All-Star Ballot analysis position by position

Read our story on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters.

So, how are you filling out your All-Star ballot? Do you pick your favorite players? The players on your favorite team? Or do you just look at the cold, hard numbers? The joy of the ballot is that you can really do whatever you want. It takes all kinds.

I am torn when I fill out my ballot, because I’m always trying to do three things:

1) Reward guys having a terrific first half.
2) Think of historical significance and how these All-Star Games will be remembered years from now.
3) Pick players who I just want to watch play on one of baseball’s grandest stages.

So, if you’re having trouble filling out your ballot, come with me as we go position by position and walk ourselves through our voting mindset. Maybe it’ll help you. I know it’ll help me.

All numbers below are through Tuesday’s games.

AL first base

So much to think about here. First off, I’d love to see a cameo from the Pasquatch at the All-Star Game. The Royals’ Vinnie Pasquantino hasn’t made one yet, and now’s as good a time as any. Second, the Yankees’ Paul Goldschmidt will have a fascinating Hall of Fame case in a few years, and an eighth All-Star selection would only help his cause. But the Rays’ Jonathan Aranda and the Tigers’ Spencer Torkelson have emerged this season, and oh yeah, don’t forget about Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who has already earned four selections, yet is only 26. There isn’t really a wrong answer.

By-the-numbers pick: Aranda. He’s hitting .317 and leading AL first basemen in OPS. He’s the best player on an overachieving team.

Fan-favorite pick: Guerrero. Maybe we can talk him into joining the Home Run Derby again.

Verdict: Guerrero. He’s not hitting for as much power as you’d like, but he still has that All-Star supernova aura, and it’s not like he’s having a bad first half. I mean, this is the guy you want to see, right?

NL first base

This position is always stacked, particularly now that the Phillies’ Bryce Harper is a full-time first baseman for the second season. This position has so many stars that you can’t really consider the Braves’ Matt Olson, the Cardinals’ Willson Contreras or the Diamondbacks’ Josh Naylor, even though they’re all All-Star caliber. The Mets’ Pete Alonso has had a fantastic first half and leads the Majors in RBIs, Harper has been excellent when not hurt and, oh yeah, the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman has put up the best numbers of his career so far. I wish you could play multiple first basemen.

By-the-numbers pick: Freeman. He’s hitting .349! How does he somehow get better every year?

Fan-favorite pick: Harper. He’s on the IL, which isn’t helpful, but it really wouldn’t feel like an ASG without Harper, would it?

Verdict: Freeman. I bet the host city fans give him a ton of love, too.

AL second base

This might be the toughest call on the ballot, and not for particularly inspiring reasons. There just isn’t much to choose from. No one has come storming out of the gate, and two of the best players on the ballot, the Astros’ Jose Altuve and the Yankees’ Jazz Chisholm Jr., are not regular second basemen. But someone’s gotta start here. It might end up being the Orioles’ Jackson Holliday every year pretty soon. There’s even an argument that could start now.

By-the-numbers pick: Gleyber Torres, Tigers. He has the best OPS on the ballot, and he plays for the best team in baseball so far.

Fan-favorite pick: Altuve. He has already made nine All-Star Games, tied for third among active players. (He’ll be one behind Mike Trout if he makes it this year.)

Verdict: Altuve. Fine, he’s no longer primarily a second baseman. (Though he has played 15 games there his season.) But he’s still a boldface name, he’s still a key player on a first-place team and he’s still Jose Altuve.

NL second base

The Braves’ Ozzie Albies has been here before, but he's having a down season. The Mets’ Jeff McNeil has great numbers but missed some time with injury (but has a new approach providing big dividends). Tommy Edman has won a Gold Glove, an NLCS MVP and the love of Dodgers fans everywhere, but he doesn’t have the numbers just yet. The general consensus is that the Cardinals’ Brendan Donovan will be on the 2025 All-Star team, but it’s tough to argue for him to start here. This leaves the obvious guy, one of the most underappreciated players in baseball for several seasons.

