtani was easily the best hitter from Los Angeles this spring, posting the second best BA and SLG across the majors (min. 25 AB). He clobbered 5 HR out of his 17 hits, a homer rate that would make Mark McGwire jealous.

If this spring is any indication, a healthy Ohtani means the Angels will have arguably the most dangerous 2-3-4 in the MLB.

 

SP – Logan Webb (SF)

 

17 IP, 0.53 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 22 K:2 BB

The fight to start for the Cactus League was a tough one. Lucas Giolito and Corbin Burnes both put up strong arguments for this spot. But ultimately, Logan Webb from San Francisco ran away with the starting job.

Once the top pitching prospect in the Giants’ organization, Webb struggled over his first two seasons, posting a 5.36 ERA and 1.521 WHIP over 94 IP, with a 7.9 K/9. But Webb had phenomenal peripherals this spring, earning his spot as the No. 3 starter in the Giants rotation.

Webb had the best WHIP and second-best ERA of any SP in the Cactus League, giving up just one run over 17.1 IP. That ER didn’t even result from a hit—it happened on a wild pitch.

 

RESERVES

 

C: Salvador Perez (KC)

1B: Albert Pujols (LAA), C.J. Cron (COL)

2B: Jonathan India (CIN), Cesar Hernandez (CLE)

3B: Chad Pinder (OAK)

SS: Josh Rojas (ARI)

OF: Justin Upton (LAA), Adam Engel (CWS), Christian Yelich (MIL)

DH: Evan Longoria (SF)

SP: Lucas Giolito (CWS), Jose Quintana (LAA), Carlos Rodon (CWS), Corbin Burnes (MIL), Blake Snell (SD), Cole Irvin (OAK)

RP: J.P. Feyereisen (MIL), Greg Holland (KC), Daniel Bard (COL), Victor Gonzalez (LAD), Nabil Crismatt (SD)

 

The Grapefruit League All-Stars

 

STARTERS

 

C – Willians Astudillo (MIN)

 

40 ABs, .375/.405/.800, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R, 3 K:2 BB

Baseball fans everywhere can rejoice: La Tortuga has made the Twins opening day roster! It’s not hard to love a hitter who simply rejects walks and strikeouts, and that’s exactly what Astudillo has done throughout his career.

Since his debut in 2018, Astudillo is the only player in baseball to post a sub-5% walk and strikeout rate (min. 100 PAs).

Astudillo also showed some pop this spring, recording the highest slugging percentage of any catcher (min. 20 PAs).

La Tortuga as he is one of the most interesting players in baseball. I have my fingers crossed, hoping that he can be the reincarnation of Joe Sewell.

 

 

1B – Josh Bell (WSH)

 

47 ABs, .383/.456/.872, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 13 R, 14 K:8 BB

Bell began 2019 at a torrid pace, hitting .302/.376/.648 with a 154 wRC+ in the first half.

After the All-Star break, Bell’s production fell off a cliff. Since then, he has hit just .229/.328/.396 with a 89 wRC+, arguably the worst performance of any first baseman in that time.

But as soon as Bell put on the Nationals uniform, he turned back into a masher. His 6 HR were tied for the fourth-most in Spring Training, while his 15 RBIs were tied for the sixth-most.

There are very few people who can hit a baseball 450 feet to the opposite field. Josh Bell is one of them.

 

2B – Adam Frazier (PIT)

 

43 ABs, .488/.511/.860, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 8 R, 2 K:1 BB

Projections do not favor the Pirates this year. But there is some hope in Pittsburgh, specifically in that Pirates infield.

Frazier, like most of the Pirates’ lineup last year, struggled mightily, batting just .230. But this spring, Frazier was an unstoppable hitting machine. He recorded 21 hits in 43 ABs, which more than doubled his average from last year.

That .488 average was good for third-best in baseball (min. 30 ABs).

 

3B – Ke’Bryan Hayes (PIT)

 

51 ABs, .431/.463/.745, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 9 R, 5 K:3 BB

As a top-10 prospect, Hayes lit up the majors last year, slashing .376/.442/1.124 across 95 PAs. He continued his torrid start this spring by posting a 94.2 MPH average exit velocity and an elite 55.9% hard-hit rate.

Hayes was easily the best third baseman in March, and expectations for him in the regular season are already sky high.

 

SS – Kevin Newman (PIT)

 

33 ABs, .606/.641/.788, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 11 R, 0 K:5 BB

Three Pirates in the Grapefruit League starting lineup? Yes, you are reading this correctly.

