Until five o’clock today, MLB fans around the world have the opportunity to select the final player on each All-Star team. This year’s American League finalists include four veteran pitchers and rookie Yu Darvish, the Japanese export who caught the eye of analyst Al Leiter in 2009. As he explained to MJ’s Blaine McEvoy earlier this spring:

I like him a lot. I saw him in the last World Baseball Classic and I’ve been studying his video too. He doesn’t throw 100, but I like his delivery and he’s got good breaking stuff too. I think what [Texas Rangers CEO and president] Nolan Ryan was impressed about most was that most Japanese pitchers are not his size. Yu is 6’5”. So the fact that he doesn’t have the normal build impressed Nolan for longevity reasons. I’m not sure whether he’s an ace yet, but I would say he’s a top two starter on a playoff-contending team. Photograph by Denis Poroy / Getty Images