We're about a month away from MLB All-Star Game rosters being announced, so it's time for ESPN's still-too-early All-Star selections. As always, we have wonderful surprises and family-friendly debates for all ages. Get some popcorn and settle in.
On a certain level, the debate about who should start an All-Star Game has been resolved: "best first two months" has won out over "established star." This has led to some peculiar starters in recent years, like Jacob Wilson over Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop and Javier Baez in center field over Julio Rodriguez and Byron Buxton for the American League last year or Jurickson Profar and Alec Bohm starting for the National League in 2024.
The days of big-name players starting year after year -- like Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr. starting 11 consecutive All-Star Games -- or even being automatically named to the roster as reserves are gone. How much has this voting philosophy changed what starting lineups look like? I went back to 1970, when MLB reinstituted fan voting, and looked at how many of the same players started the previous All-Star Game (not counting the starting pitcher). The decade averages:
1970s NL: 4.3
1970s AL: 3.7
1980s NL: 4.3
1980s AL: 3.5
1990s NL: 3.6
1990s AL: 5.0
2000s NL: 2.9
2000s AL: 3.3
2010s NL: 2.2
2010s AL: 3.8
2020s NL: 1.2
2020s AL: 1.6
If All-Star starting lineups in recent years feel a little less star-studded than in the past, it's pretty clear that's exactly the case. The AL, for example, hasn't had a repeat starter at shortstop since Derek Jeter in 2010. The only player to start the past three All-Star Games has been Shohei Ohtani, who has started all five this decade. (This would have been the case for Aaron Judge as well, but he was injured in 2023 after being voted in as a starter.)
Let's get to the selections, where we'll focus primarily on the best players so far, but acknowledge a player's entire career if it's close. The usual rules apply: 32 players per team, broken down into 20 position players and 12 pitchers (including at least three relievers), with one representative from each MLB club. Players will be considered for the position they're listed at on the official All-Star ballot.
National League
Starters
C: Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves
1B: Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
2B: Brice Turang, Milwaukee Brewers
3B: Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers
SS: Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds
OF: James Wood, Washington Nationals
OF: Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
OF: Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Dodgers
SP: Jacob Misiorowski, Milwaukee Brewers
Baldwin and De La Cruz are both on the injured list but should be back shortly, and both still lead their positions in FanGraphs WAR. De La Cruz has more competition at shortstop, even though Francisco Lindor has been injured, Trea Turner has struggled, and Geraldo Perdomo hasn't repeated his breakout 2025. CJ Abrams and Otto Lopez are having outstanding seasons, however, and could push De La Cruz out if he doesn't make it back soon.
NL second base is very deep -- there are eight players I would take over any second baseman in the AL. Turang gets the nod as his improvement continues to amaze. Check his year-to-year OPS gains in his four major league seasons: +80, +129, +87.
Muncy is the easy choice -- the only choice -- at third base. Just recently, NL third base was absolutely loaded with All-Star candidates, but Muncy is the only one having an All-Star-caliber season.
Jordan Walker draws the short straw in the outfield behind Wood and Carroll -- all three are having similar seasons in terms of value, but Wood and Carroll were already stars -- while Pages gets the third spot. He's having the slightly better all-around season, leading NL position players in bWAR and topping the circuit in RBIs while playing outstanding defense in center.
I'd be perfectly fine with Cristopher Sanchez starting the game since it's in Philadelphia, and Ohtani, of course, is also in the running, but Misiorowski is the starting pitcher we've been talking about the most this season as he spins zeroes on the scoreboard and triple digits with his fastball. He was a controversial All-Star selection last year when he was selected despite just five career starts, but there will be no arguments this year if Miz draws the start (except from Phillies fans).
And lastly, apologies to Kyle Schwarber.
Reserves
C: Hunter Goodman, Colorado Rockies
1B: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
2B: Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins
2B: Luis Arraez, San Francisco Giants
3B: Nolan Arenado, Arizona Diamondbacks
SS: CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals
SS: Otto Lopez, Miami Marlins
OF: Jordan Walker, St. Louis Cardinals
OF: Juan Soto, New York Mets
OF: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Chicago Cubs
DH: Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
We can't have an All-Star Game in Philadelphia without Harper. It's either him or Freddie Freeman -- who has made the past seven All-Star Games, last missing a roster in 2017 -- but let's give Harper the hometown nod.