Last year, Newman hit just .224. But this spring, Newman almost tripled that average. He was unstoppable.

Not only did he get 20 hits in 33 ABs, but he did not strike out. His .606 batting average is the best in recorded Spring Training history.

If this spring is any indication, that trio of Frazier-Hayes-Newman represents a bright future for Pittsburgh.

LF – Kyle Garlick (MIN)

 

41 ABs, .293/.304/.683, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 9 R, 13 K:1 BB

No, not that garlic.

This Garlick.

Garlick has hopped around from team to team, starting as a 28th-round draft pick by the Dodgers before traveling to Philadelphia and now finding himself at home in Minnesota.

His 5 HRs and 13 RBI were the most of any left fielder not named Joc Pederson. This solid spring earned Garlick a spot on the Opening Day roster as the fourth outfielder. One injury to Byron Buxton and Garlick could find himself as an everyday starter.

 

CF – Akil Baddoo (DET)

 

40 ABs, .325/.460/.750, 5 HR, 11 RBI, 14 R, 14 K:10 BB

Baddoo has never played above the single-A level. But the Tigers selected him in the Rule 5 draft, meaning that Baddoo will face an enormous jump in competition. But based on his spring performance, Baddoo looks like he can hold his own.

Baddoo was the Tigers’ best hitter in Spring Training, leading the team in nearly every offensive category.

 

RF – Bryce Harper (PHI)

 

35 ABs, .343/.477/.771, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 10 R, 11 K:9 BB

The former MVP looks primed to lead the Phillies in the fight for the NL East crown.

As the team leader in homers, Harper also led all RF in OPS (min. 20 ABs). And in his final at-bat from Spring Training, Harper gave Phillies fans a taste of what to expect this year.

 

DH – Ryan Zimmerman (WSH)

 

27 ABs, .481/.517/1.222, 6 HR, 15 RBI, 8 R, 6 K:2 BB

There must be something in the water in D.C., as Josh Bell wasn’t the only Nationals first baseman to absolutely mash this spring. Mr. National, entering his 16th major-league season, looked like his prime self as he clobbered 6 homers in just 27 ABs.

His phenomenal .481 average was the best in Grapefruit League… well, other than that elite Pirates infield.

 

SP – Kenta Maeda (MIN)

 

18.1 IP, 0.49 ERA, 0.49 WHIP, 22 K:1 BB

The Minnesota ace was arguably the best starting pitcher this spring. He had the third-best ERA and WHIP among any pitcher (min. 10 IP), but no one could match that incredible 22 K:BB ratio.

Hitters were almost helpless against his stuff. Just look at this movement.

 

RESERVES

 

C: William Contreras (ATL)

1B: Bobby Dalbec (BOS), Pete Alonso (NYM)

2B: Enrique Hernandez (BOS)

3B: Alec Bohm (PHI)

SS: Ehire Adrianza (ATL), Francisco Lindor (NYM)

OF: Tyler O’Neill (STL), Austin Hays (BAL), Moises Gomez (TB)

DH: Kyle Schwarber (WSH)

SP: Tarik Skubal (DET), Sandy Alcantara (MIA), Max Fried (ATL), Randy Dobnak (MIN), Adam Wainwright (STL), Domingo German (NYY)

RP: Derek Holland (DET), Jonathan Loaisiga (NYY), David Bednar (PIT), Alek Manoah (TOR), Kent Emanuel (HOU)

 

Is there anyone I missed that deserved a spot on these rosters? Feel free to let me know!

 

Featured image by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)

Alex Kleinman

Journalist who loves the Yankees and the Bears. One gives me strength, the other leads me to existential dread. When I'm not obsessing over baseball, you can find me at a concert, hiking in a National Park or chasing my dog, Frankie, who has probably stolen one of my socks.

3 responses to “The 2021 Spring Training All-Stars”

  1. Dokey says:
    April 1, 2021 at 8:50 AM

    Trevor Rogers and Daulton Jefferies deserve to be reserves

    Reply
  2. dude says:
    April 1, 2021 at 10:00 AM

    Which spring training all stars do you think will be MLB All-Stars this year?

    Reply
    • Alex Kleinman says:
      April 1, 2021 at 7:06 PM

      In terms of people who have never gotten an All-Star nod before, I definitely think Ke’Bryan Hayes has a shot to be the Pirates’ representative. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Victor González build upon his breakout 2020 season with the Dodgers and become one of the best NL relievers. Ty France could be a dark horse selection in Seattle, too.

      Reply

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