Predicting the All-MLB Team in wake of the All-Star break

With the season's second half underway, it's once again time for our panel of MLB.com experts to take another stab at predicting which players will be worthy of a place on the All-MLB Team by the close of the year.

The All-MLB Team has annually recognized the best players at each position since its introduction in 2019. While what we've seen so far can certainly impact each expert's picks, their predictions are based on who they think will be on the All-MLB Team at season's end, not who should be on the team as of right now.

As a reminder, there are All-MLB First and Second Teams for every position. Each team features one selection at catcher, first base, second base, shortstop, third base and DH, as well as three outfielders (regardless of specific outfield position), five starting pitchers and two relievers.

Here are our latest predictions.

(All stats updated entering Monday)

CATCHER

First team: Adley Rutschman (BAL)
Second team: Will Smith (LAD)

Despite batting just .148 since his five-hit night against the Astros on June 21, Rutschman still ranks among the best offensive catchers in the game. Rutschman's third season has seen him improve his hard-hit rate (40%) and sweet-spot rate (39%) while remaining a wall behind home plate. His 12 blocks above average are the most in MLB.

No qualified catcher has more extra-base hits (35) or a better wRC+ (130) than Smith. He, like Rutschman, earned his second All-Star nod this year.

FIRST BASE

First team: Bryce Harper (PHI)
Second team: Freddie Freeman (LAD)

Harper has already hit more homers through 84 games this season (22) than he did through 126 games last year (21). His .969 OPS ranks fifth in the Majors, and he has been even better since the start of June. Over that 31-game span, Harper has registered a .342/.432/.658 slash line.

Freeman has been a member of each of the first five All-MLB Teams and is rolling toward No. 6. He paces the position with 184 total bases. One of the sport's most consistent hitters, Freeman is on pace to finish with a 150 wRC+ or better for the fourth time in the past five seasons.

Others receiving votes: Christian Walker (AZ)

SECOND BASE

First team: Ketel Marte (AZ)
Second team: Jose Altuve (HOU)

Marte's age-30 season has seen him reach career-bests in hard-hit rate (52%) and barrel rate (9.9%). He has done plenty of damage with all of that firm contact: He is on pace for 31 dingers, which would be one shy of his career high.

Altuve continues to rack up knocks in bunches. The 14-year veteran is batting .304 and has the third-most hits in the Majors (121). With good health and a strong finish, Altuve could notch the fifth 200-hit season of his career.

THIRD BASE

First team: Rafael Devers (BOS)
Second team: José Ramírez (CLE)

Hitting pitches harder than ever (94.4 mph average exit velocity), Devers has posted a career-best .952 OPS. He is vying for his fourth season since 2019 with at least 30 doubles and 30 home runs.

Ramírez is enduring a power outage, having not gone deep in his past 17 games. Still, his slugging percentage is a healthy .511, and his 194 total bases are the most among third basemen.

Others receiving votes: Austin Riley (ATL)

SHORTSTOP

First team: Gunnar Henderson (BAL)
Second team: Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)

Henderson entered the All-Star break with a .957 OPS, the fourth-best in Orioles franchise history by a player age 25 or younger. The 23-year-old then came out of the break by collecting four hits in a win over the Rangers on Friday. The reigning American League Rookie of the Year leads the big leagues with 81 runs and is tied for third with 52 extra-base hits.

Witt, MLB's hits leader with 134, collected three hits in each game during Kansas City's three-game sweep of the White Sox over the weekend. He has been on fire recently, slashing an incredible .508/.516/.864 across his past 15 games. He was named AL Player of the Week on Monday.

Others receiving votes: Mookie Betts (LAD)

OUTFIELD

First team: Aaron Judge (NYY), Juan Soto (NYY), Steven Kwan (CLE)
Second team: Christian Yelich (MIL), Jarren Duran (BOS), Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD)

Although the Yankees entered Monday having lost 20 of their previous 29 games, their slump can't be blamed on Judge or Soto. New York's MVP candidates have continued to carry the offense, combining for a .303 average and a 1.042 OPS since June 15. Judge (208) and Soto (185) rank first and second, respectively, in wRC+ among qualified AL hitters.

Kwan, much like his teammate Ramírez, has seen his production dip in recent weeks. He is batting a relatively meager .266 in July, but his .346 average remains atop MLB leaderboards.

After stupendous seasons in 2018 and '19, Yelich turned in a modest .264/.362/.407 slash line from 2020-23 while dealing with myriad injuries. The 32-year-old has bounced back in a big way this season, batting an NL-best .320 with a .916 OPS. He is on pace for 34 steals and could reach 20 homers for the first time in five years.

Duran, the All-Star Game MVP, has been on a tear since the beginning of June, with nine dingers, 11 steals, 25 extra-base hits and a .994 OPS over that 40-game span. He entered Monday's game against Colorado with multiple hits -- including one extra-base hit -- in five straight contests.

