At the break, here's our All-Cal team:
Catcher: Oakland's Kurt Suzuki leads the California catchers in OPS, he has one error and he has nicely shepherded the next generation of A's arms. We tip our cap to him as well for the generous fundraising he has done for fellow Cal State Fullerton catcher Jon Wilhite, the lone survivor of the crash that killed Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two friends.
First base: San Diego's Adrian Gonzalez is a one-man show at Petco Park, a superstar obscured by the wreckage around him. Gonzalez has 24 home runs, twice as many as any of his teammates. He has as many walks as strikeouts, and it's a wonder any team ever pitches to him.
Second base: The Dodgers' Orlando Hudson has cooled lately, but he has enlivened the clubhouse all season and kept the lineup flowing from the No. 3 spot while Ramirez was suspended. He has 33 extra-base hits, and he leads second basemen in the state in runs scored and runs batted in.
Shortstop: The Angels' Erick Aybar is the best of an uninspiring lot. Aybar has made the fewest errors of any regular shortstop in the state, and his OPS is the best. Cabrera isn't even the best shortstop by that name -- he has 13 errors to Aybar's five -- with San Diego's Everth Cabrera, a Rule 5 pick, showing promise before his injury.
Third base: San Francisco's Pablo Sandoval leads all major league third basemen in batting average (.337) and OPS (.973), and he supplies much of the Giants' limited power. The only National Leaguers with a higher slugging percentage: Albert Pujols, Raul Ibanez and Prince Fielder.
Left field: Which Juan? We'll take the Angels' Juan Rivera over the Dodgers' Juan Pierre. Rivera's 16 home runs are twice as many as any other left fielder in the state, and he's batting .312 overall, .349 with runners in scoring position. Pierre took advantage of Ramirez's suspension to show he can still play his game -- singles and steals, mostly, and he's batting .355 with runners in scoring position -- and Pierre has a better OPS than Holliday.
Center field: The mentor for now, the prodigy soon. The Angels' Torii Hunter offers a vision of what Kemp could become. Hunter is batting .305 with 17 home runs, he leads all major league center fielders with 65 runs batted in and he puts the polish in the Gold Glove. Kemp's highlight-reel defense will get smoother as he masters better routes to the ball. Hunter, Kemp and Atlanta's Nate McLouth are the only major league center fielders in double figures in home runs, doubles and stolen bases.
