With most of the MLB teams playing roughly 40 games, that means the 2011 season is already a quarter of the way complete. The following is a 25-man roster compiled of the best that baseball has to offer. Some decisions were tough, but OPS and ERA/WHIP are the stats that held the most weight.
*All stats are through Monday May 16th games.
Starting 9:
(Batting Average/OPS)
C – Alex Avila/Tigers .268/.854, 15 R, 8 2B, 6 HR, 24 RBI, 2 SB.
1B – Joey Votto/Reds .345/1.028, 32 R, 11 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 4 SB.
2B – Rickie Weeks/Brewers .301/.881, 25 R, 9 2B, 2 3B, 7 HR, 14 RBI, 5 SB.
3B – Kevin Youkilis/BOS .254/.891, 24 R, 11 2B, 7 HR, 27 RBI.
SS – Jhonny Peralta/Tigers .305/.882, 18 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 23 RBI.
LF – Matt Holliday/Cardinals .379/1.055, 29 R, 13 2B, 5 HR, 28 RBI.
CF – Curtin Granderson/NYY .280/.993, 29 R, 4 2B, 3 3B, 14 HR, 31 RBI, 4 SB.
RF – Jose Bautista/TOR .370/1.365, 35 R, 7 2B, 16 HR, 27 RBI, 4 SB.
DH – Lance Berkman/Cardinals .344/1.131, 30 R, 7 2B, 11 HR, 34 RBI.
Bench:
C – Russell Martin/NYY .252/.848, 18 R, 5 2B, 7 HR, 22 RBI, 2 SB.
OF – Matt Joyce/TBR .367/1.035, 24 R, 11 2B, 6 HR, 19 RBI, 3 SB.
OF – Ryan Braun/Brewers .307/.994, 30 R, 4 2B, 2 3B, 12 HR, 33 RBI, 7 SB.
UTL – Ben Zobrist/TBR .289/.936, 31 R, 13 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 27 RBI, 5 SB.
Rotation:
(ERA/WHIP & BB:K)
*Minimum 8 Starts
1. Josh Johnson/FLA 3-1, 1.64/0.98, 60.1 IP, 20:56.
2. Josh Beckett/BOS 3-1, 1.75/0.90, 51.1 IP, 15:49.
3. Trevor Cahill/OAK 6-1, 1.82/1.16, 59.1 IP, 18:46.
4. Jaime Garcia/Cardinals 5-0, 1.89/1.03, 52.1 IP, 12:48.
5. Dan Haren/LAA 4-2, 1.93/0.84, 65.1 IP, 8:61.
Bullpen:
*Mariano Rivera/NYY 19 G, 18.2 IP, 1.45/0.86, 3:16, 13 SV, 1 W.
*Leo Nunez/FLA 22 G, 21.2 IP, 2.91/1.25, 9:21, 15 SV.
*Francisco Rodriguez/NYM 20 G, 20.2 IP, 0.87/1.40, 11:23, 12 SV, 1 W.
*Drew Storen/WAS 21 G, 23.2 IP, 0.38/0.76, 5:19, 9 SV, 2 HLD, 3 W.
*Jonny Venters/ATL 23 G, 23.1 IP, 0.77/0.64, 6:23, 10 HLD, 1 SV, 3 W.
*Mike Adams/SDP 20 G, 20.2 IP, 0.87/0.48, 2:19, 8 HLD, 1 SV, 2 W.
*Sergio Santos/ White Sox 15 G, 19 IP, 0.00/0.89, 9:22, 5 SV, 1 HLD, 2 W.