Though the fans get to vote on the position players, it’s up to the players themselves to select who have been the best pitchers so far this season. Let’s take a look at which pitchers will be in the running for an all-star game appearance this season.

Starters (5):
David Price, Tampa Bay Rays. Price has been fantastic all season long, emerging as the true ace of the Rays staff and selling tons of MLB tickets in the process. With an 11-3 record and a fantastic 2.44 ERA, it seems that this southpaw has finally arrived at the top of the league.

Clay Buchholz, Boston Red Sox. Plenty of fans had high expectations for Buchholz this year, but he’s simply exceeded all of them. Buchholz is near the top of the A.L. in ERA (2.45), wins (10) and WHIP (1.25). It looks to be the first of many all-star appearances for Buchholz.

Phil Hughes, New York Yankees. I knew that Hughes was the right play to round out the Yankees rotation, but I didn’t know he was ready to excel like he is currently. His 3.58 isn’t near the top of the league but his 10-2 record is tremendous. Considering the Yankees tend to put up lots of runs, Hughes has done exactly what he’s needed to do to win – get deep into ballgames and limit the opposition. His 1.19 WHIP suggests that his ERA should go down as we head deeper into the season.

Cliff Lee, Seattle Mariners. After missing a bit of time to start the season, Lee has been nothing short of spectacular. In 12 starts, Lee has five compete games and is leading A.L. starters in WHIP with 0.92. Even on a struggling Mariners squad, Lee has managed a 7-3 record, which suggests that he’s pitching himself out of Seattle before the trading deadline.

Andy Pettitte, New York Yankees. C.C. Sabathia could be another all-star option, and probably will be due to the popularity of the Yankees, but Pettitte has been superb all season long. With a 9-2 record and shocking ERA of 2.72, his numbers speak for themselves.

Backup:
Jeff Weaver, Los Angeles Angels. There are a few quality options here, including Ricky Romero and C.C. Sabathia. However, Weaver has been one of the bright spots on the Angels roster and has pitched really well as of late, bringing his ERA down to 3.01 and his WHIP down to 1.09.

Relievers (3):
Mariano Rivera, New York Yankees. No surprise here: Rivera is having another great season. With 17 saves, a 0.92 ERA, a 0.61 WHIP and a ridiculous strikeout to walk ratio, Rivera has remained the hammer at the end of the Yankees rotation that has helped give them the best record in the league.

Neftali Feliz, Texas Rangers. Most probably haven’t heard of Feliz, but that’s OK. He hasn’t been nearly as dominant as Rivera, but he has a very good WHIP (0.96) and has racked up 20 saves to keep the Rangers in first place.

Rafael Soriano, Tampa Bay Rays. Though Soriano appeared to be on the cusp of stardom years ago with Seattle, it simply never materialized. That is, until now. Soriano has been very steady at the back end of the Rays bullpen, piling up 18 saves and a 1.63 ERA.

Backup:
Jon Rauch, Minnesota Twins. It’s definitely close between Rauch and Jonathan Papelbon, but Rauch has been more consistent. Stepping into the closer’s role for injured Joe Nathan, Rauch has saved 17 games and has been very reliable throughout the season. Without him, the Twins wouldn’t be in first place.

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