By-the-numbers pick: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks. He has the best OPS on the ballot and is having the best season of his career despite some time on the IL.

Fan-favorite pick: Marte. This would be his third All-Star Game, and the second consecutive year he has won the fan balloting.

Verdict: Marte. This guy was third in NL MVP voting last season!

AL third base

Boston's Alex Bregman looked like he would make this an incredible race for the first month of the season, but he’s now recovering from a quad injury. Which brings us back to the same guy who probably held this spot all along.

By-the-numbers pick: José Ramírez, Guardians. He has finished top 10 in AL MVP voting seven times, with this season sure to be the eighth. He’s due to win one at some point, right?

Fan-favorite pick: Ramírez. This would mark his seventh All-Star Game … too low a total, all told. We have to get this guy into the Hall of Fame.

Verdict: Ramírez. Do you bat him before Judge in the AL lineup or after?

NL third base

What is usually a jam-packed position has gotten a little separation now that the Cardinals’ Nolan Arenado and the Braves’ Austin Riley aren’t quite hitting up to their career norms. The Dodgers’ Max Muncy is always better than we think he is, and the Giants’ Matt Chapman is central to everything that team is doing to surprise (though he is now on the IL). But season after season, consistently, always … the Padres’ Manny Machado is always Manny Machado.

By-the-numbers pick: Machado. His .325 batting average and .386 OBP would both be career bests.

Fan-favorite pick: Machado. Can you believe he lost the voting to the Phillies’ Alec Bohm last season? By a lot?

Verdict: Machado. Speaking of Hall of Fame resumes, this summer would mark Machado’s seventh All-Star appearance … with eight seasons left on his contract after this one.

AL shortstop

We are awash in shortstop candidates in both leagues, with the emergence of the Athletics’ Jacob Wilson and the Astros’ Jeremy Peña further complicating the vote. The Rangers’ Corey Seager already has two World Series MVPs, the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson was a monster last season and is warming up this year and the Twins’ Carlos Correa is one of the most discussed players in the game. And then there’s that guy from Kansas City.

By-the-numbers pick: Wilson. He’s hitting .366 (93-for-254) and is your AL Rookie of the Year Award leader by a good margin right now. Also, how fun is he to watch?

Fan-favorite pick: Bobby Witt Jr., Royals. If there were ever an overall skills competition, would he be the favorite?

Verdict: Witt. He has a chance to make 15 of these by the time his career is over -- maybe more.

NL shortstop

Seriously, there need to be, like, four NL shortstops in this game. There is the Reds’ Elly De La Cruz and the Phillies’ Trea Turner, plus up-and-comers like the Nationals’ CJ Abrams and the Cardinals’ Masyn Winn. And they’re still probably all trumped by two of the most popular, beloved players in baseball: the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Mets’ Francisco Lindor. Maybe they can check in and out between batters, like a hockey shift.

By-the-numbers pick: Lindor. He finished second in NL MVP voting last season, and he’s better this year … and on a better team, too.

Fan-favorite pick: Betts. He’s probably the second-most universally beloved player in the National League -- behind his teammate, of course.

Verdict: Lindor. Considering that he somehow hasn’t made an All-Star team since 2019, this should probably count as three or four appearances.

AL catcher

Do you realize that Kansas City's Salvador Perez has already made nine All-Star Games? (That’s only one fewer than Yadier Molina.) You might have thought that the Orioles’ Adley Rutschman would be taking over this spot yearly, but he has been usurped by the man with the nickname that makes you giggle every time you say it.

By-the-numbers pick: Cal Raleigh, Mariners. He has more homers than Perez, Rutschman, Alejandro Kirk and Jonah Heim combined.

Fan-favorite pick: Raleigh. Please don’t tell me you’re not going to vote for a man known as Big Dumper.

