All-Star Game starters announced: 4 first-timers including surprise at AL shortstop

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There’s a surprise at shortstop in the American League, a young first-timer in center field for the National League, and a bunch of Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers rounding out the rosters on either side.

The All-Star Game starters were announced on Wednesday night, and the lists include a slew of familiar names — third basemen Manny Machado and Jose Ramirez each made their seventh team, and Freddie Freeman’s an All-Star for the ninth time. But there are also four first-timers, including Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson, whose tremendous debut put him in the starting lineup ahead of several bigger names.

Pitchers and reserves will be announced on Sunday, and the starting pitchers will be announced the week of the game itself, but for now, these are the first 18 players selected to the mid-summer classic.

National League

C — Will Smith, Dodgers
1B — Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
2B — Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks
3B — Manny Machado, Padres
SS — Francisco Lindor, Mets
OF — Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
OF — Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs
OF — Kyle Tucker, Cubs
DH — Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers

Leading vote getter: Ohtani

Who else could it possibly be? Ohtani has made three starts in his return to pitching this season, but his fifth-straight All-Star selection is all about his bat, which remains as good as any in the National League. Ohtani leads all qualified NL hitters in wRC+. He also leads the league in runs, home runs, and slugging percentage, and his 11 stolen bases on the cherry on top. His slash line is remarkably similar to that of his past two seasons, each of which ended with an MVP award.

Shohei Ohtani, the NL’s leading vote-getter, leads the league in several offensive categories. (Harry How / Getty Images)

First timer: Crow-Armstrong

Already an elite runner and fielder, Crow-Armstrong has become an elite hitter as well, and that’s made him one of baseball’s best all-around players. Crow-Armstrong ranks fifth in the majors in fWAR, behind only Ohtani in the NL. He swings often and doesn’t walk much, but he’s hit 21 homers and ranks among the top five in defensive runs saved (he’s also top 20 in sprint speed). Crow-Armstrong’s emergence has helped lift the Cubs to first place in the NL Central, and he’ll share an All-Star Game outfield with his teammate Tucker.

Biggest surprise: Acuña

Per at-bat, only Aaron Judge has put up better offensive numbers than Acuña this season. That Acuña is one of the game’s truly elite players is not up for debate. The only surprise is that he was voted as an All-Star Game starter after playing only 35 games this season. Acuña returned from knee surgery on May 23 and immediately homered in his first game back. Then he homered again in his second game. On a per-game basis, he’s been as good as anyone in the National League. He hasn’t played many games, but when he’s played, he’s played at an All-Star level.

Feel-good story: Lindor

It’s not exactly a Cinderella story — he’s been an All-Star four times already — but this is Lindor’s first career start and his first selection since 2019. Lindor had never been an All-Star in four seasons with the Mets, but his past 12 months have been a throwback to his younger days in Cleveland and a reminder that Lindor could end up with a plaque in Cooperstown. Lindor has been one of the game’s great and most engaging players of the past decade, and now he’ll start an All-Star Game for the first time.

Early snub: James Wood, Nationals

The Dodgers had a finalist at every position, including three of the six finalists in the outfield. Such organizational popularity — and the popularity of Acuña — overwhelmed an overcrowded field of worthy NL outfielders. Wood and Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll are each top 10 in the majors (at any position) with a 3.5 fWAR. Fernando Tatis Jr. of the Padres isn’t far behind at 3.4. There could be room for all three on the NL bench. A milder Dodgers-related snub: Pete Alonso or Matt Olson arguably should start at first base over Freeman, but it’s close. Similar situation at shortstop where Trea Turner of the Phillies has a case for starting over Lindor, but it’s certainly not egregious.

Pick to pitch: Zach Wheeler, Phillies

Wheeler’s made two All-Star teams in his career, and he’s faced a total of one batter (he struck out Matt Olson in 2021). Let’s change that in a big way this year. Obviously, Paul Skenes is in the mix. Logan Webb is, too. Honestly, it’s a toss-up among those three. Pick any one of them, and it’s justified. The easy pick is Skenes, who started last year, but Wheeler has more strikeouts and a slightly lower WHIP (Skenes has a better ERA and four more innings). Maybe it comes down to which one pitches best in the next week. Hard to go wrong with this group.

