Voting has now closed in Phase 2 of the balloting for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia on July 14. There were two finalists at each position (six outfielders) that advanced based on the vote totals from Phase 1. Also, the top vote-getter in each league ran unopposed here, so Ernie Clement of the Blue Jays is the American League's starter at second base while Shohei Ohtani starts at DH for the National League.
We'll find out the full list of starters on Saturday, though we won't know the lineup until the Monday before the game. Still, we can make predictions here.
Who will emerge as the starters? Let's project both starting lineups before detailing each positional battle.
American League starting lineup
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals
- Mike Trout, CF, Angels
- Yordan Alvarez, DH, Astros
- Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays
- Cody Bellinger, LF, Yankees
- Byron Buxton, RF, Twins
- Shea Langeliers, C, Athletics
- Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B, Blue Jays
- Ernie Clement, 2B, Blue Jays
Aaron Judge is going to be injured well through the break. Trout might be, too, but he also might make it back. We'll replace Judge with Bellinger and leave Trout in there. Let's hope he makes it. He hasn't played in an All-Star Game since 2019.
Starting pitcher: Cam Schlittler, Yankees
National League starting lineup
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF, Cubs
- Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers
- Andy Pages, RF, Dodgers
- Freddie Freeman, 1B, Dodgers
- Max Muncy, 3B, Dodgers
- Brandon Marsh, LF, Phillies
- Drake Baldwin, C, Braves
- Mookie Betts, SS, Dodgers
- Ozzie Albies, 2B, Braves
Ronald Acuña Jr. is out with an injury and it doesn't seem like he'll make it back in time. We need a replacement, so I went with Crow-Armstrong, who leads MLB position players in WAR and is on pace for his second straight 30-30 season.
Starting pitcher: Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies
American League position battles
First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Blue Jays) vs. Ben Rice (Yankees)
Something that hangs heavily over Phase 2 of the voting is how strongly Blue Jays fans stuffed the ballot box in phase one. Toronto players are all over the place here. That very well could carry over, but there's also the possibility that this inspires backlash from other fan bases, causing them to vote for the non-Jays. I also wonder if enough Jays fans are frustrated with Guerrero and jumped ship? Still, Guerrero nearly doubled Rice's vote totals in Phase 1.
Prediction: Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Second base: Ernie Clement (Blue Jays)
The 30-year-old Clement surprisingly led all American League players with 3,232,932 votes in Phase 1 to earn a starting spot in his first All-Star Game.
Third base: Junior Caminero (Rays) vs. Kazuma Okamoto (Blue Jays)
Caminero should win this thing easily. He's got an OPS of nearly 200 points better than Okamoto, for example, and he's one of the brightest young stars in baseball. Okamoto got more votes in Phase 1, but it was really close, and I'll say the backlash against Blue Jays ballot-stuffing carries the correct choice.
Prediction: Junior Caminero
Shortstop: Andrés Giménez (Blue Jays) vs. Bobby Witt Jr. (Royals)
Giménez doesn't belong in the All-Star Game and Witt is arguably the best player in the AL, if not all of baseball (non-Ohtani division). I fear for the Jays stuffing here, but I'll say sanity wins out, especially since Witt got nearly a million more votes in Phase 1.
Prediction: Bobby Witt Jr.
Catcher: Alejandro Kirk (Blue Jays) vs. Shea Langeliers (Athletics)
Similar sentiment here, but Langeliers doesn't have nearly the same name recognition, fame or even talent as Witt. Kirk has only played in 19 games to date and has hit very poorly. Fortunately, Langeliers got significantly more votes in Phase 1.
Prediction: Shea Langeliers
Outfield
- Cody Bellinger (Yankees)
- Byron Buxton (Twins)
- Aaron Judge (Yankees)
- Jesús Sánchez (Blue Jays)
- Mike Trout (Angels)
- Daulton Varsho (Blue Jays)
Judge, Trout and Buxton were the top three in Phase 1 and have the most name recognition. Trout and Judge are surely safe while Buxton had less than 200,000 votes over Bellinger, so that spot seems like it might be in play. I'll say it sticks to the status quo, though.