Two Marlins! You would not have projected Edwards and especially Lopez as potential All-Stars before the season, but both are hitting over .300, with Lopez second in the NL with his .336 average. Arraez is the lone representative of the Giants, but he's a worthy All-Star, hitting over .300 with much improved defense at second base. Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt gets squeezed out at second.
Soto and Crow-Armstrong also end up being the only representatives from their teams, which helps explain why those two clubs have disappointed -- not enough big seasons from their star players. When was the last time the Mets and Cubs had just one rep each? Answer: Actually, not that long ago, with Pete Alonso and Shota Imanaga in 2024. Crow-Armstrong's offensive surge over the past week, in combination with his excellent defense, makes him a potential starter, and you could argue Soto deserves to start as well based on his track record.
We'll get into this more with the AL roster, but some NL stars are having down seasons: Five-time All-Star Ronald Acuna Jr. and three-time All-Star Fernando Tatis Jr. haven't done enough at the plate to merit selection in this deep group of NL outfielders. Manny Machado is hitting .166 and has negative WAR. Mookie Betts missed time but is hitting just .183. Ketel Marte's numbers are down, although he hasn't been terrible. Alex Bregman hasn't been great with the Cubs. We mentioned Turner and Lindor already. Jackson Merrill, an All-Star as a rookie in 2024, has struggled offensively. New Mets Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette have hit like Tim Foli and Doug Flynn.
This has been bad, but wait until we get to the AL.
Pitchers
SP: Cristopher Sanchez, Philadelphia Phillies
SP: Paul Skenes, Pittsburgh Pirates
SP: Chris Sale, Atlanta Braves
SP: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Los Angeles Dodgers
SP: Chase Burns, Cincinnati Reds
SP: Kyle Harrison, Milwaukee Brewers
SP: Max Meyer, Miami Marlins
SP: Zack Wheeler, Philadelphia Phillies
RP: Mason Miller, San Diego Padres
RP: Jhoan Duran, Philadelphia Phillies
RP: Dylan Lee, Atlanta Braves
This is a loaded NL pitching staff. The first six guys were easy choices based on what they're doing. Harrison is the big surprise, coming over to the Brewers and sitting at 7-1 with a 1.57 ERA in 11 starts. And he's getting better, with a 12-strikeout game in his last start while allowing just one run over his past four outings.
Meyer is another surprise, but the former No. 3 pick in the 2020 draft is finally healthy and putting it all together at 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 73⅔ innings. He has already made a career-high 13 starts, so let's hope he can stay healthy for a full season.
Miller? Chalk. Duran? Heading for his first All-Star selection. Lee? Yeah, he has been this good as a setup guy for the Braves: 31 appearances, 1.17 ERA, .133 batting average allowed, 38/5 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
With Ohtani counted on the position player side, one spot remains. Let's give it to hometown favorite Zack Wheeler, who began the year on the IL after recovering from last year's thoracic outlet surgery and has been outstanding in eight starts since his return. It's not exactly a comeback story, but given the unknown recovery from that surgery, he has been one of the best stories of the season.
American League
Starters
1B: Ben Rice, New York Yankees
2B: Ernie Clement, Toronto Blue Jays
3B: Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians
SS: Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
OF: Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees
OF: Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
OF: Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins
DH: Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
SP: Cam Schlittler, New York Yankees
When selecting these All-Star rosters, it's easy to see why the NL has a decisive 172-133 edge in interleague games this season. The gap in star power between the two leagues right now is sizable -- and it doesn't help that some of the AL's biggest names are either injured or having bad seasons, leading to what might end up looking like one of the weakest starting lineups ever in an All-Star Game. I stretched just to include Ramirez here, as even his numbers are down.
Let's see: Aaron Judge is injured; Cal Raleigh is injured and was struggling anyway with a .161 average; Gunnar Henderson has an OPS under .700; Vladimir Guerrero Jr. has three home runs; Roman Anthony didn't take off and got hurt; Munetaka Murakami was one of the most exciting players of the first two months and then injured his right hamstring and might be out until after the All-Star break; Wyatt Langford missed 40 games and Corey Seager hasn't hit; and Jose Altuve missed some time and his numbers are down. Even the list of injured pitchers includes Tarik Skubal, Garrett Crochet, Hunter Brown and Max Fried -- who finished 1, 2, 3 and 4 in last year's Cy Young voting.
