Ten Players Who Could Be First-Time MLB All-Stars

The words of Grandpa Simpson hit a little too close to home for those of us whose memories of voting for the Major League All-Star Game involved collecting an armful of ballots at our local ballpark, carefully punching out the perforated circles for our selections and stuffing the ballot box: “I used to be with it, but then they changed what it was. Now what I’m with isn’t it, and what’s it seems weird and scary to me.”

But just because All-Star balloting is entirely online and overly complicated doesn’t diminish the fun of sifting through the ballot. For the record, fans can vote five times per day during “Phase 1” of voting, which opened Wednesday at MLB.com and continues through June 30. After that, the leading vote-getter at each position earns a starting spot in the All-Star Game while the second-place finishers at each infield position and designated hitter, plus the next four or five finishers in the outfield, move on to “Phase 2” voting from July 5-8, during which fans can only vote once apiece. See? Overly complicated!

In particular, it’s always fun to examine the candidates to see who have a chance to appear in the All-Star Game for the first time. Here’s 10 players — five from each league — who could make their Midsummer Classic debut this season, when the American League and National League are scheduled to clash at Dodger Stadium on July 19.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

1B Ty France, Mariners (.327 average-9 HR-38 RBIs-.893 OPS): While the Mariners haven’t been able to build on last year’s overachievement, France has built upon his breakout 2021. He’s on pace to put up career-best counting and peripheral numbers while also cutting his strikeout rate from 16 percent to 12 percent and playing in all 57 games thus far.

1B Luis Arraez, Twins (.359 average-2 HRs-14 RBIs-.870 OPS): There’s almost always too many All-Star caliber first basemen and not enough spots for them on the roster, but Arraez’s throwback skills warrant serious consideration. Arraez is leading the majors in batting average (no one’s hit .350 over a full season since Josh Hamilton in 2010) and on-base percentage (.447) by hitting for contact (25 walks and just 16 strikeouts in 197 plate appearances) but not for power (all but seven of his 61 hits are singles). 

2B Andres Gimenez, Guardians (.309 average-7 HRs-31 RBIs-.874 OPS): Gimenez wasn’t viewed as the biggest name Cleveland acquired from the New York Mets in exchange for Francisco Lindor in January 2021, but he might end up being the Guardians’ franchise cornerstone well into the back end of this decade. He’s offering 20/20 potential at the plate while playing terrific defense, all of which adds up to producing a WAR almost twice that of Lindor’s at a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of the price.

C Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays (.322 average-5 HRs-16 RBIs-.878 OPS): Kirk might be the catching version of Arraez, which is to say perhaps one of the most valuable baseball players in the league. A catcher has hit .300 with 10 homers and more walks than strikeouts over at least 400 plate appearances just six times this century — three times by Joe Mauer and once apiece by Paul Lo Duca, Victor Martinez and Buster Posey.

OF Austin Hays, Orioles (.295 average-7 HRs-31 RBIs-.825 OPS): Might the Orioles have found another building block in the latest stage of their potentially never-ending rebuild? In his age-27 season, Hays has dramatically improved his strikeout-to-walk ratio — from almost 4:1 to 2:1 — and is on pace to set career-highs in RBIs, average and OPS.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

1B C.J. Cron, Rockies (.285 average-14 HRs-41 RBIs-.873 OPS): Cron reached the majors when power was at a premium, spent what looked like the prime of his career bouncing around (five teams in as many seasons from 2017-21) because everyone was getting 20 homers from their first baseman and is now once again a valuable player in a deadened ball era. He’s on pace to set career highs in each of the Triple Crown categories as well as OPS. Alas, the NL is even more loaded than usual at first base with MVP candidates Pete Alonso and Paul Goldschmidt, plus former MVP Freddie Freeman and Freeman’s replacement in Atlanta, Matt Olson, likely to lead the balloting.

2B Tommy Edman, Cardinals (.274 average-5 HRs-23 RBIs-.760 OPS): Edman, who had an OPS+ of 92 (eight percent below league average) while winning a Gold Glove last season, has emerged as an all-around threat this season. He leads the NL with 14 stolen bases and has cut his strikeout-to-walk ratio from 2.5:1 to 1.75:1.

3B Brandon Drury, Reds (.271 average-11 HRs-30 RBIs-.844 OPS): Drury looked like he’d fallen into Quad-A status after hitting just .214 with a .624 OPS from 2018-21, but he’s been the best everyday player for the rebuilding Reds, who should net a solid player or two at the trade deadline for someone they signed to a minor league deal when the lockout ended.

C Daulton Varsho, Diamondbacks (.238 average-8 HRs-24 RBIs-.728 OPS): How’s this for a unicorn — a power-hitting catcher/centerfielder who bats leadoff? Varsho has batted first in a game in which he played both catcher and centerfield twice this season — the first player to do so since Hall of Famer Roger Bresnahan in 1906. The only other player to do it even once — ever — is another Hall of Famer, Craig Biggio. Varsho has also led off while starting at catcher 13 times, which is tied for the 26th-most all-time.

OF Jurickson Profar, Padres (.252 average-7 HRs-32 RBIs-.774 OPS): Profar is finally having the season everyone envisioned when he was the consensus top prospect in the game in the early 2010s, before shoulder injuries cost him two seasons. He’s on pace to match or set career highs in every major offensive category and is hitting a robust .370 with a .433 on-base percentage in 13 starts out of the leadoff spots for the Padres, who are 7-6 with him atop the lineup.