Not to discourage anyone, here is a partial list of injured players who will not participate in the All-Star Game:
Ronald Acuna Jr.
Mookie Bets
Clayton Kershaw
JT Realmuto
Blake Snell
Spencer Strider
Mike Trout
Yoshinobu Yamamoto
And here is a partial list of players who, due to limited playing time and/or poor performance, are unlikely to be All-Stars:
Nolan Arenado
bo bichette
Corbin Carroll
Gerrit Cole
Zac Gallen
Pablo Goldschmidt
Julio Rodriguez
Max Scherzer
Justin Verlander
The list of absentees could grow after two Phillies, first baseman Bryce Harper and designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, suffered injuries Thursday night.
But here’s the good news:
Even with all those stars gone, the sport is so littered with standout players that I still had a hard time choosing my 64 All-Stars. And my selections are sure to elicit the usual howls of injustice from the ready-to-erupt citizens of Angry America.
I’m not bothering to include players like Betts and Tatis, who could win the fan vote but won’t be able to show up. Not that that’s going to reassure anyone, but by the time the rest of the replacements are named, about a tenth of the league will be represented. Believe me, it happens every year.
When it comes to my picks, I’m something of an Entertainment Truther. Yes, I try to honor first-half performance. But let’s not forget that this game is a promotional vehicle, not a declaration of WAR. I want the biggest names, the rising stars, the players most likely to evoke oohs and aahs.
I recognize that All-Star bonuses are up for grabs. Some worthy candidates may never get another chance to play in the Midsummer Classic. But if you’re asking me if Paul Skenes needs to be in this game, yes, Paul Skenes needs to be in this game. And even though he only has 79 at-bats this season, I was tempted to throw in the electric Royce Lewis, too.
The top two vote-getters in Phase 1 of voting — Harper and Aaron Judge — automatically earned spots as incumbents, as announced Thursday night. My incumbents, which include Harper and Judge, are in bold.
As always, I adhere to the rule that every club must be represented and that each All-Star team must feature 20 position players and 12 pitchers, at least three of whom are relievers. And as always, direct your venom to the comments section below or to my X handle, @Ken_Rosenthal.
American League
Pitchers
Corbin Burnes, Attorney at Law
Tyler Anderson
Ronel Blanco
Emmanuel Class
Garrett Crochet, CWS
Luis Gil, New York
Logan Gilbert, Southeast Asia
Tanner Houck
Seth Lugo
Mason Miller, OAK
Tarik Skubal, DET
Kirby Yates, Texas
Tarik Skubal is 9-3 with a 2.32 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 16 starts. (Dale Zanine/USA Today)
Notable omissions: Erick Fedde, CWS; Jack Flaherty, DET; Tim Herrin, CLE (check the numbers!); Clay Holmes, NYY; Kenley Jansen, BOS; George Kirby, SEA; Andres Muñoz, SEA; Cole Ragans, KC; Joe Ryan, MIN; Marcus Stroman, NYY.
Admittedly, it’s not the most star-studded group of starters, and that’s one of the reasons I’m going to pick Burnes as my ahem, starter. Among the others, Flaherty and Ragans are the only ones I’m criticizing who as of Wednesday were among the top 10 in the American League in ERA.
Yates is one of only two Rangers on my entire team, a rarity considering Texas is not only the reigning World Series champion, but also the host of the game! Well, that’s what you get for having a 37-44 record. Anderson, Crochet and Miller are the only representatives of their respective teams.
Receivers
Adley Rutschman, Attorney at Law
Salvador Perez, KC
Notable omissions: Ryan Jeffers, MIN; Logan O’Hoppe, LAA; Connor Wong, BOS.
This would be Perez’s ninth All-Star Game. Yadier Molina appeared in 10. Yogi Berra holds the catcher record with 15.
Infielders
1B Josh Naylor, C.L.E.
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR
2B Jose Altuve, HOU
2B Jordan Westburg, Basketball
Gunnar Henderson, B.A.L.
SS Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City
SS Carlos Correa, MIN
SS Corey Seager, Texas
3B Jose Ramirez, CLE
3B Rafael Devers, BOS
Notable omissions: Royce Lewis, MIN; Ryan Mountcastle, BAL; Marcus Semien, TEX; Josh Smith, TEXAS; Anthony Volpe, NY.
Guerrero has the higher OPS, but Naylor has better counting numbers and is a heart-and-soul player for a first-place team. After Altuve, no second baseman in the American League is really worthy, not even Semien, who is hitting at just about league average. Westburg has played more third than second, but I chose him as my backup.
Smith is the Rangers’ most deserving position player. Seager is, at best, the fourth most deserving shortstop in the American League. But hey, this is Corey Seager, two-time World Series MVP, with the game in his home park. To add him to the team, I left Mountcastle, who would have been my fifth Oriole.
Gardeners
Aaron Judge, New York
Juan Soto, New York
Steven Kwan, CLE
Kyle Tucker, University of Houston
Riley Greene, DET
Jarren Durán, BOS
Steven Kwan has a .373/.431/.548 line with a .979 OPS this season. (Ken Blaze/USA Today)
Notable omissions: JJ Bleday, OAK; Antonio Santander, BAL.
