Position-by-position breakdown of 2019 All-Stars
The American League and National League rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game are official.
While the results of the first Starters Election format already were revealed earlier in the week, the reserves and pitchers for the July 9 game at Cleveland’s Progressive Field were unveiled live on ESPN on Sunday evening. There were 47 additional spots to fill -- 24 in the NL and 23 in the AL -- with 33 of those selections made via the player ballot and the rest by the Commissioner’s Office.
While there is no more Final Vote this year, rosters still can change between now and July 9, if players drop out due to injury or other factors. Any replacements will be added here when they are announced.
Note: Players are listed in alphabetical order within each position (^Denotes a player-elected pick).
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Pitchers
Sandy Alcantara, RHP, MIA (1st All-Star appearance): Acquired from St. Louis in the Marcell Ozuna trade before last season, the 23-year-old has topped 99 mph with his fastball, even in a starting role.
Walker Buehler^, RHP, LAD (1st): The 24-year-old showed how dominant he can be on June 21 against the Rockies, striking out 16 and walking none. He became the fifth pitcher since 2008 to rack up at least 15 swinging strikeouts in a game.
Luis Castillo^, RHP, CIN (1st): The 26-year-old will look to test his devastating changeup against the best hitters in the AL. The pitch has produced a whopping 78 strikeouts this season, by far the most by one pitch for any Major League pitcher.
Jacob deGrom^, RHP, NYM (3rd): The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner retired Mookie Betts, Jose Altuve and J.D. Martinez in his inning of work in last year’s All-Star Game -- but also served up a home run to Mike Trout. No Mets starter has appeared in back-to-back All-Star Games since Frank Viola in 1990-91.
Sonny Gray, RHP, CIN (2nd/replacement): What a turnaround for Gray this season. His change of scenery from New York to Cincinnati has produced his second career All-Star nod, as Gray replaces Max Scherzer on the NL roster. He's now been an All-Star in both leagues, after making the 2015 All-Star Game with the A's. Gray didn't pitch in that game, as he had started the Sunday right before it.
Zack Greinke, RHP, ARI (6th): This is the fifth selection in the past six years for Greinke, all since he turned 30. The savvy veteran has gone at least six innings in 16 of his 18 starts and allowed no more than one run nine times.
Josh Hader^, LHP, MIL (2nd): Hader’s career 15.3 strikeout per nine inning average is the highest of any pitcher in history with a minimum of 150 innings.
Clayton Kershaw, LHP, LAD (8th): Kershaw is back. Last season ended the Dodgers ace's streak of seven straight All-Star nods, but he made sure that didn't last. Kershaw's eight All-Star seasons are as many as any active pitcher. Four of his five pitching appearances in the Midsummer Classic have been scoreless.
Hyun-Jin Ryu^, LHP, LAD (1st): By allowing no more than two earned runs in each of his first 15 starts -- and walking just six batters total in that stretch -- Ryu now has a chance to become the first player born in South Korea to start an All-Star Game. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, who will manage the NL team, said after Sunday's game that he "expects" Ryu to be the NL's starting pitcher, though that is not official.
Max Scherzer^, RHP, WSH (7th): Scherzer gets his seventh All-Star nod. He won't pitch in this year's game, but he's been close to lights out in his last five All-Star Game appearances, surrendering just one earned run while striking out 10 hitters and walking only one across six innings.
Will Smith^, LHP, SF (1st): Not to be confused with the Dodgers’ rookie catcher -- or that other Will Smith -- the southpaw entered Sunday having converted all 21 of his save chances for the Giants and struck out more than 40 percent of the hitters he’d faced.
Mike Soroka, RHP, ATL (1st): Should the Braves rookie appear in the All-Star Game, he’d be only the second pitcher to do so at age 21 or younger in the past 33 seasons, joining Jose Fernandez (2013). Soroka has allowed no more than one earned run in 10 of his 14 outings.
Kirby Yates^, RHP, SD (1st): Yates’ selection marks the third straight All-Star Game featuring a Padres reliever, following Brad Hand’s back-to-back selections in 2017-18. By recording his 27th save on Friday night, he broke Heath Bell’s Padres record for the most before the break.
