Predicting the All-MLB Team after the season's first full month

With the season's first full month nearing its end, a panel of MLB.com experts have reconvened for a second round of All-MLB Team predictions.

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 the latest predictions.

Stats updated entering Monday.

CATCHER

First team: Adley Rutschman (BAL)
Second team: William Contreras (MIL)

Rutschman just keeps getting better. He made the All-MLB First Team last year after batting .277 with a 128 OPS+. He owns a .318 average and a 140 OPS+ through 26 games this year. His hard-hit rate is at 50%, a 12-point leap from last season.

Contreras is scalding baseballs as well, as noted by his 94.3 mph average exit velocity and 57.8% hard-hit rate. Those rank in the 96th and 98th percentiles, respectively. He is slashing .352/.432/.556 through 125 plate appearances.

Others receiving votes: Will Smith (LAD)

FIRST BASE

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

There has never been an All-MLB Team that didn't include Freeman. A two-time First Team selection, Freeman has really picked up his production following a relatively quiet first few weeks of the season. In his previous eight games, he has tallied 12 hits in 27 at-bats, driven in 11 runs and recorded a 1.259 OPS.

Besides hitting a couple of homers and displaying some "dad strength" last week, Harper has really settled in defensively in his first full season as a first baseman. His 4 outs above average are second-best at the position.

Others receiving votes: Josh Naylor (CLE), Pete Alonso (NYM)

SECOND BASE

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

The Astros have had an April to forget despite outstanding production from their team leader. Altuve, who turns 34 next week, is pacing the American League in batting average (.342), OPS (1.010) and total bases (68). He moves up to the First Team after being a Second Team selection in our first set of All-MLB Team predictions at the start of April.

You may remember that Marte made postseason history last year with a record-setting hitting streak that eventually reached 20 games. The 30-year-old has kept right on hitting into 2024, he's batting .307 with an .880 OPS. He is one of seven players with at least five three-hit games this season.

Others receiving votes: Marcus Semien (TEX), Luis Arraez (MIA), Ozzie Albies (ATL)

THIRD BASE

First team: José Ramírez (CLE)
Second team: Austin Riley (ATL)

J-Ram has had a somewhat cold month of April, highlighted by a .289 on-base percentage. But he did drill a couple of homers, including a grand slam, during the team's series victory over the Red Sox last week. He remains one of the toughest batters in baseball to strike out; his 10.7% K rate ranks in the 97th percentile.

Perhaps Riley's walk-off single versus Ramírez's Guardians on Sunday will be the spark he needs to get hot at the plate. He's slugging .393 with two homers in 26 games, but it's far too early to write off a player who has been a First Team selection in two of the past three years.

Others receiving votes: Rafael Devers (BOS), Jordan Westburg (BAL)

SHORTSTOP

First team: Mookie Betts (LAD)
Second team: Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)

In our first MVP poll of season, Betts was the clear frontrunner in the NL. You can name just about any statistic and find his name at or near the top of the charts. He has the best batting average (.387) and on-base percentage (.482) in the Majors while his .655 slugging ranks second to the Braves' Marcell Ozuna (.670).

After an incredible first couple of weeks, Witt hasn't homered in his last 16 games and is batting .266 with a .669 OPS since a two-homer game on April 11. However, just one look at his Baseball Savant page offers a quick reminder that he is one of the most talented players in the sport. His 30.2 feet-per-second sprint speed and his 58.9% hard-hit rate rank second and fourth, respectively, among qualified players.

Others receiving votes: Gunnar Henderson (BAL)

OUTFIELD

First team: Juan Soto (NYY), Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), Mike Trout (LAA)
Second team: Kyle Tucker (HOU), Fernando Tatis Jr. (SD), Aaron Judge (NYY)

Soto is making hard contact at a career-high rate of 56.8% and is hitting the ball harder than ever (95.1 mph average exit velocity). Those are two reasons why he's off to a fabulous start with the Yankees and was the American League leader in that aforementioned MVP poll.

Acuña, last season's NL MVP, has been a little slow out of the gate, batting .255 with one homer and a .715 OPS. But fear not -- he should start piling up the stats soon.

Trout has just five hits in his previous 11 games, but three of them have left the ballpark. He was the first player to 10 homers this season and has already notched five stolen bases -- one fewer than his combined total from 2020-23.

Tucker has gotten into a groove at the dish over the past couple of weeks. He is slashing .347/.484/.755 with five dingers and 10 extra-base hits in his past 14 games. He went deep in each end of Houston's two-game weekend sweep of the Rockies in Mexico City.

Tatis' .244 average and .445 slugging percentage are well below his expected number in each category (.308 and .555). He's making plenty of solid contact, owns a solid 10.4% walk rate and has a career-low 18.5% strikeout rate, so you could say he has been a tad unlucky in the early going.

Over his past couple of games, Judge has done exactly what was necessary for him to snap out of his funk: barrel up the ball more. He had a couple of barrels against the Brewers, including a 115.9 mph home run that soared 441 feet.

