2016 Mitchell Award candidates

The Kevin Mitchell Most Valuable Player Award, named for the great Maine and Waikiki outfielder, recognizes the DMBL's top hitter.

A look at the Diamond all-star ballot

The 2014 all-star ballot is out and the all-star break comes your way after Sunday's doubleheaders. The all-star game will be played Tuesday night in ... Let's look at the potential candidates for the Diamond Conference position players:

DIAMOND Conference
C: Joe Mauer is among three San Francisco Experience at the top of the batting charts and leads the league's catchers in most every category, including hits (100), doubles (27), RBI (38) and runs scored (64). Among his competition is Livingston's Wilin Rosario, whose primary attribute is power with 13 home runs.

1B: Rookie Matt Adams of Durham enjoyed a 17-game hitting streak, the league's second-longest this season to lead Diamond 1B with 93 hits. If it's a slugger you're looking for, Livingston's Paul Goldschmidt has 27 homers, tied for second in the league, to go with 73 RBIs and 91 hits. There's also Empire City's Chris Davis who has pop, with 22 HRs. Marietta's Mike Napoli could garner consideration with his 24 doubles and 48 RBI.

2B: Livingston's recent acquisition of Robinson Cano gives the Lords of Swing the among the top home run hitters of Diamond second basemen. Jed Gyorko has been manning the keystone regularly, bopping 20 dingers -- more than the 16 Cano hit before coming over from Hopatcong. For more traditional 2B candidates, look at Hillsborough's Jason Kipnis (.286/.374/.417) and Durham's Dustin Pedroia (91 hits, 17 doubles). There's also Howie Kendrick of Marietta and his .293/.324/.498 line thanks to 12 homers.

SS: Hanley Ramirez has been putting up Mitchell Award-level numbers in the first half batting in the middle of a murder's row of a lineup in San Francisco. He's led the batting race off and on (.349) and has the league lead in doubles (36), extra base hits (56) and RBIs (91), and with a few games to go until Sunday's All-Star break, he's got an outside shot at 100 RBIs by the break. Livingston's Ian Desmond could be a shoo-in any other year with his 16 HRs, 15 doubles and 44 RBI.

3B: Durham's David Wright has always been a fan favorite and a model of consistency, putting up a respectable first half, with 14 home runs, 51 RBI and 52 runs scored while batting near .300. But it could be back to San Francisco, where Matt Carpenter has been challenging for the batting title all season (.349). Despite just 3 HR, Carpenter has 29 doubles and 67 runs scored thanks to an OBP of .420. Adrian Beltre of Empire City provides defense but also has a leading 91 hits while Livingston's Eric Chavez is batting .300 and slugging .483 with his 87 hits.

OF: Like first base, outfield is always a crowded race with all the big bats and this year is no different. You could make a case for taking multiple players from league leaders Livingston or San Francisco. Carlos Beltran has been hitting whether it was in Bridgewater or Livingston, bashing a combined 17 HRs and 52 RBI. Livingston boasts a second Carlos (Gonzalez) who's got 21 HRs and 46 RBI to go with a .282/.358/.577 line. San Francisco meanwhile has Colby Rasmus patrolling center while also batting an impressive .329/.386/.675, with 22 HRs and 71 RBI. Jayson Werth is among four Experience players with more than 100 hits (103) and also has 17 HRs, 58 runs and 60 RBI. Livingston's Shin Soo-Choo is no slouch with 88 hits, 50 runs and 50 RBIs, batting .317/.407/.493.

You don't want to vote for me?

There are others who could garner consideration, such as Marietta's Brandon Moss with 17 HRs and 54 RBI (.285/.384/.625). Daniel Nava of Hillsborough is right behind him in the RBI department with 53 and there's Empire City's Hunter Pence, with 15 HRs and 41 RBI, with a solid .286/.345/.497.

If it's more speed than power you're looking for, there's Durham's Jacoby Ellsbury and his league-high 17 SBs, which complement his .305 BA, 90 hits and 21 doubles. Or look for Hopatcong's Carlos Gomez who might get lost in the numbers after coming over from Livingston. He's got a league-high 10 triples to go with 12 SBs.

DH: Marietta's Adam Lind has fashioned an envious .311/.400/.545 line in the first half, slapping 13 home runs and 42 RBI. Durham's Pedro Alvarez provides pop too with 18 home runs but it's all or nothing with him, evidenced by his .232/.301/.485 line. The ageless Raul Ibanez also has hit 17 homers for Hopatcong but like Alvarez, is batting closer to .200 than .300.

Tomorrow we'll take a look at the Micro Conference ballot for position players.

Six Hits For Coghlan Without a Run, RBI To Show For It

Going 6-for-7 from the leadoff spot, you'd think Chris Coghlan would have played a big part in Hoboken's 7-5 win over Sardine City in 13 innings Saturday night. After all, the rest of the team only managed 7 hits combined.

Amazingly, despite tying the league record for hits in a game (now shared by a dozen players), the Cutters centerfielder managed to not collect a single RBI or a score one measly run.

Coghlan led off the game with a double before getting stranded at third. He grounded out to second for his only out, after J.J. Hardy led off the third inning with a home run. In the fourth, he singled after another Hardy homer, this time a three-run shot off starter Ubaldo Jimenez, only to have Ian Kinsler end the inning one at-bat later.

Coghlan greeted reliever Octavio Dotel with a single to lead off the seventh before Kinsler grounded to short, forcing Coghlan at second. Kinsler got as far as second before the Cutters ended the inning.

In the ninth, Coghlan singled off Daniel Bard with one out, and the Cutters, again, quietly went away, leaving him on first.

Coghlan found himself leading off an inning again, this time the 12th, and doubling again. Jose Bautista advanced him to third with a groundout to second, but after David Ortiz was intentionally walked, Miguel Cabrera struck out to end the inning.

In the 13th, Matt Joyce broke the tie with a two-run home run to give the Cutters the lead. Coghlan then came to bat with two outs, doubling deep to left center. Kinsler followed up with a groundout to second, ending the inning. Totaling up the night, Coghlan had six hits in all -- three doubles and three singles, for nine total bases. But zero RBIs and zero runs scored!

Coghlan was selected with the 14th pick in the 4th round (62nd overall) of this year's draft. He was Hoboken's opening day center-fielder before losing his job to free agent Nate McLouth and getting sent down for part of the season. He's seen some action in left and right field but has made 81 starts in center for the Cutters. After scuffling around .220 most of the season, he's now hitting .263 for the year.

Coghlan had what now looks like a career year during his rookie campaign with Arkansas in 2010, hitting .314 with 30 doubles in 151 games. He was selected 6th overall in that year's draft, sandwiched between two Hillsborough picks: after Carlos Gonzalez and before Gordon Beckham. He tied with Homer Bailey of Philly for 4th in the Pat Listach Rookie of the Year balloting with 3 points (one second-place vote and a third-place vote), ahead of Vancouver's Ron Belisario (1 point). Kendry Morales won the award that year.