Athlon Sports' NL All-Stars

C    Brian McCann, Atlanta
The story of the rookie catcher in Chicago is nice, but McCann’s numbers are slightly superior to Geovany Soto’s.

1B    Lance Berkman, Houston
What? Not Albert Pujols? Berkman has been tremendous all season. The only significant categories that the Houston slugger is not in the top three in the NL are triples and stolen bases.

2B    Chase Utley, Philadelphia
Who would believe the two home run leaders in the NL are second basemen? And their names begin with U? Utley has a slight edge over Uggla, who is recovering from an ankle injury.

3B    Chipper Jones, Atlanta
Chipper has become an icon in Atlanta just as the Braves believed he would when he was drafted No. 1 in 1990. When he’s in the lineup, he’s a terror.

SS    Hanley Ramirez, Florida
We’re not ready to adorn Ramirez with the “Best Player in the Game” label yet, but he’s getting there.

LF    Ryan Braun, Milwaukee
His 59 RBIs are carrying the Brewers.

CF    Matt Holliday, Colorado
He missed some time this season, but Holliday is having another triple-crown type of season.

RF    Carlos Lee, Houston
The production from this RBI machine is getting better as the season progresses.

DH    Albert Pujols, St. Louis
A typical Pujols season — hitting.350+ with a 1.090+ OPS, and is consistently pitched around.

SP    Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati
The Giants’ Tim Lincecum certainly has an argument, but Cincinnati’s ace leads the NL in ERA and has 11 wins.

NL Reserves

C    Geovany Soto, Chicago
Soto won the fan voting, but he’s beginning to wear down as the weather warms up in Chicago.

C    Russell Martin, Los Angeles
With an OBP hovering around .400 Martin has scored 47 runs and knocked home another 42. With Furcal injured, Martin is the Dodgers’ offense.

1B    Adrian Gonzalez, San Diego
The solid RBI man has put the Padres on his back. The chink in his armor is a sub-.220 average vs. lefties — about 100 points less than when he faces righthanders.

2B    Dan Uggla, Florida
The second sacker has swatted 23 bombs, scored 57 and driven in 58.

3B    Aramis Ramirez, Chicago
Just what All-Stars are made of: 57 runs, 61 RBIs, .380 OBP, .506 slg.

3B    David Wright, New York
While many Mets are struggling, Wright has 10 more RBIs than any other NL third baseman.

SS    Jose Reyes, New York
Reyes is on his way to 50 steals and 120 runs.

SS    Miguel Tejada, Houston
The injury to the Dodgers’ Rafael Furcal opened the door for Tejada.

OF    Nate McLoth, Pittsburgh
McLoth edges fellow Pirates Jason Bay, Xavier Nady and Cardinal Ryan Ludwick on our team.

OF    Pat Burrell, Philadelphia
Burrell is one of just three outfielders in the league with a .400 OBP. He leads OFs with a 1.002 OPS.

OF    Ryan Ludwick, St. Louis
From obscurity to stardom with 18 home runs and a .942 OPS.

P    Tim Lincecum, San Francisco
At 10-2, 2.66, the youngster looks the part of an ace.

P    Ben Sheets, Milwaukee
Sheets owns the third-lowest ERA in the NL, is 10-2 and has a WHIP just over 1.00.

P    Ryan Dempster, Chicago
Many questioned the Cubs for moving Dempster back in the rotation, but he’s answered with a 10-3 slate in 19 starts.

P    Dan Haren, Arizona
Quietly becoming the ace of the Diamondbacks.

P    Brandon Webb, Arizona
Much like his team, his hot start has faded a bit.

P    Carlos Marmol, Chicago
Marmol has 22 holds, 3 saves and 69 Ks in 50 IP.

P     Brad Lidge, Philadelphia
After losing his way in Houston, Lidge has been perfect for the Phillies.

P    Kerry Wood, Chicago
The former starter partners with Marmol to lock down opponents after the seventh.

P    Jon Rauch, Washington
Although Rauch is the lone Nat represented, he’s a legit All-Star with a sub-1.00 WHIP and 17 saves.

P    Taylor Buchholz, Colorado
Buchholz has allowed 36 runners and struck out 31 in 42.1 innings.

P    Billy Wagner, New York
Has 42 strikeouts in 36 innings, along with 20 saves for the Mets.

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