Felipe Vazquez, LHP, PIT (2nd/replacement): Pittsburgh's flamethrower is an All-Star for a second straight year as he takes Greinke's spot on the active roster. Vazquez is averaging a career-best 14.4 strikeouts per nine innings in 2019 as he’s compiled a 2.19 ERA and 2.12 FIP in his fifth big league season.
Brandon Woodruff, RHP, MIL (1st/replacement): Woodruff takes the place of his Brewers teammate, Hader, on the NL's active roster. The right-hander is tied for the Senior Circuit lead with 10 wins in his first full season as a starter, compiling a 3.67 ERA, 2.91 FIP and 10.5 K/9 average. Woodruff has racked up double-digit strikeouts in three different starts, including a career-high 12 against the Reds on June 23.
Catchers
Starter: Willson Contreras, CHC (2nd)
Reserves: Yasmani Grandal, MIL (2nd); J.T. Realmuto^, PHI (2nd)
This is the second straight start for Contreras, making him the first Cubs catcher with multiple All-Star Game starts since Hall of Famer Gabby Hartnett had three in the 1930s. Grandal’s one-year contract with the Brewers seems to be working out well for both sides, with the switch-hitter cutting his strikeout rate, slugging over .500 for the first time in his career and already on the verge of reaching 20 homers for the fourth straight season. In his first season behind the plate in Philadelphia, Realmuto continues to record MLB’s fastest pop times and swing a solid bat. In his All-Star debut last year, he became the first NL player to walk multiple times in a game since Houston’s Jose Cruz in 1985.
First basemen
Starter: Freddie Freeman, ATL (4th)
Reserves: Pete Alonso, NYM (1st); Josh Bell^, PIT (1st)
The consistent Freeman is well on his way to producing at least an .890 OPS for the fourth straight season and will join Fred McGriff (1995-96) as the only Braves first basemen to start consecutive All-Star Games. Bell has been one of the breakout stars of the 2019 season, leading the Majors with seven homers of at least 440 feet, according to Statcast, and already approaching his career high of 26 big flies set in 2017. Alonso, a strong NL Rookie of the Year candidate thus far, has a chance to join Mark McGwire (1987) and Aaron Judge (2017) as the only rookies to launch 30 homers before the All-Star break.
Second basemen
Starter: Ketel Marte, ARI (1st)
Reserves: Mike Moustakas^, MIL (3rd)
Marte’s breakout includes almost as many home runs (20) as he hit in his first four seasons combined (22 in 1,548 plate appearances), one of them a 482-foot blast on June 2 that is the longest hit by a D-backs player since Statcast began tracking in 2015. It’s Moustakas who actually leads MLB second basemen in homers, although he roughly split his time between second and third and now should return to his natural position with Travis Shaw sent down to the Minors.
Shortstops
Starter: Javier Baez, CHC (2nd)
Reserves: Paul DeJong, STL (1st); Trevor Story^, COL (2nd)
After starting last year’s Midsummer Classic at second base, Baez gets the nod this year at shortstop, becoming the first player in All-Star Game history to start at different middle-infield spots in consecutive seasons. DeJong’s inclusion means that the Cardinals have gotten at least one position player onto the All-Star roster in every season since 2003. Story came off the bench in his All-Star debut last year and clubbed a home run off Charlie Morton, making him the third Rockies player to go deep in the Midsummer Classic, joining Matt Holliday (2008) and Todd Helton (‘03).
Third basemen
Starter: Nolan Arenado, COL (5th)
Reserves: Kris Bryant, CHC (3rd); Anthony Rendon^, WSH (1st); Max Muncy, LAD (1st)
Arenado will become the third NL third baseman in the past 50 years to start three consecutive All-Star Games, joining Scott Rolen (2002-04) and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt (1981-84). It might come as a surprise that this is Rendon’s first trip to the All-Star Game, given that he’s received MVP votes three times in his career -- finishing in the top six twice -- and averaged about 4 WAR per year since 2014, according to Baseball Reference. Bryant returns to the All-Star Game after a two-year absence, having last appeared in 2016, when he smacked a first-inning home run off Chris Sale. Bryant will try to become the first Cubs player to have multiple All-Star Game homers in his career. Max Muncy will replace Rendon on the roster. Muncy participated in last year's Home Run Derby but was not an All-Star. This year, he'll get that honor, as a testament to the power surge he's shown over the last year-plus. He hit 35 homers last year and is already up to 21 this year, along with a higher batting average to boot.
