3 potential replacements for injured All-Star starters

Among the starters selected for the 2015 All-Star Game in Cincinnati, not every player is healthy enough to take part in this year's festivities.

Related: Royals land 4 starters in All-Star Game, Donaldson sets voting record

This time around, three players, Miguel Cabrera, Matt Holliday, and Giancarlo Stanton, who were honored to start, will not be capable of suiting up as they nurse injuries.

Here are a list of three potential players who should take their spots in the starting nine.

AL First Baseman: Jose Abreu

Forget fan voting for a minute.

Chicago White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu, who didn't even finish in the top five in voting, is among the elites in the American League. With Cabrera on the shelf with a left calf strain, Abreu deserves to start.

Before we begin a riot over selecting him over Kansas City Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, consider the stats as of the July 5 announcement of the starting nine.

Hosmer deserves to be an All-Star, but Abreu has bettered him in almost every hitting category to be the starter.

Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder was also a serious candidate for this position. Of course, his numbers are among the best in the majors. That being said, Fielder has only appeared in 11 games at first base, likely making him a better DH candidate for the All-Star Game.

NL Outfielder: Andrew McCutchen

After a slow start to the season, Andrew McCutchen is back.

Though most vote-getters are selected on an exciting aspect of their game, the Pittsburgh Pirates center fielder is an all-around player who deserves to be recognized.

McCutchen would replace St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Matt Holliday, though it's not a sure thing, given he may return to the lineup before the festivities. But should Holliday be unable to partake in the game, McCutchen would make an ideal replacement.

McCutchen is batting .297/.391/.493, with 10 homers and 51 RBIs as of July 5. Those numbers are also relative to the fact that he slumbered for the better part of the first half.

Either way, the speedy outfielder, who also leads the NL with 22 doubles, would make a quality starter in the All-Star Game.

NL Outfielder: Joc Pederson

Understandably, there are lots of players who might be more deserving of a start than Joc Pederson, but there's a reason he's my selection.

The fans didn't vote in Stanton for his fielding ability. Nor was he selected for his .265 AVG. In fact, only two statistics stand out as a replacement to Stanton: strikeouts and home runs.

If the people want home runs, who better to replace Stanton than arguably the second-biggest power threat in the NL?

Stanton is a go-big-or-go-home type of hitter, sitting second among NL outfielders with 95 punch outs, trailing only Pederson (98). That said, he also leads the majors with 27 homers. Pederson is in the same boat, sitting third with 20 homers.

So if fans want to vote in a player based on his ability to go yard, Pederson, who leads the majors with an average home run distance of 430.5 feet, is the man to replace Stanton.