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Many Rays on All-Star radar

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By MARC LANCASTER

mlancaster@tampatrib.com

Published: July 4, 2009

ARLINGTON, Texas - One of the strange things about the Rays' rise to prominence last season was that when it came time to fill out the All-Star Game rosters, Tampa Bay couldn't really offer up a slew of obvious candidates.

The Rays' newfound status demanded more respect than their usual one representative, but with nobody aside from Dioner Navarro putting up career-year type numbers, it was difficult to discern who the others should be. Scott Kazmir ended up getting the nod from his peers, making the team on the players' ballot, and rising star Evan Longoria was a bonus selection as the last man in after beating out four veterans in fan voting the week before the game.

This year, the situation is a bit different. While the Rays haven't played as a group at the level they had reached last year, strong arguments can be made for the inclusion of perhaps a half-dozen different players in the July 14 game in St. Louis.

By now, the decisions already have been made. Joe Maddon had to submit his American League team to the league office by Saturday night, and the teams will be unveiled today. By the time that show is finished, there's a good chance the Rays will have their largest contingent ever in the game.

Longoria has locked up the starting job at third base after leading wire-to-wire at the position in fan voting this year and dueling Derek Jeter for the overall AL voting lead the entire way. Longoria will be a deserving choice, as well, as he entered the weekend in the top 10 in the AL in RBIs, slugging percentage, OPS and doubles.

It's always difficult to crack an All-Star outfield, but Carl Crawford is deserving of his third career selection after a remarkable first half. Crawford this week became the fourth player in American League history to record 40 steals and 100 hits before the All-Star break, joining Kenny Lofton (1994 and 1996), Rickey Henderson (1986) and Ron LeFlore (1979).

Elsewhere, Jason Bartlett has run second to Jeter at shortstop in the fan voting, and his batting average would rank second in the majors if he hadn't missed three weeks with a sprained ankle. As it is, his batting average hasn't dipped below .340 all season and he ranks in the league's top 10 in stolen bases.

Based on the numbers alone, Ben Zobrist also should get the call to St. Louis, though his billet as a super-utility player (at least before Akinori Iwamura's knee injury) doesn't allow him to fit neatly into a box for comparison with other deserving candidates. Still, the fact Zobrist leads the league in slugging percentage and ranks second in on-base percentage says it all about the job he has done.

While those four players certainly seem a cut above among the Rays' All-Star contenders, others can make an argument.

Take J.P. Howell, who has been brilliant in both setup and closing assignments this season. No AL reliever has pitched more innings than him or struck out more batters since the start of the 2008 season, and he has been on a roll lately.

Carlos Pena's name also has been mentioned in some quarters, as he continues to lead the AL in home runs and also sits in the top 10 in walks, runs and RBIs. His low batting average might not be as much of an impediment if he were the only Ray putting up big numbers, but considering the team should be well-represented without him, he might end up falling short.

Finally, Matt Garza has put together a solid season, with a 6-5 record and a 3.45 ERA. Entering the weekend, his .214 opponent's batting average was tied for the AL lead with former teammate Edwin Jackson of Detroit (who should make the AL team).

Whatever happens, there should be a handful of happy Rays feverishly making travel plans for family and friends this afternoon, just another indication that this franchise has come a long way since Lance Carter.

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