With All-Star fan balloting wrapping up tomorrow, I figured it was time to take a look at which Brewers should be making the trip to St. Louis for the mid-summer classic.
By my estimation, the Brewers will have four players in this year's game.
Rickie Weeks very likely would have made the team if injury hadn't cut his season short on May 17.
Mike Cameron also would have been a strong candidate if he would have maintained the numbers he put up in April. Cameron will have to hold out hope for a Gold Glove at the end of the season instead.
Ryan Braun
Ryan Braun currently sits second in National League voting for outfielders, only trailing Raul Ibanez of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Braun is quickly becoming the second best in the National League behind Albert Pujols, and his numbers are backing that up.
Prior to today's game, Braun was batting .327, with 16 home runs and 57 RBI. He leads the Brewers in hits (93), runs (56), and stolen bases (6).
He is also becoming a Gold Glove caliber left fielder. His athleticism and speed allows him to catch up on balls he misreads off of opposing players' bats.
Braun will make his second straight All-Star game appearance, and fans should start getting used to seeing him every July in the game. His talents will make him an All-Star mainstay for many years to come.
Prince Fielder
Unfortunately for Prince Fielder, he plays at the deepest position in all of baseball: National League first base.
Albert Pujols has that position locked up as a starter for as long as he plays in the National League, especially with the game being held in St. Louis this year.
Fielder is hitting the ball better than at any point in his short big league career. He is currently averaging career highs in average (.306), on-base percentage (.425), and OPS (1.034). His .609 slugging percentage is the second-highest to this point in his career.
While Fielder's power numbers are nothing new, the fact that he has now become a more disciplined hitter is the main cause of his rise in average and on-base percentage.
Fielder has already walked 54 times this season and should very easily break his former career-high of 90 walks.
Although he won't be voted in by the fans, Fielder should be a very easy choice for Charlie Manuel as a bench player for the National League squad.
Trevor Hoffman
Despite missing the first three weeks of the season, Trevor Hoffman should make his seventh All-Star game appearance.
Hoffman has saved 18 games for the Brewers this season in 19 chances. His 1.93 ERA is the second best mark of his career, and Hoffman didn't allow a run to score until his 19th appearance of the season.
Although he doesn't have the blazing fastball that he did earlier in his career, he has altered his changeup speed to still have a significant drop from his fastball, despite the fact that he usually tops out around 88 on the radar gun.
Hoffman has stabilized the Brewers' bullpen and turned it into one of the best in baseball. Hoffman's appearance in St. Louis will be just as much about the rest of the Brewers' bullpen success as it will be about his own.
Yovani Gallardo
Gallardo was the hard-luck loser for the Brewers today in a 1-0 loss to the Mets, and his record fell to 8-5.
Although his record may not indicate an All-Star game appearance, anyone that has seen him pitch this year knows that Gallardo deserves a trip to St. Louis.
Coming into the 2009 season, fans wondered if Gallardo would be able to fill the vacant spots in the rotation left by C.C. Sabathia and Ben Sheets. Gallardo has more than lived to the hype.
In 16 starts this season, Gallardo has an ERA of 2.75 over 104 2/3 innings pitched. He has struck out 114 batters and opponents are only hitting .193 against him in 434 plate appearances.
He should make two more starts before the All-Star break, so double-digit wins aren't out of the question.
Getting to 10 wins won't be an easy task. Gallardo will have to beat the Cardinals and Dodgers to do so.
Beating both those teams will likely lock up Gallardo's first All-Star appearance and silent all the doubters that said Sabathia and Sheets couldn't be replaced.
The Brewers are again among the National League leaders in record and currently sit atop the NL Central.
Their fans have turned out in droves to get their favorite players to St. Louis and should be rewarded and happy with the four that are likely to make an appearance.
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