Nick Wass/Associated Press

MLB All-Star Game 2017: Start Time, Roster Breakdown of 87th Midsummer Classic

Paul Kasabian

The 2017 MLB All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday at Marlins Park in Miami.

Fox will televise the game, with pregame coverage beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Midsummer Classic should get going a little after 8 p.m. ET.

Each team boasts excellent power hitters and deep pitching staffs, so it'll be interesting to watch the one-on-one battles, especially in the beginning when big hitters such as Aaron Judge and Bryce Harper take their cracks at the best pitchers in baseball.

Here's a peek at each team's roster, alongside breakdowns of the starting lineups, reserves and pitching staffs.

      

Lineups

American League Starters

C Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals

1B Justin Smoak, Toronto Blue Jays

2B Jose Altuve, Houston Astros

3B Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Indians

SS Carlos Correa, Houston Astros

OF Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox

OF Aaron Judge, New York Yankees

OF George Springer, Houston Astros

DH Corey Dickerson, Tampa Bay Rays

Breakdown: The American League starting lineup is still formidable even though Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will miss the game while he is rehabbing a torn left thumb ligament.

Three players on the Houston Astros, who are on pace to finish with 109 wins, will start for the AL.

Springer is one of the hottest hitters in baseball and has smacked 27 home runs, and Altuve and Correa look like they are on their way to becoming the best middle infield duo in the history of baseball.

Alongside some breakout stars (Smoak, Ramirez and Judge), the AL starting lineup is deep and scary for any pitcher in baseball.

     

American League Reserves

C Gary Sanchez, New York Yankees

1B Yonder Alonso, Oakland Athletics

2B Jonathan Schoop, Baltimore Orioles

2B Robinson Cano, Seattle Mariners

3B Miguel Sano, Minnesota Twins

3B Mike Moustakas, Kansas City Royals

SS Francisco Lindor, Cleveland Indians

OF Michael Brantley, Cleveland Indians

OF Justin Upton, Detroit Tigers

OF Avisail Garcia, Chicago White Sox

DH Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners

Breakdown: There's a lot of pop on the American League reserve side. Three Home Run Derby participants (Sanchez, Sano, Moustakas) are on the bench, alongside Cruz, a prodigious power hitter.

Lindor is having a down year at the plate, as he is hitting just .252, but he still has strong power numbers for a shortstop, knocking out 14 homers with 43 RBI.

Then there are some more breakout stars, including Alonso, Schoop and Garcia, each of whom has been playing great this year.

The AL reserve side isn't as strong as the NL's, but that's because some of the best players in the game somehow managed to elude the starting lineup.

       

American League Pitching Staff

SP Chris Sale, Boston Red Sox

SP Jason Vargas, Kansas City Royals

SP Lance McCullers Jr., Houston Astros

SP Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays

SP Ervin Santana, Minnesota Twins

SP Luis Severino, New York Yankees

RP Chris Devenski, Houston Astros

RP Brandon Kintzler, Minnesota Twins

RP Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays

RP Craig Kimbrel, Boston Red Sox

RP Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians

RP Dellin Betances, New York Yankees

Breakdown: Sale, who has a chance at striking out 300 batters this season, should get the starting nod for the American League. Backing him up are three of the best young pitchers in the league in Archer, McCullers and Severino. Veterans Vargas and Santana are having the best seasons of their careers.

The bullpen, however, is fantastic, and if the American League has a late lead, then the NL is in trouble. Miller can come in and shut down any three batters for an inning. He's been a lights-out reliever for five seasons, and he is holding batters to a .132 average.

As impressive as that number is, Kimbrel is doing even better, as hitters have only managed a .110 batting average against him.

Given how well Miller and Kimbrel have done, expect them to hold down the fort in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, if the AL is in the lead.

      

National League Starters

C Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants

1B Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals

2B Daniel Murphy, Washington Nationals

3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies

SS Zack Cozart, Cincinnati Reds

OF Charlie Blackmon, Colorado Rockies

OF Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals

OF Marcell Ozuna, Miami Marlins

Breakdown: Three Washington Nationals highlight the NL starting lineup, led by Harper, who has made five All-Star teams before his 25th birthday.

Zimmerman is a candidate to be the National League's Comeback Player of the Year. Last season, Zimmerman hit just .218 alongside 15 homers and 46 RBI. This year, the 32-year-old has already eclipsed the homer (19) and RBI (63) numbers, and he's hitting .330 as well.

And Murphy is perhaps the best contact hitter in the game today. Per FanGraphs, he strikes out just 9.3 percent of the time, an impressive feat considering his .342 batting average.

Elsewhere, Posey and Arenado are two of the best fielders at their position in the game, and Ozuna should have the overwhelming support of his hometown fans.

This is a solid starting lineup that will be backed up by a fantastic reserve squad.

     

National League Reserves

C Yadier Molina, St. Louis Cardinals

1B Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks

1B Joey Votto, Cincinnati Reds

1B/OF Cody Bellinger, Los Angeles Dodgers

2B Josh Harrison, Pittsburgh Pirates

2B DJ LeMahieu, Colorado Rockies

3B Jake Lamb, Arizona Diamondbacks

3B Justin Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers

SS Corey Seager, Los Angeles Dodgers

OF Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins

OF Michael Conforto, New York Mets

OF Ender Inciarte, Atlanta Braves

Breakdown: The National League has a very deep bench.

For starters, it's nice to have one of the best power hitters in the game (Stanton) just sitting there on the bench, and that's the luxury the NL has here.

They also have Goldschmidt and Votto, two of the best players in baseball, ready as well.

This is in addition to Bellinger, who has hit 25 home runs in 70 games, and Turner, who is hitting .377.

If National League manager Joe Maddon is looking for one batter to crank one out against a right-handed pitcher, Lamb should be his pick. The Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman has 16 homers, 58 RBI and a 1.013 OPS against righties this year.

Overall, Maddon has a lot of players to choose from if he wants to mix and match late in the game.

      

National League Pitching Staff

SP Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

SP Alex Wood, Los Angeles Dodgers

SP Carlos Martinez, St. Louis Cardinals

SP Zack Greinke, Arizona Diamondbacks

SP Robbie Ray, Arizona Diamondbacks

SP Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals

RP Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers

RP Corey Knebel, Milwaukee Brewers

RP Wade Davis, Chicago Cubs

RP Greg Holland, Colorado Rockies

RP Brad Hand, San Diego Padres

RP Pat Neshek, Philadelphia Phillies

Breakdown: Scherzer is the best pitcher in baseball this year, and with all due respect to Sale and Kershaw, there is no close second.

Scherzer is holding batters to a microscopic .163 batting average against this year. To put that number in perspective, Kershaw is second at .195 and Sale is next at .200.

Scherzer has a tough draw to start the game, but he should be able to do well.

Otherwise, the NL starting staff is formidable, even though Kershaw is ineligible for the game because he started on Sunday. Fellow Dodgers lefty Alex Wood will replace Kershaw, and he's been fantastic this year, sporting a 10-0 record and a 1.67 ERA.

How strong is the starting pitching staff overall? Strasburg, who is one of the best pitchers in baseball when he's rolling, has the worst ERA of the six NL starters at 3.43.

The bullpen is strong, led by Holland, who leads the league with 28 saves. Jansen is also in the mix, and he has a microscopic 0.96 ERA.

   

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