The 2026 Major League Baseball All-Star teams have been revealed! Like every year, a few things to consider are that all thirty MLB clubs must have at least one representative, there will be snubs, and just because you’re initially snubbed doesn’t mean you won’t be going to Philadelphia this year, as roster replacements will shuffle in over the next two weeks. This is particularly relevant for pitchers, though players such Aaron Judge, and perhaps Shea Langeliers who is currently dealing with a thumb issue, could miss action as well this year.
Elected American League Starters:
C: Shea Langeliers, Athletics.
1B: Vladimir Guerrero, Blue Jays.
2B: Ernie Clement, Blue Jays.
SS: Bobby Witt, Royals.
3B: Junior Caminero, Rays.
OF: Byron Buxton, Twins, Mike Trout, Angels, Aaron Judge, Yankees.
DH: Yordan Alvarez, Astros.
Elected National League Starters:
C: Drake Baldwin, Braves.
1B: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers.
2B: Ozzie Albies, Braves.
SS: CJ Abrams, Nationals.
3B: Max Muncy, Dodgers.
OF: Brandon Marsh, Phillies, Andy Pages, Dodgers, Juan Soto, Mets.
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers.
American League pitching staff:
Cam Schlittler (Yankees). Dylan Cease (Blue Jays), Bryan Baker (Rays), Drew Rasmussen (Rays), Jacob Latz (Rangers), Parker Messick (Guardians), Joe Ryan (Twins), Cade Smith (Guardians), Ranger Suarez (Red Sox), Aroldis Chapman (Red Sox), Michael Wacha (Royals), Louie Varland (Blue Jays).
National League pitching staff:
Cristopher Sanchez (Phillies), Jacob Misiorowski (Brewers), Raisel Iglesias (Braves), Chris Sale (Braves), Jhoan Duran (Phillies), Chase Burns (Reds), Max Meyer (Marlins), Mason Miller (Padres), Yoshi Yamamoto (Dodgers), Eduardo Rodriguez (Diamondbacks), Logan Webb (Giants), Paul Skenes (Pirates).
American League reserves:
Ben Rice (Yankees), Riley Greene (Tigers), Dillon Dingler (Tigers), Kevin McGonigle (Tigers), Nick Kurtz (Athletics), Miguel Vargas (White Sox), Adley Rutschman (Orioles), Yandy Diaz (Rays), Randy Arozarena (Mariners), Travis Bazzana (Guardians), Cody Bellinger (Yankees).
National League reserves:
Pete Crow-Armstrong (Cubs), Hunter Goodman (Rockies), Bryce Harper (Phillies), Luis Arraez (Giants), Otto Lopez (Marlins), Sal Stewart (Reds), William Contreras (Brewers), Corbin Carroll (Diamondbacks), Jordan Walker (Cardinals), Kyle Schwarber (Phillies), James Wood (Nationals)., Matt OLson (Braves).
Notes:
Vladimir Guerrero, voted on by the fans, is not having a year that would traditionally be considered All-Star caliber. Guerrero has officially confirmed he will sit out, even though he’d previously stated this would not be the case. The report is that because of recent lingering back injuries, Guerrero will use the opportunity to heal up. With that, Nick Kurtz has become the starting American League first baseman as the winner of the player vote.
CJ Abrams is the first Nationals shortstop to ever start the All-Star game. But he’s also the first Nationals starter since Max Scherzer and Bryce Harper started the game in 2018.
Speaking of Harper, while Harper’s been sensational this year (.906 OPS at the time of writing, 20 homers), the loaded position at first base made it questionable if he’d make the team whatsoever despite it being in his home ballpark of Citizen’s Bank. To mitigate the positional stronghold, the Comissioner’s Office used their ‘legends pick,’ with Harper fitting the criteria for city legacy to join the squad as an additional roster spot, rather than taking the spot of another player, say, Matt Olson. While this precedent has been primarily for players on the precipice of retirement, namely Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera, and Clayton Kershaw, this precedent isn’t terrible to set if you have ample quality candidates.
And speaking of Atlanta, Drake Baldwin is the fourth unique Braves catcher to be an MLB All-Star in the last five years (William Contreras, Travis d’Arnaud, Sean Murphy). Beyond that, perhaps one of the best stories of the year is that Raisel Iglesias made his first All-Star team despite a 12-year career with a 2.85 ERA. The fact Iglesias never had one of those ‘random reliever makes team to represent bad club’ during the lean years in Cincinnati is a tad surprising, though it makes sense considering he was going up against relievers such as Kenley Jansen. His 270 career saves are an MLB record for a reliever who’d never been an All-Star, and it’s not like he’s a legacy pick despite his advanced age of 36: Iglesias has a 1.53 ERA on the season, with a 9.8 K/9 rate and a 1.1 WAR, while leading one of the best bullpens in baseball. Another story for Atlanta is Chris Sale, who’s made his third straight since being traded to the Braves as it looked like his career was on its last legs. He has lowered his career ERA below 3.0 this year, and the future Hall of Famer has now hit double digits in selections. The Braves are tied for most All-Star selections thus far, with five, but perhaps the most egregious snub of the evening is Michael Harris, who has a higher OPS than starter Andy Pages, though it’s close enough offensively that when you factor the defense of Pages, it isn’t a terrible selection to start. Right now, there doesn’t seem to be a path for Harris, however, to be a replacement, as the former NL Rookie of the Year still searches for his first All-Star nod.