Outfielders
Starters: Christian Yelich, MIL (2nd); Cody Bellinger, LAD (2nd); Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL (1st)
Reserves: Charlie Blackmon^, COL (4th); David Dahl^, COL (1st); Jeff McNeil^, NYM (1st)
This is quite a dynamic group of starters, with Yelich easily the oldest of the three at 27. Yelich has continued to steamroll the league in 2019 and now has launched more than 50 home runs since last year’s All-Star break. He would be looking like a lock for a second straight NL MVP Award if not for the exploits of Bellinger, who is already approaching a 7-WAR season, according to Baseball Reference. For context, just six position players (including Yelich) finished last season with at least 7 WAR. Neither Yelich nor Bellinger should overshadow Acuña, who in his first full MLB season will be the first player 21 or younger to start an All-Star Game since Bryce Harper and Mike Trout in 2013. Besides Harper, Johnny Bench (1969) was the last NL position player that young to earn such a start.
A torrid June that included a stretch of five straight games with three-plus hits (June 13-18) lifted Blackmon into the NL batting race and toward another All-Star Game. He is still looking for his first All-Star hit, however, having gone 0-for-8 thus far. If both Blackmon and Dahl get into the game along with Arenado and Story, it would be the first time in franchise history that four Rockies position players appeared in the same All-Star Game. McNeil has done nothing but rake since arriving in the Majors shortly after last year’s break, entering Sunday with a .337 career average. Nobody with at least 400 at-bats since the start of 2018 has been better, and he also offers the NL All-Stars versatility, with experience at second and third base.
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Pitchers
Aroldis Chapman^, LHP, NYY (6th): The Yankees closer is an AL All-Star for the second year in a row with New York, after four All-Star seasons in the NL from 2012-15 with the Reds. Chapman has a career-low 1.36 ERA this season and is striking out nearly 13 batters per nine innings. He's never allowed a run in an All-Star Game in four appearances, with five strikeouts in three innings.
Jose Berrios, RHP, MIN (2nd/injury replacement): When teammate Jake Odorizzi went on the injured list with a blister on July 3, Berrios was named as a replacement, giving the Twins righty his second straight All-Star nod. In his fourth MLB season, Berrios owns a career-best 2.89 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, with 102 strikeouts and 20 walks in 112 innings. In his first All-Star Game appearance last year, Berrios threw a hitless fifth inning in relief.
Gerrit Cole^, RHP, HOU (3rd): This is the second straight selection for Cole, who didn’t pitch last year. The righty is leading the AL in strikeouts and has MLB’s second-highest K-rate since joining the Astros last season.
Lucas Giolito^, RHP, CWS (1st): Once a top prospect, Giolito went through some growing pains in the Majors but has emerged in 2019, including an eight-start stretch from May 7-June 14 during which he posted a 0.94 ERA. No White Sox righty has pitched in an All-Star Game since Jon Garland in Chicago’s championship season of 2005.
Shane Greene, RHP, DET (1st): Greene has become one of the best closers in the league. His 0.87 ERA leads all relievers with at least 30 innings pitched, and his 0.84 WHIP ranks fourth in the AL. His 24 saves are tied for fourth-most in baseball.
Brad Hand^, LHP, CLE (3rd): This is the third selection in a row for Hand, who last year was traded from the Padres to the Indians two days after throwing a scoreless inning for the NL squad. Hand also threw a scoreless inning in the 2017 game, making him the only reliever to appear in both games.
John Means, LHP, BAL (1st): While the Orioles have had relievers appear in the All-Star Game in recent years, no Baltimore starter has done so since Mike Mussina in 1999. After beginning the year in the bullpen, Means has excelled as a rookie starter, with a 2.65 ERA in 13 outings.
Mike Minor, LHP, TEX (1st): He leads the AL in ERA and WAR, and already has gone at least eight innings five times. Not only is that the most in MLB this year, but it’s more than any AL pitcher other than Corey Kluber had in all of 2018.
Charlie Morton^, RHP, TB (2nd): He was a first-time All-Star last year at age 34 -- though he served up a pair of homers in the game. Morton has continued his late-career resurgence after leaving Houston for Tampa Bay, riding a nasty curveball that leads the Majors in strikeouts (73).