American League

C — Cal Raleigh, Mariners
1B — Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
2B — Gleyber Torres, Tigers
3B — José Ramirez, Guardians
SS — Jacob Wilson, Athletics
OF — Aaron Judge, Yankees
OF — Riley Greene, Tigers
OF — Javier Baez, Tigers
DH — Ryan O’Hearn, Orioles

Leading vote getter: Judge

Who else could it possibly be? Judge got more votes than even Ohtani. His numbers so far are even better than last year, when Judge had one of the greatest seasons in Major League history. Judge leads the majors in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. His 6.5 fWAR at the start of July is higher than all but seven players generated all of last season. This is Judge’s fifth-straight All-Star selection and the seventh of his career.

There are several surprises on the All-Star teams, but Aaron Judge was a lock as the AL’s leading vote-getter. (Vincent Carchietta / Imagn Images)

First timers: Raleigh, Wilson, O’Hearn

Raleigh has won a Gold Glove and generated some down-ballot MVP votes, but he’s never been an All-Star. All it took was him having one of the greatest seasons ever for a catcher. Raleigh’s elite framing and tremendous power have made him one of the game’s best all-around catchers for four years now, but this season he’s emerged as one of the game’s best players regardless of position (only Judge has a higher fWAR). Wilson is a first-time All-Star as a 23-year-old in his rookie season. O’Hearn is a first-timer as a 31-year-old — 32 later this month — in his eighth season. It would have been tough to predict either of those two at the start of the season.

Biggest surprise: Báez

A rookie like Wilson getting the shortstop nod over an MVP candidate like Bobby Witt Jr. is certainly surprising, but Báez’s return to All-Star relevance is legitimately shocking. Once a fan favorite with the Chicago Cubs, Báez had been an overwhelming disappointment since joining the Tigers in 2022. He played below replacement level last season and wasn’t involved in his team’s surprising playoff run. Báez seemed more likely to be released than elected to the All-Star game. But here he is. By the numbers, Báez probably doesn’t deserve to be in the lineup — Byron Buxton, Julio Rodriguez or even Tigers teammate Zach McKinstry might have been a better selection for the third outfield spot — but Báez has been legitimately good with a 120 OPS+ that would be the second highest of his career (behind only his 2018 season when Báez finished second for MVP). This is his third All-Star selection, but first as an outfielder.

Feel-good story: O’Hearn

Would he be in the lineup if Rafael Devers hadn’t been traded to the Giants? Maybe not, but O’Hearn earned his place. He’s 16th in the majors in wRC+ — ahead of Devers and every primary DH in the American League —  which has been a long-time coming for a player who was sold to the Orioles in 2023 after five largely disappointing seasons with the Royals. O’Hearn is on track for a career year almost across the board offensively, and it comes at a good time as he’s about to become a free agent in the offseason.

Early snub: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals

It’s not that Wilson hasn’t had a good season — he’s second in the Majors in batting average and an early favorite for AL Rookie of the Year — but it’s still surprising that he won the fan voting ahead of Bobby Witt Jr., Jeremy Pena and Gunnar Henderson. Pena, the Astros shortstop, has the highest fWAR and wRC+ of any shortstop in baseball, but he’s currently hurt, and Witt basically matches him in fWAR while coming off a near-MVP season. Witt was the presumptive favorite to start for the AL, but he lost out to a rookie playing in Sacramento. Wilson is only the third A’s position player elected as an All-Star Game starter since 1993 (also Jason Giambi in 2000 and Josh Donaldson in 2014).

Pick to pitch: Tarik Skubal, Tigers

We see you, Hunter Brown. Lowest ERA in the league. Good strikeout numbers. Awesome season. And you, too, Garrett Crochet. Everything the Red Sox could have asked for and then some. But let’s not overthink this. Skubal was a unanimous Cy Young selection last year, and he’s been even better this year. His 9.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio is absurd, and his 0.83 WHIP is better than Bob Gibson’s in 1968. Skubal was the first American League pitcher out of the bullpen last year. He should be the first one on the mound this year.

(Top photo of Jacob Wilson: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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