The 2020 All-Star Game

It is no secret that baseball today has a wealth of young talent. A huge majority of today's superstars are under the age of 25, and, provided they stay healthy, could help make the next decade of baseball the most exciting it's ever been, bringing it back to the days of Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Roberto Clemente, and Sandy Koufax. After watching the home run derby yesterday and preparing for today's All-Star game, I started thinking about what the 2020 all-star game could look like five years from now. I added five years to everyone's current age and made some tentative rosters. I made the assumption that everyone stays with their current team (which is obviously not true, half these guys will be on the Yankees or Red Sox by then). So without further ado, here is a look at some names to look out for in the 2020 All-Star game (Age in July 2020 listed in parenthesees)

2020 All-Star Game:

AL Starting line-ups:
1. CF Mike Trout (28) - Angels

2. 2B Jose Altuve (30) - Astros
3. LF George Springer (30) - Astros
4. DH Joey Gallo (26) - Rangers
5. SS Manny Machado (28) - Orioles
6. RF Byron Buxton (26) - Twins
7. 3B Miguel Sano (27) - Twins
8. C Salvador Perez (30) - Royals
9. 1B DJ Peterson (28) - Mariners

AL Bench: 
Mookie Betts (27) OF - Red Sox
Carlos Correa (25) SS - Astros
Xander Bogaerts (27) SS - Red Sox
Jose Iglesias (30) SS - Tigers
Yoenis Cespedes (34) OF - Tigers
Yoan Moncada (25) 2B - Red Sox
Kole Calhoun (32) OF - Angels
Jason Kipnis (32) 2B - Indians
Mike Zunino (29) C - Mariners
Mike Moustakas (31) 3B - Royals

AL Pitchers:
Felix Hernandez (34) - Mariners
Chris Sale (31) - White Sox
Chris Archer (31) - Rays
David Price (34) - Tigers
Taijuan Walker (27) - Mariners
Sonny Gray (30) - A's
Dallas Keuchel (32) - Astros
Wade Davis (34) - Royals
Garrett Richards (32) - Angels
Dellin Betances (32) - Yankees


AL Final Vote Candidates:
Josh Donaldson (34) 3B - Blue Jays
Francisco Lindor (26) SS - Indians
Hector Santiago (32) SP - Angels
Brian Dozier (32) 2B - Twins
Josmil Pinto (31) C - Twins


Others to think about: 
Miguel Cabrera (37), Kyle Seager (32), Robinson Cano (37), Rusney Castillo (33), Devon Travis (29), Delino DeShields (27), Mark Appel (28), and Yordano Ventura (29).

I made the assumption that Manny Machado is going to move over to SS in the next few years, something that has often been discussed. If he does not, Carlos Correa would make a fine substitution at the position. First base does not have a ton of young talent in the AL (that I'm aware of) but I know that DJ Peterson of the Mariners is a stud and thought he has a chance to make a difference in the next few years. It also seems likely that one of either Miguel Sano or Joey Gallo moves over to first, what with their tremendous power and defensive deficiencies. I chose mostly to look at young players, but it seems unfair to discount Cano, Cabrera and Donaldson who all seem like they have the potential to still be all-star caliber in five years.

NL Starters:

1. CF Andrew McCutchen (33) - Pirates

2. RF Bryce Harper (27) - Nationals
3. DH Giancarlo Stanton (30) - Marlins
4. 1B Paul Goldschmidt (32) - Diamondbacks
5. C Buster Posey (33) - Giants
6. 3B Nolan Arenado (29) - Rockies
7. LF Joc Pederson (28) - Dodgers
8. SS Andrelton Simmons (30) - Braves
9. 2B Dee Gordon (32) - Marlins

NL Bench:
Corey Seager (26) SS - Dodgers
Kris Bryant (28) LF - Cubs
Anthony Rizzo (30) 1B - Cubs
Justin Upton (32) LF - Padres
Jonathan Lucroy (34) C - Brewers
Todd Frazier (34) 3B - Reds
Addison Russell (26) SS - Cubs
Kolten Wong (29) 2B - Cardinals
Joe Panik (29) 2B - Giants
Billy Hamilton (29) CF - Reds

NL Pitchers: 
Clayton Kershaw (32) - Dodgers
Madison Bumgarner (29) - Giants
Matt Harvey (31) - Mets
Jose Fernandez (27) - Marlins
Jacob deGrom (32) - Mets
Noah Syndergaard (27) - Mets
Carlos Martinez (28) - Cardinals
Craig Kimbrel (32) - Padres
Aroldis Chapman (32) - Reds
Gerrit Cole (29) - Pirates

NL Final Vote:
Carlos Gomez (34) - Brewers
Michael Wacha (29) - Cardinals
Christian Yelich (28) - Marlins
Brandon Belt (32) - Giants
Stephan Matz (29) - Mets

Others to think about:
Jason Heyward (30), DJ LeMahieu (32), Charlie Blackmon (34), Troy Tulowitzki (35), Hunter Pence (37), Jorge Soler (28), Johnny Cueto (34), Jean Segura (30) and Wil Myers (29).

I cannot stop looking at how filthy that NL starting line-up is. Practically all the Cubs hitters and most of the Mets pitchers make this roster; meaning if they are able to keep that core together we could be looking at some spectacular teams. It blows my mind that Jason Hayward will only be 30 in five years, and that Wil Myers will only be 29. Those two could be forces in the next few years, if they can stay healthy. Also, who isn't excited to watch Arenado and Frazier battle it out at third base for the next five plus years?

Potential home run derby match-ups:

Stanton vs. Gallo
Rizzo vs. Pederson
Harper vs. Trout
Sano vs. Bryant

This could be a really fun All-Star game.

Buy your tickets now.