The annual midpoint of the season is here with the arrival of the annual MLB All-Star Game. This year’s contest will be played on July 16 at Globe Life Field, home to the World Champion Texas Rangers. (It just happened to work out that way.)
The All-Star Game lets fans see the best players from both leagues every year. We get to see superstars, rising stars, and those selected for the All-Star Game for the first time. Here’s who’s on the roster for the 2024 contest.
The American League Starters
C: Adley Rutschman (BAL)
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR)
2B: Marcus Semien (TEX)*
3B: José Ramírez (CLE)
SS: Gunnar Henderson (BAL)
OF: Aaron Judge (NYY)
OF: Steven Kwan (CLE)
OF: Juan Soto (NYY)
DH: Yordan Alvarez (HOU)
*Replacement for Jose Altuve (HOU)
Aaron Judge: Top Vote Getter having a monster season!
Here comes the Judge, again. For the American League, the New York Yankees, Aaron Judge was the leading vote-getter, and his stats so far show how he’s earned it. He’s leading the Majors in home runs, RBIs, total bases, on-base percentage, OPS+, and slugging percentage. He had 32 homers through 91 games. (Remember, he hit 62 home runs—setting the AL Record—two seasons ago). His Yankees team is in second place in the AL East, just a few games behind Baltimore.
He's joined on the All-Star Team as a starter by Yankees teammate Juan Soto, who is having a solid year in his first season with New York. Soto has 20+ home runs and leads MLB in OBS and walks. Yankees relief pitcher Clay Holmes is also on the AL squad.
Bobby Witt, Jr. Kansas City Royals: Most hits; second-highest average
He’s still outwitting pitchers. Witt is batting around .325, second highest in baseball and almost 50 points higher than his sophomore season last year, when he led the Majors in triples. He’s also leading everybody with 122 hits (as of July 11, 2024).
Steven Kwan, Cleveland Guardians: Highest average in all of baseball.
Guardian of the Galaxy: Third-year player Kwan leads the Majors in batting average, hovering around .360. He’s a starting outfielder for the AL All-Star team, joining Judge and Soto. Kwan will have four other Guardian teammates in the AL dugout: David Fry, Josh Naylor, Jose Ramirez, and pitcher Emmanuel Clase.
Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles.
Top Gunner: Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year is one reason the Orioles are leading the AL East. Henderson is showing that last year’s numbers were no fluke. The starting AL All-Star shortstop is third in home runs, first in runs, and has 100+ hits. He’s ranked third in OBS (on-base percentage) behind Judge and Shohei Ohtani of the L.A. Dodgers.
Three Oriole's teammates join him on the AL All-Star team: Adley Rutschman, Jordan Westburg, and Corbin Burnes.
Catcher
- Salvador Perez, KC
Infielders
- Carlos Correa, MIN
- Isaac Paredes, KC
- Will Castro, MIN
- (Rafael Devers, BOS, was selected but will not play)
Outfielders
- Jarren Duran, BOS
- Riley Green, DET
- Antony Santander, BAL (replacement for injured player)
Designated hitter
- David Fry, CLE
American League Pitchers
- Tyler Anderson, LAA (2nd All-Star selection)
- Garrett Crochet, CWS (1st)
- Logan Gilbert, SEA (1st)
- Clay Holmes, NYY (2nd)
- Tanner Houck, BOS (1st)
- Seth Lugo, KC (1st)
- Mason Miller, OAK (1st)
- Cole Ragans, KC (1st)
- Tarik Skubal, DET (1st)
- Kirby Yates, TEX (2nd)
Lugo (who leads the AL in ERA), Skubal, and Rodriguez all have the most wins in the American League, so it might be hard to guess who will be the starter. A majority of the AL pitchers are making their first All-Star Game appearance.
The National League Starters
C: William Contreras (MIL)
1B: Bryce Harper (PHI)
2B: Ketel Marte (AZ)
3B: Alec Bohm (PHI)
SS: Trea Turner (PHI)
OF: Jurickson Profar (SD)
OF: Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD)*
OF: Christian Yelich (MIL)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
*May not play due to injury
Suarez and Wheeler of the Phillies lead the NL in ERA. Chris Sale has the most wins in baseball so far. However, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ rookie pitcher Paul Skenes is one of baseball's most exciting stories. He threw a seven-inning no-hitter with 11 strikeouts on July 11 against the Milwaukee Brewers. It would be somewhat historic if he started; it has happened only four times, the two most recent being the Dodgers’ Hideo Nomo in 1995 and Fernando Valenzuela in 1981. The Detroit Tigers’ Mark “The Bird” Fidrych did it for the AL in 1976.
Resources: mlb.com/news/2024-mlb-all-stars; mlb.com/news/mlb-all-star-game-2024-team-by-team; mlb.com/stats/rbi; foxsports.com/mlb-all-star-game-rosters; apnews.com/article/phillies-harper; si.com/mlb/jackson-merrill-rookie-season; baseball-reference.com; chron.com/sports/astros/article/jose-altuve-all-star-game