Jake Odorizzi^, RHP, MIN (1st): The one-two punch of Odorizzi and Jose Berrios has led the first-place Twins' pitching staff all year. Having a breakout season in his second year in Minnesota, Odorizzi is one of five pitchers with double-digit wins, sporting a 10-4 record, a 3.15 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 88 2/3 innings. (NOTE: Odorizzi went on the IL on July 3 and will not pitch in the All-Star Game. He was replaced on the roster by Berrios.)
Ryan Pressly^, RHP, HOU (1st): Pressly set a Major League record this season with 40 straight scoreless appearances (a streak that started last August), and an Astros record with his 39 straight scoreless innings during that span. He didn't allow his first run of 2019 until May 24, and he now has a 1.49 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 36 1/3 innings.
Marcus Stroman, RHP, TOR (1st): The staff ace for a young Toronto team, Stroman has anchored the rotation with a 3.18 ERA in 104 2/3 innings over his 18 starts. His celebrations and emotion on the mound also make him one of the most fun pitchers to watch.
Justin Verlander^, HOU (8th): Verlander is tied with Kershaw for the most All-Star seasons of any active pitcher. The Astros ace has continued to dominate at age 36, as he's 10-3 with a 2.86 ERA and 147 strikeouts in a Major League-high 119 2/3 innings pitched. Verlander could make his second Midsummer Classic start, which he’d hope would go better than in 2012, when he allowed five earned runs to the NL on four hits and a pair of walks.
Shane Bieber, CLE (1st/replacement): Bieber will replace Mike Minor on the AL's roster, with Minor set to pitch Sunday. Bieber has sparkled in his second season in the Majors, with a 3.54 ERA and already a shutout to his name, as well. If he pitches, he'll get the chance to do so under the lights in his home ballpark at Progressive Field.
Liam Hendriks, OAK (1st/replacement): With Charlie Morton set to pitch Sunday, Hendriks will replace him on the AL's roster. Hendriks has been a key member of the A's bullpen this season, with a 1.29 ERA in more than 48 innings of work. He's been versatile, with two starts as an opener and plenty of appearances across different innings of the game.
Masahiro Tanaka, NYY (2nd/replacement): Stroman was scratched from his July 4 start with a pectoral injury, enabling Tanaka to make his second Midsummer Classic trip. The Yankees right-hander sports a 3.86 ERA while remaining one of the most consistent strike-throwers in the sport.
Catchers
Starter: Gary Sanchez, NYY (2nd)
Reserve: James McCann^ (1st)
Sanchez has already clubbed 23 homers before the break, making him the sixth backstop in Yankees history to compile at least three 20-homer campaigns (Yogi Berra, Jorge Posada, Bill Dickey, Elston Howard and Brian McCann). Sanchez is the only member of that group to hit 20 in three of his first four full seasons. McCann's .317 batting average is the best among catchers -- in fact, he's the only backstop with at least 100 plate appearances who's hitting .300.
First basemen
Starter: Carlos Santana, CLE (1st)
Reserves: Jose Abreu^, CWS (3rd); Daniel Vogelbach, SEA (1st)
Santana was second among all active players for the most career WAR without an All-Star selection before he was elected Thursday (29, per Baseball Reference). Only Andrelton Simmons (36) has accrued more WAR without going to the Midsummer Classic, and Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier (26) now slides into second place. Abreu, who has 19 homers and ranks in the top 5 in MLB in hard-hit balls, is an All-Star for the third time in six seasons, but he's still looking for his first Midsummer Classic hit. Vogelbach isn't just a fan favorite in Seattle, he's having a monster season, with 20 home runs and a .904 OPS.
