All-Star voting is currently open, which is always an exciting time to reflect on standout performances, and a nice distraction if your favorite team has been falling down rather than standing out lately. Each squad has 32 spots on it, 20 for position players and 12 for pitchers. Fans will elect the starters through a two-round voting process. Players select another 17. And the Commissioner’s Office fills the last six, often to ensure the one real rule here, which is that every team is guaranteed at least one slot on the roster. Below, I’ve played the part of all three sections of voting. I can’t emphasize enough that this is not a prediction. It’s my If I Were King of the World ballot of starters and reserves for the American League. We’ll talk NL next week. This is just my current ballot. Things can and do change over the course of the voting period. An All-Star ballot is fundamentally a personal exercise, so I’d love to hear from you in the comments. You can also submit your actual votes, here through June 26.
Cal Raleigh is as obvious a choice as you ever get, a player I love, playing out of his mind. But honestly, I’m even more excited for his potential participation in the Home Run Derby, which I enjoy more than the All-Star Game, especially since he’s said he’d do it if invited. As for reserve catcher, I’m not buying Dillon Dingler just yet, but maybe next year. Kirk gets the reserve spot.
First base is tough because there are four worthy players. Jonathan Aranda is having a great early season, but it’s fueled by a .410 BABIP. Tork has finally figured it out. Goldy is a loveable legend having a dead cat bounce, and an All-Star nod feels like a good way to honor him. And if you asked me who the best first baseman in the league is, I would say Vladito, notwithstanding his underperforming the other three by a touch this year. Aranda’s BABIP has me out on him, and as for Tork, let’s table that for a moment.
At second, Willi Castro has been having another great year playing all over the field, and I hate that it’s so hard for a superutility player to make an All-Star team. Plus, I like him as a person. Torres and Brandon Lowe have been about equally good, and I want to go with my aesthetic preference for balls in play over power, but the Rays need a rep, so Lowe it is.
José Ramírez is the best third baseman in baseball until proven otherwise. I’m torn between current Astro Isaac Peredes and former Astro Alex Bregman. I hate Peredes’s approach, even as it’s so obviously successful. But the core 2017-22 Astros are on my forever hated list.
Shortstop is an embarrassment of riches. By going with two reserves per position everywhere else, we have room for four shortstops. Bobby Witt, Jr. is my starter. His defense and star power light up a diamond, plus I feel like the world owes him one for having put up a 10 WAR season last year without being the MVP. Annoyed as I am about it, Jacob Wilson has been too good to deny, and Zach Neto has to get in as the only reasonable rep for Anaheim. Going with two more gets you to four shortstops, which is already a stretch, but J.P. Crawford and Jeremy Peña are both outhitting Torkleson while playing solid defense at shortstop, rather than bad defense at first base. It’s honestly a shame one of Crawford and Peña has to be left in the cold. If I’m being really real, I think Peña’s been better, but Crawford’s been so close to being an All-Star twice already (2021 and 2023), that I can’t stomach another round. He and Peña are close enough that I’m happy to go heart over head.
The outfield is Judge and then everybody else. Obviously. I know Julio’s season has been disappointing relative to expectations, but he’s playing platinum-glove level defense while being on pace for a 25-25 season, and if his BABIP were anywhere near his career norms, he’d be hitting close to .290. I’m generally partial to one player from every position, so that helps Kwan break the tie for the third spot. AL outfield is surprisingly shallow. Don’t feel like I’m doing anybody dirty by only picking three reserves.
At DH, Devers is a star and is having the best year. While I really think O’Hearn is a flash in the pan, that flash has been so hot, I’m going with it. I like it when the All-Star rosters balance guys who are perenially great, even if they’re being outperformed this year with guys who are just on an epic tear. Plus the O’s need a rep.
On the mound, Skubal’s the best by a good margin, so he’s my pick to start. Brown, Crochet, Eovaldi, and Fried have the combination of run prevention, peripherals supporting it, bulk, and history of performance to separate themselves from the pack. You could quibble on whether Eovaldi belongs on that list, but the Rangers aren’t represented yet. Shane Smith is not an All-Star caliber player, but has to get in here so the White Sox have someone. That really only leaves one spot. I love that Kris Bubic has kept the gains he made as a reliever in his return to the rotation, so that narrative pushes him over the top for me. But I’m hoping Joe Ryan and Bryan Woo find their way in as replacements.
The relief field is always a bloodbath: the one position where the All-Star roster offers fewer rather than more slots than actual rosters. Muñoz, Duran, and, much as I hate to admit it, Hader, have the combination of gaudy strikeout numbers and ERAs below 2.00. Will Vest is almost in that group, but replace some strikeouts with groundballs. The last spot is practically throwing darts. I think the best remaining pitchers who’ve thrown at least 20 innings aren’t closers or necessarily brand names, but I also think getting an All-Star nod is how deserving names become brands, especially when they aren’t closers. Of the group that’s thrown at least 20 innings, four have a K% – BB% over 30%. One is Josh Hader, who’s already in. Of the three others, only one has an xwOBACON under .400. That combination of lots of strikeouts, few walks, and weak contact is really all anyone’s looking for in a pitcher. Call me biased if you want: I’m sending Gabe Speier to the All-Star Game.