Pages, alongside longtime Atlanta staple Freddie Freeman, do lead the Dodgers who are tied alongside the Braves and Phillies for most All-Star selections so far with five. None of the choices are particularly suprirsing, and Pages is by far the most noteworthy considering the other four are there annually. For the Phillies, there’s a lot to root for, but the historically platoon-oriented bat of Brandon Marsh is the best story. Marsh, in his first ever All-Star nod, is enjoying a fruitful breakout campaign after years of being a quality roleplayer. Marsh has outperformed his career OPS+ by 25 points, and his hitting .315 with 15 homers in extended playing time. His career high in homeruns is 16.
Pacing the American League in selections is the AL leader in victories the Tampa Bay Rays, who share a tie with their division rivals the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays are likely to at least get another selection, with veteran Nick Martinez having posted a 2.6 ERA in 100+ innings this season, but pitcher replacements won’t be named for another couple days as schedules become more clear. The two big stories, as undeniable as Yandy Diaz and Drew Rasmussen have been, are Bryan Baker and Junior Caminero. Baker, an AL East journeyman who’s never been above average has had a scintillating season working with the Rays pitching lab, as the Rays do what they do better than anybody not named the Milwaukee Brewers. With his plus changeup, the Rays convinced Baker to use the offspeed as his primary pitch, which makes his velocity play even harder even if it doesn’t have the strongest movement. When you’re accustomed to a slow pitch with movement, the heater becomes the offspeed secondary, and can fool more batters than it otherwise would as a run of the mill fastball. Baker has a 1.83 ERA with 23 saves as the closer, a position he stepped into as the Rays initially began with a committee. For Caminero, he becomes the first Rays player to ever start consecutive All-Star games and does by the age of 22. Caminero homered again tonight, making it 11 in his last 11 games for the third baseman. The only other players to start at least two All-Star games at Caminero’s age or younger: Ted Williams, Ken Griffey Jr., Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Ivan Rodriguez, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Rod Carew, Al Kaline, Alex Rodriguez. Read: the greatest players in MLB history. Of course, he’s the youngest third baseman to do so. While Rodriguez may be remembered as third baseman with the Yankees, he played shortstop in both of those games.
No replacement has been named for Aaron Judge yet, though there is next-to-no chance he plays due to his prolonged rib injury. Cam Schlittler is the big name out of the Bronx, and will likely start on the mound. Bellinger will probably take Judge’s spot in the lineup.
Mike Trout is also currently injured, but is currently on rehabbing so he can get back in time to play in the All-Star game in his hometown. One question regarding injuries, however, is the day-to-day nature of Shea Langeliers. In such a difficult position to physically play and a position that requires using your hands on every pitch, perhaps the Athletics won’t want him to start the All-Star game with his thumb injury. Langeliers, however, has mashed this year, having already hit 20 homers thus far. Langeliers has been quality for a minute, but this is his first time tabbed to the American League All-Star team. But the story in Sacramento this year is undoubtedly reigning American League Rookie of the Year Nick Kurtz, who has made his first All-Star team. Already posting 4 WAR, Kurtz is oblitterating the baseball, and his .949 OPS makes him an early AL MVP frontrunner alongside Caminero and Houston’s Yordan Alvarez, their only selection, who may win the triple crown this year.
In Boston, Aroldis Chapman just set the record last night for most strikeouts of all-time by a reliever. Scoring his ninth All-Star selection, he ties current Rays reliever Craig Kimbrel for second-most All-Star selections by a reliever of all-time, behind of course, a different Yankees closer in Mariano Rivera.
While we’ve covered Martinez and Harris, perhaps the biggest snubs otherwise are Munetaka Murakami, whose prolonged injury through the break probably cost him a spot, and Colson Montgomery, as it feels that the Chicago White Sox, who are far better in 2026 than anybody could’ve anticipated, is somewhat underrepresented. With how weak the middle infield is in the American League, Montgomery’s stellar defense matched with 21 homers at the break as a shortstop seems a bit of an egregious oversight, even if his OPS isn’t all that commanding. Another White Sox player who had their eyes on a first career selection is Davis Martin, whose 139 ERA+ wouldn’t have made him remotely out of place. While he hasn’t been as good as Martinez, that’s another name to keep an eye on as a replacement in the coming days.
DSR/CBC will continue to update this article as players drop out, and replacements are made.
Photo credit: L.A. Times.
Jameus Mooney is an entertainment writer and editor for Comic Book Clique, having covered the entertainment industry for years. He’s also spent a decade covering sports, with his bread and butter being in Major League Baseball. You can follow him on Twitter here, and Letterboxd here. You can also listen to his horror podcast, The 2:17 Horror Podcast, at the DeathArts XIII YouTube channel.