When baseball’s best and brightest descend on Cleveland for All-Star week, so, too, will the jewels of the American League East. From aces to breakout stars to some of the game’s biggest names, the selections from baseball’s most competitive division will run the gamut.

• All-Star Game presented by Mastercard: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX

Looking ahead to Tuesday’s 2019 All-Star Game, here are a few storylines to watch for each AL East club heading into this year’s Midsummer Classic.

Blue Jays
The reason to watch: To celebrate Marcus Stroman
One of the game’s most enthusiastic and passionate players now heads to arguably baseball’s biggest stage for the first time. The Midsummer Classic is about celebrating the game. It’s about fun. Few do both better than Toronto’s ace.

Healthy again after a down year in 2018, Stroman is putting up almost identical numbers to his excellent 2017 season, when he placed eighth in American League Cy Young voting. Now 28, Stroman ranks among the AL leaders in ERA (3.18; eighth, as of Wednesday), innings (104 2/3; 11th), ground-ball percentage (57.5 percent; first) and opponent slugging (.676; 15th).

Plus, with trade rumors swirling around Stroman yet again, who knows how much longer he’ll be a Blue Jay? This could be his last chance to represent the city he so obviously loves.

And don’t forget about Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who wasn’t selected to the game but will participate in Monday’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby.

Orioles
The reason to watch: John Means’ great story
There may not be a less likely All-Star in Cleveland than Means, a 26-year-old rookie who was never a heralded prospect, only to come out of nowhere to be one of the AL's top starters in the first half. Means often admits he reported to Spring Training expecting to be one of the camp’s first cuts. Instead, he emerged from the roster periphery with a solid spring, and three months later, he’s Baltimore’s best pitcher.

Means leads the Orioles in ERA, WHIP and WAR, and is 7-4 with a 2.50 ERA across 17 games (13 starts overall). He is the franchise’s first starter to earn All-Star honors since Chris Tillman in 2013.

“The minute I start introducing myself, [the other All-Stars] are going to be like, ‘Who? Who are you?'” Means said upon learning of his selection.

The AL has been finding out the hard way.

Rays
The reason to watch: The M&M Bros.
As in Charlie Morton and Austin Meadows, who personify two different paths Tampa took in building one of the AL’s most upstart clubs. Morton came over in free agency, his $15 million annual salary through 2021 the largest the Rays have ever invested in a pitcher. Meadows found himself in Tampa via last year’s Chris Archer trade, which ended up boosting the team more than sparking a rebuild.

Though he cooled off in June, Meadows is blossoming this year as an everyday player for the first time -- hitting .286 with an .863 OPS through Tuesday. He could become just the second Rays position player to appear in the All-Star Game since 2012. Morton won’t, since he’s scheduled to pitch Sunday. But his selection speaks to the Rays’ long history of targeting and cultivating pitching talent, and watching it thrive once in St. Pete.

Rookie second baseman Brandon Lowe will also be on the AL's roster, as he was named as an injury replacement on Wednesday.

Red Sox
The reason to watch: Star power
The reigning AL MVP? Check. The division’s premier slugger? Check. Arguably the best-hitting shortstop in baseball? Check. That’s what you get with the Red Sox’s trio of All-Stars. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez are slated to make their fourth and third All-Star appearances, respectively. Xander Bogaerts, who was named as an injury replacement on Wednesday, will be making his second All-Star appearance. Alex Cora and his entire coaching staff will also be on hand, meaning the defending world champions will be well represented in Cleveland.

Yankees
The reason to watch: Because the Yankees wouldn’t be where they are without them
Though they were far from their only contributors, the Yankees were able to withstand their rash of first-half injuries largely because of their three All-Stars -- Gary Sánchez, DJ LeMahieu and Aroldis Chapman.

Sanchez is having a resurgent season, reemerging this year as baseball’s premier power threat behind the plate. Chapman is enjoying his most dominant campaign in years, anchoring New York’s high-voltage relief corps with a 1.36 ERA and AL-best 23 saves (tied with Cleveland's Brad Hand). And LeMahieu’s first spring in the Bronx has simply been brilliant -- he's among the AL leaders in a host of major offensive categories.

It was only a few months ago that questions surrounded how much LeMahieu would play, after signing a two-year $24 million deal with New York this winter. Now, on the heels of a sensational June which earned him AL Player of the Month honors, he’s a slam-dunk All-Star -- and a serious part of the AL MVP conversation. With LeMahieu and Sanchez voted in by the fans, it’ll mark the first time the Yankees have had a pair of position players start the All-Star Game since 2012, when Derek Jeter, Robinson Cano and Curtis Granderson did.