Second basemen
Starter: DJ LeMahieu, NYY (3rd)
Reserves: Tommy La Stella^, LAA (1st); Brandon Lowe, TB (1st/injury replacement); Gleyber Torres, NYY (2nd/injury replacement)
LeMahieu will be just the third career primary second baseman to start All-Star Games at the keystone in both leagues, joining Manny Trillo (Phillies, Indians) and Johnny Temple (Reds, Indians). He leads the AL batting race at .341, which gives him a chance to become the first player in the modern era to win a batting title in both leagues (he won in the NL with the Rockies in 2016). La Stella has more home runs this season alone (16) than he did in the first five seasons of his career combined (10), but will miss the game due to injury. It was announced on July 3 that Lowe will replace him on the roster. The Rays rookie has hit .276 with 16 home runs, 17 doubles, 49 RBIs and an .862 OPS through his first 76 games this season. With Lowe's injury, Gleyber Torres will replace him on the squad. Torres is on pace for career highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage -- and all that comes after finishing third in American League Rookie of the Year voting in 2018. He's already just five homers shy of his 2018 total. At 22 years old, Gleyber Torres is now already a 2-time All-Star. He joins Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio as the only Yankees to make multiple All-Star teams before turning 23, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Shortstops
Starter: Jorge Polanco, MIN (1st)
Reserve: Francisco Lindor^, CLE (4th); Xander Bogaerts, BOS (2nd/injury replacement)
Polanco is the first Twins shortstop to start an All-Star Game since Roy Smalley in 1979. Zoilo Versaille is the only other Minnesota shortstop to earn that distinction, doing so back in 1963. Lindor is sure to draw a huge ovation from the home crowd at Progressive Field when he becomes the first Indians position player to appear in four All-Star Games since Sandy Alomar, Albert Belle and Kenny Lofton all did it in the 1990s. Lindor could join Alex Rodriguez and Cal Ripken Jr. as the only players to appear in four All-Star Games as a shortstop by the age of 25. Hitting .301/.392/.541 with 16 homers and an AL-leading 28 doubles over 82 games this season, Bogaerts will return to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2016 after being named as an injury replacement for Rangers designated hitter Hunter Pence, who was voted as a starter but is on the IL.
Third basemen
Starter: Alex Bregman, HOU (2nd)
Reserve: Matt Chapman^, OAK (1st)
Can Bregman follow up his 2018 All-Star Game MVP Award with another? If he does, he’d join Mike Trout as the only players to claim the honor in back-to-back years. The Astros third baseman took home the honors last season thanks to his tiebreaking home run in the 10th inning of the AL's 8-6 win. Chapman is the fifth A’s third baseman to make the All-Star Game since the franchise moved to Oakland, following Josh Donaldson, Carney Lansford, Wayne Gross and Sal Bando.
Outfielders
Starters: Mike Trout, LAA (8th); George Springer, HOU (3rd); Michael Brantley, HOU (4th)
Reserves: Mookie Betts^, BOS (4th); Joey Gallo^, TEX (1st); Austin Meadows^, TB (1st); Whit Merrifield, KC (1st)
Trout aims to be the first three-time All-Star Game MVP winner, which would break a five-way tie with Willie Mays, Steve Garvey, Gary Carter and Cal Ripken Jr. This is Springer’s second start, and he’s looking to repeat last year’s magic when he followed up his teammate Bregman with back-to-back 10th-inning homers. Brantley’s election -- his first as a starter after three previous stints as a reserve -- gives the Astros three Midsummer Classic starters for the second time in franchise history (Altuve, Carlos Correa and Springer, 2017). This will be Brantley’s first game back at Progressive Field, where he played with Cleveland for his first 10 MLB seasons.
Betts runs his streak of All-Star selections to four and could join Fred Lynn as the only Red Sox position players to appear in the game four times by the age of 26. Gallo already was one of the game’s top sluggers in 2017-18 -- launching 40-plus homers both seasons -- but he has taken his overall game to another level this year and would rank third in the Majors in OPS if he had enough plate appearances to qualify. The Rays acquired Meadows from Pittsburgh in last year’s Chris Archer trade and now he could be just the second Tampa Bay position player to appear in the All-Star Game in the past eight seasons, along with Corey Dickerson (2017). Merrifield, the defending AL hits leader, is among the league leaders in hits, and he's batting near .300 with double-digit homers and steals. He actually has spent more time as a second baseman in his career and could wind up playing the infield as well.
Designated hitters
Starter: TBD (NOTE: The Rangers' Hunter Pence was voted as the AL’s starting DH, earning his fourth career All-Star nod, but he is on the IL and will not play in the All-Star Game. He was replaced on the roster by Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts.)
Reserve: J.D. Martinez^, BOS (3rd)
The 36-year-old Pence would have become the Rangers’ oldest All-Star starter in franchise history, passing Vladimir Guerrero (age 35 in 2010), but it was announced on July 3 that the injured veteran won't play in the game. Martinez is now six seasons into a fantastic run that began in Detroit, with only Mike Trout owning a higher OPS since the start of 2014.