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ESPN's 2018 AL and NL All-Star picks

ESPN.com Illustration

In advance of the 2018 Camping World All-Star Selection Show on Sunday (7 p.m. ET on ESPN), ESPN.com asked five of its contributors -- Bradford Doolittle, Jerry Crasnick, Buster Olney, David Schoenfield and Sarah Langs -- to select the players who should comprise the rosters for the 89th Midsummer Classic on July 17 at Nationals Park.

Below are our starters based on their votes and all of the other players who got votes as reserves or pitchers. We also asked some of our experts to answer questions about their selections.

For a complete list of their individual picks, click here.

American League

Starter voting:

Catcher: Wilson Ramos, Tampa Bay Rays (5 votes)

First base: Jose Abreu, Chicago White Sox (4) (Mitch Moreland received one vote, and Abreu was chosen as a reserve on that ballot)

Second base: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros (5)

Third base: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians (5)

Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians (4) (Manny Machado received one vote, and Lindor was chosen as a reserve on that ballot)

Outfield: Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox (5); Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels (5); Aaron Judge, New York Yankees (5)

Designated hitter: J.D. Martinez, Boston Red Sox (5)


Reserve voting:

C: Evan Gattis, Astros (2); Salvador Perez, Royals (1); Yan Gomes, Indians (2)

1B: Moreland, Red Sox (1); Justin Smoak, Blue Jays (2)

2B: Jed Lowrie, A's (4); Whit Merrifield, Royals (1)

3B: Alex Bregman, Astros (5); Mike Moustakas, Royals (3)

SS: Machado, Orioles (4); Andrelton Simmons, Angels (4); Jean Segura, Mariners (4)

OF: Eddie Rosario, Twins (5); Mitch Haniger, Mariners (2); Nick Castellanos, Tigers (4); Andrew Benintendi (2)

DH: Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers (5); Nelson Cruz, Mariners (2)

Q: Why Gattis at catcher in the AL?

A: Catcher in the American League is not a deep field. Ramos is far and away the starter, but beyond that, there's no clear-cut No. 2. Gary Sanchez and Mike Zunino have double-digit homer totals, but they're also hitting below .200. So my AL team will improvise -- with Gattis, who's having a good year and has played 241 games at catcher in his career, the position he played the most for the Astros in 2017. -- Sarah Langs


Pitcher voting:

Luis Severino, SP, Yankees (5)

Justin Verlander, SP, Astros (5)

Chris Sale, SP, Red Sox (5)

Corey Kluber, SP, Indians (5)

Gerrit Cole, SP, Astros (5)

Trevor Bauer, SP, Indians (5)

Edwin Diaz, RP, Mariners (5)

Aroldis Chapman, RP, Yankees (5)

Blake Snell, SP, Rays (4)

James Paxton, SP, Mariners (4)

Charlie Morton, SP, Astros (3)

Blake Treinen, RP, A's (3)

J.A. Happ, SP, Blue Jays (2)

Craig Kimbrel, RP, Red Sox (2)

Mike Clevinger, SP, Indians (1)

Joe Jimenez, RP, Tigers (1)

Q: Who should be the starting pitcher for the AL?

A: This answer is different than it would've been even a few weeks ago. I'll pick Severino, who would be the first Yankees pitcher to start an All-Star Game since Roger Clemens in 2001. -- Langs


National League

Our starters:

Catcher: J.T. Realmuto, Marlins (5)

First base: Freddie Freeman, Braves (5)

Second base: Javier Baez, Cubs, and Scooter Gennett, Reds, tied (2) (Ozzie Albies received one starter vote and Baez and Gennett were chosen as a reserve on that ballot)

Third base: Nolan Arenado, Rockies (5)

Shortstop: Brandon Crawford, Giants (5)

Outfield: Nick Markakis, Braves (5); Lorenzo Cain, Brewers (5); Matt Kemp, Dodgers (4) (Christian Yelich also received one vote, and Kemp was chosen as a reserve on that ballot)

Designated hitter: Paul Goldschmidt, Diamondbacks (4) (Joey Votto also received one vote, and Goldschmidt was chosen as a reserve 1B on that ballot)


Reserve voting:

C: Buster Posey, Giants (4); Francisco Cervelli, Pirates (1); Willson Contreras, Cubs (1)

1B: Brandon Belt, Giants (3); Jesus Aguilar, Brewers (2); Votto, Reds (3); Max Muncy, Dodgers (2)

2B: Albies, Braves (4)

3B: Eugenio Suarez, Reds (3); Matt Carpenter, Cardinals (2); Anthony Rendon, Nationals (1)

SS: Trea Turner, Nationals (4); Trevor Story, Rockies (3)

OF: Odubel Herrera, Phillies (3); Bryce Harper, Nationals (4); Corey Dickerson, Pirates (3); Starling Marte, Pirates (1); Christian Yelich, Brewers (2); Brandon Nimmo, Mets (1)


Pitcher voting:

Max Scherzer, SP, Nationals (5)

Jacob deGrom, SP, Mets (5)

Aaron Nola, SP, Phillies (5)

Sean Doolittle, RP, Nationals (5)

Josh Hader, RP, Brewers (5)

Mike Foltynewicz, SP, Braves (4)

Jon Lester, SP, Cubs (4)

Miles Mikolas, SP, Cardinals (4)

Patrick Corbin, SP, Diamondbacks (3)

Kirby Yates, RP, Padres (3)

Jeremy Jeffress, RP, Brewers (3)

Adam Ottavino, RP, Rockies (2)

Archie Bradley, RP, Diamondbacks (2)

Kenley Jansen, RP, Dodgers (2)

Brad Hand, RP, Padres (2)

Sean Newcomb, SP, Braves (1)

Zack Greinke, SP, Diamondbacks (1)

Ross Stripling, SP, Dodgers (1)

Kyle Freeland, SP, Rockies (1)

Kyle Barraclough, RP, Marlins (1)

A.J. Minter, RP, Braves (1)

Q: Who should be the starting pitcher for the NL?

A: The last time a pitcher started the All-Star game in his home ballpark was in 2013, when Matt Harvey started at Citi Field. His opponent, the AL starter, was Scherzer -- my pick to be the first pitcher since Harvey to start the All-Star Game in his home park. There's an argument to be made for deGrom or even Foltynewicz, but ultimately, the fanfare and excitement of Scherzer starting at home can't be topped. -- Langs


Q: Who were the toughest omissions for you?

A: There are so many good starting pitchers in the AL, plus several teams who don't deserve an All-Star on merit. My final selections ended up as Paxton over Morton and Simmons over Segura. -- David Schoenfield

A: Lowrie's season for the A's has been tough to ignore, but there just wasn't enough room. He's already matched or surpassed his marks from last year in some counting and power stats. In the NL, Kris Bryant. He hasn't been as powerful as we've come to expect over the first three years of his career, but he's still been good. His stint on the disabled list didn't help, though. -- Langs

Q: Dave, you were the only one not to pick Harper. Why?

A: I had Harper on my original list -- after all, it's the All-STAR Game, and Harper is one of the biggest names and stars in the game. Then I realized Harper has hit under .200 for more than two months now. He's had two great weeks and 10 weeks of replacement-level play. -- Schoenfield