30-year old righty swinging IF/OF Bill Hall and 31-year old righty swinging outfielder Darnell McDonald have been godsends for the Red Sox this year. With all of the injuries the team has suffered they wouldn’t be where they are right now without these two guys. Hall has played in 95 games for the Red Sox and he is 65 of 273 (.238 avg, .771 OPS) with 37 runs scored, 17 homers, 40 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Hall is tied for fourth in homers (17) with J.D. Drew on the Red Sox despite not playing every day. McDonald has played in 96 games for the Red Sox this year and he is 71 of 262 (.271 avg, .778 OPS) with 33 runs scored, 8 homers, 31 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. McDonald has set new career highs in every stat this year for the Red Sox.

25-year old switch hitting catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is off to a good start for the Red Sox. He has played in 3 games for the Red Sox this year and he is 2 for 6 (.333 avg, 1.167 OPS) with 1 run scored, 2 doubles and 2 walks. It’s important that the Red Sox let Saltalamacchia play enough the rest of this season to see if they trust him in the future. It’s very possible that Victor Martinez will leave the Red Sox as a free agent after this season so it’s quite possible that Saltalamacchia will be the starting catcher for the BoSox in 2011.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have placed Jarrod Saltalamacchia on the 15-day D.L. with a lower leg infection. The Red Sox have recalled 28-year old righty swinging Dusty Brown from the minors to replace Salty on the active roster. Brown played in 6 games earlier this year for the BoSox and he was 2 for 11 (.182 avg, .364 OPS). This means that Victor Martinez will be playing almost every day until Saltalamacchia returns to action.

34-year old lefty swinging DH David Ortiz got off to a rough start this year. There were whispers around Boston that he was toast. But, Ortiz has been the best power hitter the Red Sox have had the last couple of months. He has played in 104 games for the Red Sox this year and he is 97 of 372 (.261 avg, .899 OPS) with 63 runs scored, 26 homers and 77 RBIs. Ortiz’ bat is slowing down a bit and that will likely keep his batting average down as he has whiffed 113 times already this year. But, he has walked 62 times this season as opposing pitchers would still rather walk him than make a mistake to him. With Kevin Youkilis out for the season the Red Sox need Ortiz to finish the season strongly if they are going to make a legit run at the Rays and Yankees for a playoff spot.

Amid the gigantic rash of injuries the Red Sox have suffered this season is 35-year old RF J.D. Drew’s amazing health. He has only missed a couple of games this season and he’s one of the big reasons why the Red Sox are hanging around in the A.L. East. Drew has played in 94 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 84 of 316 (.266 avg, .809 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 12 homers and 49 RBIs. The Red Sox need Drew to stay healthy the rest of the year if they are going to make a serious run at the playoffs in 2010.

The Boston Red Sox have an amazing six All-Stars despite having no starters. Victor Martinez and Dustin Pedroia both got selected for the team but will miss it due to injury. Martinez has played in 66 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 71 of 246 (.289 avg, .824 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 9 homers and 38 RBIs. He will miss the game with a fractured left thumb. Dustin Pedroia has played in 73 games for the Red Sox this season and he is 86 of 295 (.292 avg, .871 OPS) with 52 runs scored, 12 homers, 41 RBIs and 8 stolen bases. Pedroia will miss the big game with a fractured foot. 25-year old righty starting pitcher Clay Buchholz will also likely miss the game due to a hamstring issue. Buchholz has started 15 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 10-4 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. 26-year old lefty Jon Lester won’t be missing his first appearance at the All-Star Game. He has started 17 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 10-3 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP as he has been outstanding this season. 3B Adrian Beltre has been the Red Sox best hitter this season so he definitely deserves his first All-Star Game appearance. Beltre has played in 78 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 102 of 299 (.341 avg, .922 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 12 homers and 53 RBIs. David Ortiz had a horrible April but he has been smoking the last two months with the bat earning his fifth All-Star appearance. Ortiz has played in 67 games this season for the Red Sox and he is 60 of 228 (.263 avg, .935 OPS) with 43 runs scored, 17 homers and 54 RBIs.