Analyzing The Full MLB All-Star Game Rosters – Did They Get It Right?

The MLB released the rest of the AL and NL rosters. The starters are voted on by the fans and were announced early last week. However, MLB players decide who will fill out the rest of the All-Star game rosters.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skeens made the team as an All-Star reserve, making history as the first No.1 pick to become an All-Star the season after being drafted. The former LSU righty has a 2.12 ERA and a record of 5-0. Garrett Crochet, the Chicago White Sox left-handed pitcher, also made his first All-Star team as he leads the MLB in strikeouts with 146 and allows the fifth-lowest WHIP at 0.97. Industry experts believe that Crochet may be dealt at the trade deadline because of the need for starting pitching amongst contenders and the White Sox owning the worst record in baseball.

With a plethora of young talent entering the MLB in recent years, 32 combined players are competing in their first mid-summer classic. While there are the familiar names on the American League side, with Jose Altuve and Salvador Perez making their ninth All-Star appearance, there are budding stars such as Jordan Westberg of the Baltimore Orioles and Jarren Duran of the Boston Red Sox earning their first call-up.

The Philadelphia Phillies sent the most players to Texas, seven, as the team with the best record in the National League was rewarded. In the AL, four teams sent a pair of starters: the Orioles, New York Yankees, Cleveland Guardians and Houston Astros. Toronto Blue Jays 1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will play without a teammate.

MLB teams earn a week off from playing baseball starting Monday, July 15, until Friday, July 19, as the sport takes its usual pause. The AL has won nine of the past ten contests, but the game has turned into an exhibition with home-field advantage not on the table as it was in recent years.