Prediction: Byron Buxton, Aaron Judge, Mike Trout
DH: Yordan Alvarez (Astros) vs. George Springer (Blue Jays)
Alvarez absolutely dwarfed Springer in voting in Phase 1 and is having the much better year. He'll hold it.
Prediction: Yordan Alvarez
Starting pitcher: Cam Schlittler (Yankees)
The kid was great in the second half last season, had a historic playoff outing and now leads the AL with a 2.08 ERA in 18 starts. He's been a godsend for a rotation that started the year with Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon on the IL and then sent Max Fried there later.
National League position battles
First base: Freddie Freeman (Dodgers) vs. Matt Olson (Braves)
Olson is having a great year, but Freeman is on a total tear at the plate for the two-time defending champion Dodgers, a team with a massive fan base. The future Hall of Famer led by a pretty decent margin in Phase 1 and gets the nod here.
Prediction: Freddie Freeman
Second base: Ozzie Albies (Braves) vs. Bryson Stott (Phillies)
This was awfully close in Phase 1 and neither had a gaudy vote total. Albies is the correct choice, but I wonder about the motivation levels of the respective fan bases here with the Braves' recent poor play and the Phillies' surge. I'll say Stott is held off, but I wouldn't be surprised if he wins.
Prediction: Ozzie Albies
Third base: Max Muncy (Dodgers) vs. Alec Bohm (Phillies)
Muncy had more than double Bohm's votes in Phase 1 and I'm not sure why things would change this time around.
Prediction: Max Muncy
Shortstop: CJ Abrams (Nationals) vs. Mookie Betts (Dodgers)
Abrams is having a much better year overall, but Betts has the MVP, rings and Hall of Fame pedigree, not to mention the Dodgers fan base behind him. Abrams got more votes in the first round, but Betts has gotten hot at the plate and might see a surge in votes. I'll take him.
Prediction: Mookie Betts
Catcher: Drake Baldwin (Braves) vs. Will Smith (Dodgers)
First off, it's insane to me that MLB puts the catcher below the infielders on the ballot. It even goes in "scoring" order with shortstop (6 on a scorecard) coming after third base (5), so why is catcher (2) behind? Ridiculous.
Anyway, sorry for the tangent. Baldwin led Smith by a decently hefty margin in phase one. He's currently in a major funk at the plate, but I feel like he's gonna take this round again. Maybe I'm only saying this due to predicting three Dodgers so far. I'm not sure. It'll be close here.
Prediction: Drake Baldwin
Outfield
- Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves)
- Michael Harris II (Braves)
- Teoscar Hernández (Dodgers)
- Brandon Marsh (Phillies)
- Andy Pages (Dodgers)
- Juan Soto (Mets)
Believe it or not, Soto -- easily one of the most famous and recognizable stars in MLB and playing in a megamarket -- ranked fifth here in Phase 1. With the Mets' season seeming more and more lost by the day, it sure seems like he'll get squeezed out. Pages led in Phase 1 and should be a cinch to get in, given who he plays for and how good he's been. Similar sentiment applies to Marsh (second) and Acuña (third).
Prediction: Ronald Acuña Jr., Brandon Marsh, Andy Pages
Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers)
As the NL's leading vote-getter with 3,341,257 votes, Ohtani has already earned his place in the starting lineup as he makes his sixth consecutive All-Star Game appearance.
Starting pitcher: Cristopher Sanchez, Phillies
Two things work in favor of Sanchez. First off, the game is in Philadelphia and it seems likely that NL manager Dave Roberts would give bonus points for picking a starter to pitch at home. Secondly, the other tippy-top tier candidate (in a loaded field, mind you) is Jacob Misiorowski and he's currently scheduled to pitch the Sunday before the All-Star Game, taking him out of the mix. Sanchez is a worthy pick regardless of these two items. They were simply the clinchers in what is a tough decision.