Pretty self-explanatory. I love the idea of the 5-foot-9, 170-pound Kwan lining up next to the 6-7, 282-pound judge.
Designated hitters
Yordan Alvarez, HOU
Isaac Paredes
Notable omissions: David Fry, CLE; Ryan O’Hearn, BAL; Brent Rooker, OAK.
Identifying a Rays representative was difficult, which tells you everything you need to know about their season. Paredes leads the team in OPS, but doesn’t exactly qualify as an easy pick. Since June 7, he is hitting .188 with a .590 OPS.
Fry, who had nearly 1,800 minor league at-bats, only to debut at age 27 and break out this season at 28, is the kind of rags-to-riches story worth honoring. Rooker suffers because Miller is the A’s sexiest attraction, whose chances of landing two picks are about as good as me dunking Zach Edey.
National League
Pitchers
Forest Ranger Suárez, PHI
Tyler Glasnow, LAD
Sonny Gray, STL
Ryan Helsley
Shota Imanaga, Community Health Center
Max Fried, ATL
Reynaldo López, ATL
Chris Sale, ATL
Tanner Scott, missing in action
Paul Skenes, PIT
Roberto Suarez
Zack Wheeler, PHI
Paul Skenes is 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA and 61 strikeouts in eight starts as a rookie. (Charles LeClaire/USA Today)
Notable omissions: Javier Assad, CHC; Jesse Chavez, ATL; Kyle Finnegan, was; Bryan Hudson, MIL; Jake Irvin, ERA; Jared Jones, PIT; Mitch Keller; PIT; Trevor Megill, MIL; Cristóbal Sánchez, PHI; Luis Severino, NYM; Gavin Stone, boy; Ryan Thompson, ARI; Logan Webb, SF.
Braves fans will point out that Lopez’s ERA is 1.70 to Ranger Suarez’s 2.01, but Suarez is so fun to watch that I don’t care. I’m including two other Braves starters, Sale and Fried, neither of whom have as good an ERA as Sanchez, who is one of my omissions. He could have easily included Hoffman or Strahm from the Phillies bullpen as well.
Do you know what I would really like to see? Chávez making his first All-Star Game appearance at age 40. Do you know what else I would like to see? Hudson made the team after the Dodgers designated him for assignment to make room for Yamamoto. Hudson leads all National League relievers with a 0.84 ERA, and his 43 innings through Thursday ranked sixth in the majors.
Capturers
Will Smith, boy
Patrick Bailey, San Francisco
William Contreras
I would be comfortable with either Smith or Contreras as the starters, although both have declined offensively in June. Bailey, who has significantly fewer plate appearances than those two, would be my only Giants representative.
Infielders
1B Bryce Harper, PHI
1B Freddie Freeman, LAD
2B Ketel Marte, ARI
2B Brice Turang, MIL
SS Elly De La Cruz, CIN
SS CJ Abrams, was
SS Francisco Lindor, NYM
SS Ezequiel Tovar, COL
3B Alec Bohm, PHI
3B Manny Machado, SD
Elly De La Cruz will likely make her first All-Star Game appearance. (Katie Stratman/USA Today)
Notable omissions: Willy Adames, MIL; Luis Arraez, SD: Michael Busch, CHC; Jake Cronenworth, SDP; Jonathan India, CIN; Ryan McMahon, COL; Joey Ortiz, MIL; Christian Walker, ARI; Masyn Winn, STL.
Wow, there’s a lot to explain here. Brewers fans will rightly ask: why Machado instead of Ortiz? Well, it’s Manny Machado, his initial problems could have been attributed to his recovery from right elbow surgery and he’s been on a roll in June.
Meanwhile, Adames is left out in part because each of the four shortstops is his team’s sole representative (imagine if Betts was healthy; that position would have been even busier). Winn suffered for the same reason. He could have factored in the Rockies choosing McMahon over Machado over Tovar over Winn. But, once again, he wanted Machado in the game.
Gardeners
Teoscar Hernandez, LAD
Jurickson Profar, SD
Christian Yelich
Brian Reynolds
Notable omissions: Jazz Chisholm Jr., MIA; Brandon Nimmo, NYM; Jackson Merrill, Social Democratic Party; Jesse Winker, WAS.
We are a long way from last year’s starting outfielders, made up of Acuña, Betts and Carroll, and Soto changed leagues. Going with just four outfielders is a stretch, but I’m trying to create space elsewhere. Two of my designated hitters can grab a glove, if necessary. Or two of my gardeners—gasp! — can play nine innings.
Designated hitters
Shohei Ohtani, boy
Marcell Ozuna, ATL
Kyle Schwarber, PHI
Notable omission: JD Martinez, NYM.
Ohtani entered Thursday first in the National League in OPS. Ozuna was third, Schwarber twelfth. Defending? Well, maybe I’m dreaming about the last two. Schwarber has played just three games in the outfield this season. Ozuna hasn’t played there since 2023, and even then it was only two games.
But tell me: which of these monster hitters do you want to leave off the team?
(Top photo of Bryce Harper and Aaron Judge: Rich Schultz//Keynote USA/Getty Images)
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