Predicting the full MLB All-Star Game rosters after voting concludes

The MLB All-Star Game will take place on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The starters will be announced on Saturday, July 4, with the fan voting window now closed. Fans will determine the starters. Players and the Commissioner’s Office will determine the reserves.

Let’s take a stab at predicting the full National League and American League rosters, using MLB’s published (but not finalized) voting results and a combination of merit and reputation to determine who might snag a spot on the bench.

Projected National League All-Star Team

Starters

The latest round of fan voting pointed in this direction, with the Braves and Dodgers especially well-represented (and not undeservedly). All these players are deserving All-Stars. It feels a bit strange for Brandon Marsh to (probably) be the only Phillies starter, but that’s how the cookie appears to be crumbling. Marsh has enjoyed a breakout season and, when factoring in his defense, is probably Philadelphia’s second-best positional player this season behind Kyle Schwarber.

Ozzie Albies — with all due respect — is probably the most fraudulent of the fan favorites, but he’s enjoying a productive campaign on the first-place Braves, and his pedigree goes without saying. That he has figured out how to bounce back after a couple years of aimless wandering is a credit to him. Same for Michael Harris II, who rebounded from a disappointing 2025 campaign to become one of the most fearsome outfield bats in MLB.

Drake Baldwin has struggled since his return from injury and missed time might count against him in a more objective setting, but the fans want what the fans want. Talent-wise, it’s certainly hard to dispute his presence here.

Pitchers

Jacob Misiorowski or Cristopher Sánchez? Assuming Dodgers manager Dave Roberts does not let Shohei Ohtani start — and he shouldn’t — that appears to be the debate. Sánchez and Misiorowski both lead MLB in pitching fWAR (4.3) and are enjoying historically dominant seasons. Miz has set the velocity record multiple times over and he’s probably the more dominant force these days, but Sánchez’s durability, steadfastness, and the fact that he’s the hometown hero, all make him equally worthy, if not the objective right choice.

The Phillies’ rapid ascent lands them four total pitchers and by far the most All-Stars overall in the National League. That may or may not be “fair,” but the thing about the Phillies is… once you move past their stars, the roster falls off a cliff. So Philadelphia’s stars are truly carrying their weight this season.

Chris Sale and Dylan Lee represent a Braves pitching staff that has fallen off in recent weeks. Bryce Elder was on track for a surprise second All-Star berth for months, but that no longer feels justified. Dodgers fans probably want more than one representative, and Justin Wrobleski has put his name in the hat with a standout season, but Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s résumé is the only one that really stands up to scrutiny.

Reserves

We get into a real roster crunch here, as very deserving candidates — Jordan Walker, Sal Stewart, etc. — miss the cut, largely due to positional needs and the requirement for every team to be represented. Casey Schmitt over Luis Arráez as San Francisco’s infield representative does not sit well in my stomach, but he can more credibly claim third base, which is a black hole in terms of deserving candidates behind starter Max Muncy.

Projected American League All-Star Team

Starters

Toronto fans spammed their starting votes, landing Ernie Clement the most votes in the entire American Leauge in phase one, which guarantees him a start at second base. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. straight up is not an All-Star caliber player this season — not on paper, at least — but it’s hard to get too upset given the star power he supplies to the event.

Aaron Judge won’t return until August at this rate, so we are going to look past him and place his Yankees teammate, Cody Bellinger, in the starting outfield instead.

For the most part, the voters are on the money this season. Junior Caminero is the right representative for the underrated Rays. Mike Trout, assuming he’s ready to play, is Mike Trout (although there’s a good chance the AL DHs him and bumps a different outfielder up, or Trout can simply rest out of an abundance of caution).

Yordan Álvarez, the current AL MVP frontrunner, is the set-and-forget DH to start the game, though. There is not a more dangerous hitter in MLB at the moment.

Pitchers

Cam Schlittler was knocked around by Detroit earlier this week, but he’s clearly the most deserving candidate to start on the mound for the American League. Tarik Skubal has missed too much time; Dylan Cease’s Blue Jays just aren’t competitive. Reid Detmers has flown under the radar in Anaheim, but even the most stats-pilled, analytics-coded argument could not rightfully place him ahead of Schlittler.

Aroldis Chapman has dominated in limited innings and probably gets the nod on pedigree, but Cleveland’s Cade Smith and Tampa’s Bryan Baker also deserve strong consideration on the relievers front. Louis Varland is the best closer in the AL, team record be damned. Jacob Latz is the lone Rangers representative, and rightfully so. He has proven unhittable with a 1.71 ERA and 0.62 WHIP in 42.0 innings.

Reserves

Three extra first basemen is a stretch — and it puts the AL in a bind when it comes to substitution patterns — but it would not feel right to exclude any of Willson Contreras, Ben Rice or Nick Kurtz. Those are three of the best hitters in baseball this season, period. Contreras is a model of consistency. Rice has tapped into new power stores. Kurtz is on base virtually every night; there’s a reason opponents pitch around him.

Second base is a fairly weak position this season, but Jazz Chisholm and Travis Bazzana both have a chance to sneak through. Bazzana has been Cleveland’s best offensive player since his call-up (José Ramírez, of course, is hurt). Chisholm is a lightning rod for annoying discourse, but he’s still extremely productive and impactful across the board.

Yandy Díaz joins Junior Caminero and ace Drew Rasmussen as first-place Tampa’s All-Stars. There’s a strong case for Jonathan Aranda, but first base is too crowded.

Randy Arozarena was Seattle’s only All-Star wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card coming into the season, but that could be how the cookie crumbles.

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