Bowden: Five Rangers should be All-Stars

June, 11, 2012
6/11/12
10:30
AM CT
ESPN.com's Jim Bowden came out with his preliminary American League All-Star picks and chose five Texas Rangers for the team.

He said Adrian Beltre and Josh Hamilton should be starters, saying about Hamilton: "No brainer: He's been the best player in baseball in the first half."

As for his bench and pitching selections, Bowden has three Rangers: Catcher Mike Napoli, second baseman Ian Kinsler and closer Joe Nathan. His thought on Nathan:
Nathan looks fully recovered from Tommy John surgery and has been one of the best cost-effective signings of the offseason by any team.

If you want to read Bowden's write-ups for every player, you can do so here (Insider).
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.

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TEAM LEADERS

BA LEADER
Ian Kinsler
BA HR RBI R
.302 7 20 24
OTHER LEADERS
HRN. Cruz 11
RBIN. Cruz 33
RE. Andrus 28
OPSM. Moreland .905
WY. Darvish 7
ERAY. Darvish 2.84
SOY. Darvish 91

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