Others receiving votes: Julio Rodríguez (SEA), Adolis García (TEX)

DESIGNATED HITTER

First team: Shohei Ohtani (LAD)
Second team: Yordan Alvarez (HOU)

Ohtani continues to churn out amazing Statcast numbers. On April 23, he hit a home run at 118.7 mph, the hardest-hit homer by a Dodger in the Statcast Era (since 2015). A few days later, he socked a single that had an exit velocity of 119.2 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his career. Ohtani is well on his way to making the All-MLB Team for a fourth straight season.

Speaking of Statcast, Alvarez clobbered two homers that each flew a Statcast-projected 461 feet during Houston's win over the Rockies in Mexico City on Saturday. He has seven homers on the year and ranks among the top five in MLB in expected slugging (.672) and expected weighted on-base percentage (.440)

STARTING PITCHER

First team: Zack Wheeler (PHI), Corbin Burnes (BAL), Tarik Skubal (DET), Logan Webb (SF), Tyler Glasnow (LAD)
Second team: Dylan Cease (SD), Cole Ragans (KC), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (LAD), George Kirby (SEA), Max Fried (ATL)

Wheeler led qualified pitchers in with 5.9 fWAR last season, and he's tied at the top of that leaderboard this season with 1.4 fWAR. He's permitted only two hits in his last two starts, spanning 13 1/3 scoreless innings.

Burnes has been exactly what the Orioles hoped for when they acquired him from the Brewers in February. The team is 5-1 in his starts, he possesses a 2.55 ERA, and his cutter has been one of the most valuable pitches of the season.

The Tarik Skubal breakout season is in full effect. He has the lowest ERA of any starter on this list (1.72), and his 0.74 WHIP is the best in the AL. He's recorded 21 K's next to only two walks over his previous three starts, and his 25.4% K-BB rate is tied for fifth best among qualified starters.

Webb, an NL Cy Young finalist in 2023, succeeds foremost by getting ground balls in bulk. This season has been no different -- his 59.7% grounder rate is in the 93rd percentile. The Giants' ace has given up two earned runs and three walks in his previous 23 frames.

Glasnow, who leads the Majors with 53 strikeouts in 43 innings, had one of the best starts of the year when he struck out 14 Padres over seven innings -- and just 88 pitches -- on April 9. Twelve days later, he K'd 10 Mets through eight scoreless innings.

Batters are having no fun trying to hit Cease. He's limiting opposing hitters to a .140 average, tops in MLB. His four-seamer and slider are up a tick from last year -- and much closer in velocity to where they were during his Cy Young-caliber 2022 campaign. Opponents are hitting just .119 against Cease's slider with 26 K's over 59 at-bats ending on that pitch.

Ragans has had a couple of hiccups during his first full season as a big league starter, but he has also mixed in some dominant outings, too. He has allowed only one homer this season while striking out 37 batters in 30 innings.

Since his forgettable MLB debut in Korea on March 21, Yamamoto has been as advertised. He's logged a 2.00 ERA, a .198 opponents' batting average and a 35-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his five other starts.

The 26-year-old Kirby remains one of baseball's best control artists (3% walk rate), and he has added a little more swing-and-miss to his game. His K rate is at 28.4% -- up about six percentage points from last year -- and he's coming off a dominant 12-strikeout performance against the D-backs.

Fried pitched like a Braves legend on Wednesday, completing a "Maddux" against the Marlins. The left-hander's 65.4% ground-ball rate and 25.9% hard-hit rate each rank second-best among the 154 pitchers with at least 50 batted balls this year.

Others receiving votes: Luis Castillo (SEA), Kutter Crawford (BOS), Logan Gilbert (SEA), Sonny Gray (STL), Tanner Houck (BOS), Shota Imanaga (CHC), Jared Jones (PIT), Aaron Nola (PHI) Freddy Peralta (MIL), Joe Ryan (MIN)

RELIEF PITCHER

First team: Mason Miller (OAK), Edwin Díaz (NYM)
Second team: Emmanuel Clase (CLE), Ryan Helsley (STL)

Miller, the most electric closer in baseball, has struck out 25 batters in 12 1/3 innings. Leading with a fastball that reaches 103 mph, the A's rookie has an expected opponents' batting average of .086.

The title of most electric closer belonged to Díaz not too long ago, but the man known as "Sugar" has still been pretty sweet this season. He's allowed only one earned run in 9 2/3 frames to go along with 14 strikeouts. His 37.8% whiff rate ranks 10th among all pitchers who have faced at least 25 batters.

Holmes and Helsley are tied for the MLB lead with nine saves, and they each have a 1.00 WHIP. The Yankees' closer has tossed 13 scoreless innings this season while Helsley has 17 K's and only two walks across 15 frames.

Others receiving votes: Camilo Doval (SF), Clay Holmes (NYY), David Robertson (TEX)

Voters: David Adler, Jason Catania, Theo DeRosa, Thomas Harrigan, Cole Jacobson, Brent Maguire, Brian Murphy, Manny Randhawa, Shanthi Sepe-Chepuru, Andrew Simon, Dylan Svoboda