April's All-Star Team: National League

Now that the first month of the season is coming to a close, it's time to hand out the "April All-Star" nods. We'll start in the National League.

Catcher

Sean Murphy, Atlanta Braves

The Braves surrendered a prospect haul, and a 6-year, $73M extension to bring in Murphy just before the season began. It's paid off handsomely so far, with 6 HR, 16 RBIs, and a .973 OPS.

First Base

Pete Alonso, New York Mets

This one is basically a dead-heat between Alonso and Matt Olson of the Braves. Olson's 3-run homer in a head-to-head battle Friday night put him right in the conversation. But Alonso's 10 HR and 25 RBIs makes it on a razor-thin margin.

Second Base

Luis Arraez, Miami Marlins

It's one of those trades that's worked out extremely well for both teams. The Marlins can't be upset about the deal that sent Pablo Lopez to the Minnesota Twins for the AL Batting Champ Arraez. Talk about defending your crown: All Arraez is doing so far is hitting .443 with a .510 on-base and a 1.067 OPS. Incredible.

Third Base

Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers

Perhaps the most surprising of these selections, based on pre-season expectations. With Nolan Arenado and Austin Riley the perennial top 3B in the NL, Muncy went on a 13-game tear this month where he hit 10 home runs with 19 RBIs. Overall, his 11 dingers, 22 ribbies and 1.015 OPS leads the way at the hot corner.

Shortstop

Xander Bogaerts, San Diego Padres

Where would the Friars be this season without their $280M Man? With the slow starts of Juan Soto and Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr. only joining the team 10 days ago, Bogaerts has been holding up the offense with his .311 average and .929 OPS.

Outfield

Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates
Nick Castellanos, Philadelphia Phillies

Acuna is probably the leader for league MVP at this point, batting .352 with a .440 on-base, 13 stolen bases and 14 RBIs.

Reynolds is paying immediate dividends on his new long-term extension for the 1st-place Pirates, batting .313 with a .914 OPS, 5 homers and 22 RBIs.

Castellanos is quickly erasing the memories of a disastrous debut season in Philly, with a .324 average, .909 OPS and 17 RBIs.

Honorable mention in the outfield goes to Brandon Marsh and James Outman.

Starting Pitcher

Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves

So much for the sophomore jinx. The NL Rookie of the Year runner-up is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA, an 0.83 WHIP and a 49:11 K/BB ratio.

Closer

David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates

This was neck-and-neck with Josh Hader, but the Bucs' spot at the top of the standings wins out. Bednar has 9 saves (as does Hader) with a 0.69 WHIP and 17 strikeouts against just one walk in 13 innings.

April's AL All-Stars can be found here.

Photo: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports