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Emma: MLB's All-Sabermetrics Team

By Chris Emma--

(CBS) For 9-year-old Chris Emma the MLB All-Star Game was just about the greatest event ever. Local heroes like Sammy Sosa and Frank Thomas joined the likes of baseball's giants of the game such as Mark McGwire, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. and so many more. Like any other kid, I was awestruck.

Sportswriter Chris Emma is an old curmudgeon when it comes to baseball's Midsummer Classic. After all, I'm a creature of my current habitat, a press box, where even a fun event like the All-Star Game is looked at so critically.

The All-Star Game doesn't truly reward baseball's best, most worthy players. It's in part a popularity contest and an honor for those who excel in the old-school, baseball card stats, not the sabermetrics that more extensively measure performance to the greater detail.

Wins Above Replacement (WAR) is a wonderful metric that measures a player's cumulative contributions with one simple number. In layman's terms, it categorizes how valuable one is compared to a replacement-level player.

While there are 9-year-olds all across America ready to see baseball's stars come together, the old crusty sportswriter in me has a better solution. It's baseball's All-Sabermetrics team, a look at the best baseball team you could put together from the first half of the season.

Notes: All metrics come courtesy of Fangraphs.com and are updated prior to Monday's slate of games. Also, because the top left fielder has a lowly WAR of 2.6, the All-Sabermetrics has opened up to the three best outfielders, rather than categorizing by position.

C: Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants (3.2 WAR) -- Posey is fourth among qualified hitters with a 9.0 K rate and carries a weighted on-base (wOBA) of .378. He's worthy of his All-Star selection.

1B: Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks (4.6 WAR) -- To put it in perspective, Goldschmidt is a full WAR point above than Miguel Cabrera. That's how good he's been this year. His .399 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is no fluke, too.

2B: Jason Kipnis, Cleveland Indians (4.6 WAR) -- The first of many All-Star starter robberies, Kipnis is second in WAR to only Bryce Harper, and his weighted runs created (wRC+) of 162 is 28 points higher than the next closest second baseman, the Giants' Joe Panik. It's a joke that Kipnis isn't starting the All-Star Game.

3B: Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays (4.3 WAR) -- While Donaldson is great with the bat, his mark of eight defensive runs saved (DRS) is better than 17 major league teams. While Donaldson is tied in WAR is the Reds' Todd Frazier, he gets the nod due to more games played. The Blue Jays got a great all-around player at the hot corner in their offseason trade with the Athletics.

SS: Brandon Crawford, San Francisco Giants (2.9 WAR) -- Baseball's days of great shortstops are gone for the time being, as 2.9 is a leading mark for the position. But Crawford leads all at his position with a wRC+ of 129 and has 11 DRS in the field.

OF: Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals (5.6 WAR) -- It's nice to see that the runaway first-half MVP is a WAR superhero, too. Harper's first in wOBA at .496, wRC+ at 223 and carries an absurd OPS of 1.196. There's been no better player in baseball this year, and the numbers show it.

OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (4.5 WAR) -- WAR was created for players like Trout, baseball's best five-tool player. While his traditional statistics aren't unworldly -- .299 average, 21 homers, 60 RBIs -- Trout still makes replacement-level players look silly with his all-around game.

OF: Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals (3.6 WAR) -- With Giancarlo Stanton injured, it's next man up. This team had to include at least one Royal, right? Cain's one of the best defensive players in baseball, with nine DRS and an ultimate zone rating (UZR) of 8.5, ranking third among center fielders.

SP: Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals (4.7 WAR) -- The numbers show Washington bought the best pitcher in baseball, at least in this first half. Scherzer's WAR is a full point higher than second-place Chris Sale. He carries a league-best 1.94 fielding independent pitching (FIP), has a BABIP against of .245, has a home run/fly ball ratio (HR/FB) of 5.1 and strikes out 10.54 batters per nine innings. That's how you earn $210 million.

Follow Chris on Twitter @CEmma670.

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