A stress reaction in Tatis' right leg will keep him sidelined into August. He launched 14 homers before being placed on the injured list in late June. His expected batting average, expected slugging and expected wOBA all sit in the 96th percentile or higher.

Others receiving votes: Riley Greene (DET), Brandon Nimmo (NYM), Jurickson Profar (SD), Julio Rodríguez (SEA), Brent Rooker (OAK), Kyle Tucker (HOU)

DESIGNATED HITTER

First team: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
Second team: Marcell Ozuna (ATL)

Let's always remind ourselves to not take Ohtani for granted. He continues to put up mind-boggling numbers and seems to do something in every game that makes you say "Wow!" -- like he did on Sunday night.

Ozuna is headed toward his second consecutive 40-homer campaign with the Braves. He's batting .308 with a .976 OPS, both of which would be personal bests over a full season.

Others receiving votes: Yordan Alvarez (HOU)

STARTING PITCHER

First team: Tarik Skubal (DET), Chris Sale (ATL), Paul Skenes (PIT), Garrett Crochet (CWS), Corbin Burnes (BAL)
Second team: Zack Wheeler (PHI), Cole Ragans (KC), Seth Lugo (KC), Logan Gilbert (SEA), Tanner Houck (BOS)

Skubal entered his start against the Guardians on Monday ranked among the top five qualified pitchers in ERA (2.41, third), WHIP (0.88, second), opponents' batting average (.190, fourth) and strikeouts (140, tied for fifth).

With Max Fried now on the injured list, the Braves need Sale to keep being the linchpin in their rotation. With health finally on his side after years of injury troubles, Sale owns a 2.70 ERA through 110 innings and leads all starters with a 2.23 FIP.

In his first two-plus months as a Major Leaguer, Skenes has logged a 1.90 ERA with 89 strikeouts over 66 1/3 innings, walked only 13 batters, posted a perfect 6-0 record, thrown 75 pitches at least 100 mph and started the All-Star Game. Is that all?

Crochet, a popular trade candidate, has 150 strikeouts this season, the second-most in MLB. His strikeout-minus-walk rate (29.8%) is the best in baseball. But will his workload be capped down the stretch? The left-hander has already thrown more innings this season (107 1/3) than in his previous four seasons as a pro combined (85 1/3).

Burnes matched up against Skenes to begin the Midsummer Classic and has been everything the O's desired when they acquired him in February. The 29-year-old has recorded a quality start in all but one of his past 15 turns.

Wheeler skipped his last scheduled start before the break due to back tightness. However, he is scheduled to take the mound Tuesday against the Twins. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer in 13 of his past 15 starts.

The lefty Ragans and the righty Lugo get it done in very different ways for the Royals. The 26-year-old southpaw leads with his mid-90s fastball and has tallied 141 K's through 116 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, the 34-year-old Lugo throws just about everything but the kitchen sink. With the help of his nine-pitch arsenal, he leads MLB in innings pitched (136) and pitching run value (26). His 2.38 ERA is tied with Burnes for No. 1 in the Majors.

Gilbert and Houck each tossed at least six scoreless innings in his final start prior to the break before heading to Texas to soak in their first experience as an All-Star. The former has the best WHIP among qualified starters (0.87) while the latter has the lowest HR/9 rate in the Junior Circuit after surrendering only five homers in 117 frames.

Others receiving votes: Reynaldo López (ATL), Tyler Glasnow (LAD), Ranger Suárez (PHI), George Kirby (SEA), Max Fried (ATL), Hunter Greene (CIN)

RELIEF PITCHER

First team: Emmanuel Clase (CLE), Mason Miller (OAK)
Second team: Ryan Helsley (STL), Kirby Yates (TEX)

Clase closed the season's first half with a 0.81 ERA, the lowest from any Cleveland pitcher with at least 40 innings by the All-Star break since ERA became official in 1913. His 29 saves are the most in the AL.

Opposing hitters still don't have much of an answer for Miller's triple-digit fastball and hard slider. The right-hander possesses a 46.7% strikeout rate and has kept batters to a .149 average. They should consider themselves lucky; Miller's expected batting average against is .129.

Trevor Rosenthal's 48 saves in 2005 stand as the Cardinals' franchise record. But maybe not for long, considering Helsley already has 32 saves. He has held the opposition scoreless in 12 of his past 13 outings.

The 37-year-old Yates has been a godsend for Texas' bullpen. Moved into the closer's role in mid-April, he is 17-for-17 in save opportunities and has limited hitters to a scant .401 OPS.

Others receiving votes: Robert Suarez (SD), Cade Smith (CLE), Josh Hader (HOU), Jeff Hoffman (PHI), Andrés Muñoz (SEA)