You’ve got the MLB All-Star teams, celebrating the best that the American League and National League have to offer, and there’s no shortage of fictional midseason awards that have been handed out to some very deserving players.
But none of those things identify the best of the best at each individual position.
Stats, obviously, do most of the work in helping to answer that question, but inclusion on Bleacher Report’s All-MLB Team isn’t earned by numbers alone.
Production at the plate and with the glove carry equal weight among position players, though if someone’s offensive numbers are just so off-the-chart good that we can overlook some shoddy defense, they’re given serious consideration.
On the mound, it’s about dominance. Which pitcher has had the filthiest stuff and made batters look foolish most often?
Here’s a look at who made the cut.
*Unless otherwise linked/noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference and FanGraphs and are current through the All-Star break.