With Guerrero struggling, it's Rice over Nick Kurtz at first base in the toughest call on this starting lineup. Rice is second behind Alvarez in the majors in slugging percentage and OPS, so he gets the nod, but it wouldn't be surprising to see Kurtz overtake Rice by season's end as the A's first baseman has rebounded from a slow start.
Second base is a mess. Clement has a career OPS+ under 100 but has been solid this season, picking up where he left off after his big postseason last October. He's the pick, but this might be the weakest any position has been in a long time. Maybe Guardians rookie Travis Bazzana, who hasn't quite played enough for All-Star consideration but looks good, will eventually take over the position.
In the outfield, Bellinger's all-around play has him second in bWAR among AL position players behind Witt, but he's not even in the top 10 in the AL in OPS. It's nice to see Trout make it on merit, although his numbers are hardly what they were at his best. Buxton gets the nod over Julio Rodriguez for the third spot with Judge sidelined, but that could go either way (J-Rod's defensive metrics are way down, hurting his WAR).
Reserves
C: Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers
C: Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
1B: Nick Kurtz, Athletics
2B: Ezequiel Duran, Texas Rangers
3B: Junior Caminero, Tampa Bay Rays
SS: Kevin McGonigle, Detroit Tigers
SS: Colson Montgomery, Chicago White Sox
OF: Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners
OF: Wilyer Abreu, Boston Red Sox
OF: Riley Greene, Detroit Tigers
DH: Yandy Diaz, Tampa Bay Rays
It's interesting that three Tigers made it here even though their offense has been terrible (only the Royals and Padres are scoring fewer runs per game). Dingler has excellent power numbers to go along with good defense. This should be the first of many All-Star appearances for McGonigle. Greene sneaks in over Ceddanne Rafaela and Randy Arozarena in the outfield.
Duran ends up as the only Rangers representative, since we need another second baseman anyway. In terms of Texas players, Jacob deGrom would be the next-best option or maybe one of the relievers, Jacob Latz or Jakob Junis.
If Murakami had been healthy, he would have received the final spot. Instead, it came down to two other White Sox, Montgomery and Miguel Vargas, both with similar WAR totals. I went with Montgomery.
Pitchers
SP: Gavin Williams, Cleveland Guardians
SP: Davis Martin, Chicago White Sox
SP: Joe Ryan, Minnesota Twins
SP: Parker Messick, Cleveland Guardians
SP: Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
SP: Nick Martinez, Tampa Bay Rays
SP: Will Warren, New York Yankees
SP: Jose Soriano, Los Angeles Angels
RP: Louis Varland, Toronto Blue Jays
RP: Cade Smith, Cleveland Guardians
RP: Grant Taylor, Chicago White Sox
With all those injured pitching stars, this could go a million different directions. Schlittler is the clear AL All-Star starter right now over Williams or Martin. For the rest of the selections, I basically went with the lowest ERA guys over the more proven starters like Bryan Woo, Kevin Gausman or deGrom. Skubal might be nearing a return and could still make the team (although, he would certainly ask out of the game). We'll probably see a lot of changes in this group between now and next month.
McClanahan, who started the 2022 All-Star Game, has been a key to the Rays' hot start, returning after missing two seasons in a feel-good story. Martinez is striking out just 14.4% of the batters he has faced, so he's unlikely to keep this up, but for now he makes it on the strength of a 2.29 ERA.
Soriano was the pitching story of April with a 0.84 ERA but is fading fast with a 5.26 ERA over his past seven starts as he has once again started walking too many batters. He gets the final nod for now over Drew Rasmussen, Emerson Hancock and guys like Woo and Gausman.
Taylor is the final reliever over Aroldis Chapman. This is mostly a matter of volume as Taylor has pitched 32⅔ innings to just 19⅔ for Chapman. Orioles reliever Rico Garcia -- 1.00 ERA, .092 average allowed -- isn't listed here but has a very good chance to make the All-Star team, which, for a player released or claimed on waivers numerous times in his career, would make him one of the unlikeliest All-Stars ever.