Verdict: Raleigh. This will be his first ASG appearance, and he’s going to eat it up.

NL catcher

Your top two vote-getters last season, the Brewers’ William Contreras and the Phillies’ J.T. Realmuto, are down quite a bit from last season's pace. The Cubs’ Carson Kelly and the Reds’ Jose Trevino have leapt up to fill their spots, but we’re still looking at another Dodger here.

By-the-numbers pick: Will Smith, Dodgers. Yes, he’s the fourth potential MVP candidate in this lineup.

Fan-favorite pick: Realmuto. He’s still the default pick for family members who are more casually into baseball than you are.

Verdict: Smith. He only has one more ASG appearance than the relief pitcher with whom he shares a name. (Two more than the actor, though.)

AL outfield

Aaron Judge, obviously. But, uh … who else? It’s shocking how few options there are beyond New York's superstar. Let’s walk through them below.

By-the-numbers picks: Judge; Julio Rodríguez, Mariners; Byron Buxton, Twins. If you’re going quick and dirty, these are the top three players in FanGraphs WAR among AL outfielders. I bet you didn’t realize Rodríguez and Buxton were that high. (Judge still has a higher number than both of them combined.)

Fan-favorite picks: Judge; Rodríguez; Mike Trout, Angels. Trout’s injuries and low batting average might keep him out of the top three. But remember: Trout’s All-Star Game appearances are always a blast, if only because it’s one of the few times a national audience gets to see him.

Verdict: Judge; Rodríguez; George Springer, Blue Jays. I’m not sure people realize just how great Springer has been this season for one of the hottest teams in baseball. He did sneak into the 2022 ASG as a Blue Jay. It’s time for him to return.

NL outfield

There might be only a couple of boldfaced names in the NL, but that’s one of the reasons this category is so difficult. You’ve got two Cubs in Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong and youngsters like the Nationals’ James Wood, the Pirates’ Oneil Cruz and the Diamondbacks’ Corbin Carroll. You’ve got upstarts like the Giants’ Heliot Ramos and the Marlins’ Kyle Stowers. And you also have the guys everybody knows: The Mets’ Juan Soto and the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr.

By-the-numbers picks: Carroll, Crow-Armstrong, Wood. Somehow, there isn't space for Tucker, who has a .909 OPS.

Fan-favorite picks: Soto, Tatis, Tucker. Here’s a fun trivia question: Do you remember who the NL outfield starters were last year? They were the Padres’ Jurickson Profar, the Brewers’ Christian Yelich and the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández. Philadelphia's Brandon Marsh finished fifth!

Verdict: Carroll, Soto, Crow-Armstrong. This was very, very difficult. It feels like Soto -- who is heating up after a slow-for-him start -- has to be here. PCA’s explosion is one of the biggest stories in baseball so far. Those were my first two picks. It came down to Carroll, Tatis and Tucker for the last spot. Your guess is as good as mine.

AL designated hitter

Yordan Alvarez’s injury makes this one simple, with apologies to the Orioles’ Ryan O’Hearn, the Yankees’ Ben Rice and the Athletics’ Brent Rooker.

By-the-numbers pick: Rafael Devers, Red Sox. Do you remember his Opening Week struggles? I didn’t think so.

Fan-favorite pick: Devers. Maybe your uncle is still mad about his reluctance to move to DH after Boston signed Bregman. But the way Devers is hitting, he’s probably over it.

Verdict: Devers. It makes sense that he’s having his prime season at age 28, but he might be even better next year.

NL designated hitter

Here is your obligatory nod to the Phillies’ Kyle Schwarber (who has been fantastic), the Cardinals’ Iván Herrera and the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki. But c’mon.

By-the-numbers pick: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers. Does he lead off?

Fan-favorite pick: Ohtani. He probably leads off.

Verdict: Ohtani. Maybe we don’t push the pitching in the ASG just yet, though, OK?