Though Michael Bourn has been the Braves' MVP of the first half of the season, there are many other deserving All Star candidates in the National League...most with even better stats than Bourn.
Only the Reds' Jay Bruce has stats that are slightly worse than those of Atlanta's centerfielder. It can be argued that the first place Reds deserve having a third All Star. The Braves already have three, and they're not in first place.
The question is: was Martin Prado a more deserving choice than Bourn? It's my opinion that Prado has greatly benefitted from the Braves new hitting coaches, Greg Walker and Scott Fletcher. Seems like more Braves are trying to make contact and hit singles, as opposed to swinging for the fences in every at bat (with the exception of Dan Uggla). Even Fransisco ia striking out less.
UPDATE: Bourn and Harper were both added to the All-Star team, to replace injured players (as was Chipper). Are they deserving? A nice gesture for the retiring Jones. Bourn was the most deserving outfielder not already on the team. With 61 games under the 19 year-old's belt, I'm not sure Harper deserves the nod. But he is amazing.
Here's a comparison of the All Star outfielders, plus David Freese...who was just voted in as the final All Star pick.
PL..AVG…OBP..SLG..OPS….G.…R.…H..…2B..3B...HR..RBI..BB…K...SB
AM…356…410…603..1.014…78…53..105…17…4…16…54…28…62..14
MC…356…395…518…913…80…54...116…18....7.…7....42…23…44..10
MK…355…444…719..1.163…36…30…43.…6.…1…12…28…21…30…2
CG…336…394…589…983.…75…59..102…18…4…17…58…29…67..10
MP....322...382....459....841....82....48..103....23....3....5....37....32...38...11
MB…307…360…452….812…82…57..106…17…6.…7….32…30…73..23
CB…306…394…563…957.…79…50…87….11…1…20…65…41…56…8
RB…305…388…597…984.…77…52…90…13….2…23…59…33…63..13
DF …285…332…472…804…76…37…82…13….1…13…50…20…76…1
GS…283…364…555…918.…78…45…80….20…0…19…50…33…79…5
BH....283...357....479....836....61....42....68....15....4.....8....25...27....51...8
JB.…254…330…507…837.…80…45…72…19….1…17…54…33…74…4
C. BELTRAN: voted in, most RBI & BB, stats superior to Bourn.
M. BOURN: 1st half Braves MVP, great stats, 3 other Braves on team.
R. BRAUN: only Brewer, reigning MVP, NL HR leader
J. BRUCE: 2 others Reds on team…Bourn holds statistical edge
M. CABRERA: voted in, great stats, leads AS OF in AVG, hits, least K's.
D. FREESE: won late vote & WS MVP, but 3 other 3B on NL team, already 4 Cards on team.
C. GONZALEZ: only Rockie, impressive stats
B. HARPER: added to replace Stanton; 3rd youngest All Star ever
M. KEMP: voted in, great stats, but hurt. Replaced by 3B Chipper
A. MCCUTCHEN: leads AS OF in AVG, OPS
M. Prado: only player with more than 100 hits not on All Star team.
G. STANTON: only Marlin, decent stats, AS OF 2B leader, out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury
Bourn has contributed greatly to the Braves success, though it appears unlikely he will sign a free agent contract with Atlanta in the off-season.
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