2026 MLB All-Star ballot: Picking the early favorites, including Ben Rice, Mike Trout, Kyle Schwarber, more

The 2026 All-Star Game is set for July 14 in Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which happened just around the corner.

>The ballot to elect the starting position players and designated hitters dropped on Wednesday. I'll run through my picks right here. I'm also going to pick a starting pitcher for each side, even though we don't get to vote on that. Why not? We have the bandwidth to discuss it here, even if we don't have a hand in the decision.

>In voting for the All-Star starters, there are different angles of attack. I understand there will be dissent from some, but my stance is that it's essentially a reward for the players who had the best first half. If there's a virtual tie, where two players feel dead even, maybe I'll lean on career credentials for the established stars, but I generally just want the best players from that given season in the All-Star Game. Am I taking a risk that a possible one-hit wonder will go into a massive slump and not be a deserving All-Star come July? Of course. No method is perfect. This is mine. Onward we march.

>All statistics up to date through Monday's games.

>It's entirely possible that Cal Raleigh will do some damage in the voting this season, given his 60-homer year in 2025 while the Mariners made it to Game 7 of the ALCS, but Raleigh has been awful this season and is now hurt. Langeliers, though, is hitting .293/.365/.544 with 14 homers, 30 RBI and 37 runs scored while playing quality defense. He deserves the start.

>I really wanted to vote for Munetaka Murakami and his 20 homers right here, but he's injured and we can't be sure how quickly he can come back. Plus, Rice is beating him everywhere except home runs. Even with Aaron Judge as a teammate, Rice has arguably been the best hitter in the American League to this point. He's slashing .306/.397/.658 with 14 doubles, 7 home runs, 44 RBI and 44 runs. He leads the majors in slugging, OPS and OPS+ while pacing the AL in RBI.

>Apologies to ... Murakami, White Sox; Nick Kurtz, Athletics; Yandy Díaz, Rays

>It's a thin position, but Clement has a quality old-school case. He's hitting .300 and leads the AL in hits while leading the majors in doubles with 19. He's also been really difficult to strike out.

>The established-star pick here is an easy one and it's José Ramírez. I wouldn't argue. He's having a good enough year, even if not up to his lofty standards. I like Vargas, though. He's got a 144 OPS+ with 10 doubles, 15 home runs, 38 RBI, 44 runs and is nine for nine in stolen base attempts.

>Apologies to ... Ramírez, Guardians; Josh Jung, Rangers; Junior Caminero, Rays

>C'mon. He checks every single box. No need to think too hard.

>Apologies to ... Kevin McGonigle, Tigers; Colson Montgomery, White Sox

>Outfielders: Mike Trout, Angels; Aaron Judge, Yankees; Cody Bellinger, Yankees

>Trout is back, baby! He has a 154 OPS+, leads the majors in walks and leads the AL in runs scored. He's hit 14 homers and has driven home 31 runs. He leads AL outfielders in WAR. What's more, he's only missed one game and it wasn't due to injury. It was just a rest day. Man, this has been great to see.

>Judge's batting average has dipped to .248, but that's above average with room to spare these days. He's still sitting there with a 152 OPS+ along with his 17 homers and 38 RBI.

>Bellinger leads all AL position players in Baseball Reference's WAR and he's third behind Trout and Judge among AL outfielders in FanGraphs' version. His defensive ratings in left field are a big reason why, but he's been steadily good at the plate and on the bases, too.

>Apologies to ... Bryon Buxton, Twins; Randy Arozarena, Mariners; Julio Rodriguez, Mariners; Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox, Riley Greene, Tigers

>A year after injuries held him to just 48 games, along with an OPS nearly 200 points lower than his career mark, the absolute crusher of baseballs is back to his old self. He's hitting .301/.416/.634 (191 OPS+) with 20 home runs. This was a no-brainer.

>Thanks to injuries to Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet (who was awful before his injury anyway), the field isn't nearly as loaded as the NL side -- at least not with big names that casual fans know really well.

>How about the story with Martinez, though? He debuted with Texas in 2014 and spent four seasons with the Rangers before leaving to play in Japan for four seasons. He's been a swingman since coming back and the Rays got him for one year and $13 million for this season. He's 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA in 11 starts.

>Apologies to ... Cam Schlittler, Yankees; Davis Martin, White Sox; Parker Messick, Guardians

>There was a big conundrum here for me. Baldwin has an oblique injury and the Braves haven't given a timetable for a return. Given that he's hurt, I could look elsewhere. Then again, he's also been so much better than every other National League catcher that I believe he could return in, say, the third week of June and still be the most worthy selection here. I'm rolling the dice on him. He's been that good (.303/.389/.543, 13 HR, 38 RBI, 39 R in 48 games).

>Apologies to ... William Contreras, Brewers; Liam Hicks, Marlins

>Olson has returned to his standing as one of the scariest power hitters in all of baseball after two "down" seasons in which he hit 29 home runs each year and fell just short of 100 RBI. Right now, in 60 games, he has 16 home runs and 45 RBI in addition to leading the league in doubles and total bases.

>Edwards has been an old-school star but also a total stat-sheet stuffer this season. He's played every game and is hitting .313 while having walked more than he's struck out. Of his 71 hits, he has 11 doubles, four triples and six home runs while also stealing nine bases and scoring 41 runs.

>Apologies to ... Brice Turang, Brewers; Brandon Lowe, Pirates

>Some down seasons from established stars like Alex Bregman, Matt Chapman, Manny Machado and Austin Riley have helped pave the way for Muncy, but he's doing some nice work on his own without the help. He's got a 144 OPS+ with 14 home runs.

>Apologies to ... Nolan Arenado, Diamondbacks

>In the previous three seasons, Abrams did a good job of making it clear that he's a big part of the Nats' foundation moving forward. He put up 3.5, 3.3 and 3.3 WAR, respectively. For those unfamiliar with the scale, 2ish is an everyday player and 5ish is an All-Star. This season, he's made the leap forward toward stardom, hitting .294/.389/.537 (163 OPS+) with 13 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs, 47 RBI, 37 runs and 2.7 WAR already.

>Apologies to ... Otto Lopez, Marlins; Elly De La Cruz, Reds

>Outfielders: Andy Pages, Dodgers; James Wood, Nationals; Juan Soto, Mets

>The rich get richer, right? As loaded as the Dodgers already were, Pages is having a monster breakout season. He had 3.7 WAR in 156 games last regular season and this season is already past that with 3.8. He's hitting .293 with a 145 OPS+. He has 14 doubles, 13 home runs and leads the majors with 50 RBI. He's also a top-flight defender.

>Wood is going to strike out a bunch, but along with that comes a lot of power and on-base ability. Wood leads the NL in walks, OBP and OPS+. He has 15 doubles, 16 home runs and, thanks to the Nationals going with the unconventional leadoff man, leads the majors with 53 runs scored.

>Soto missed time and has only played in 44 games, but he's been his excellent self in that time. In fact, likely due to how badly his team has played, he's actually been under the radar this season, given that he's leading the NL in OPS and has 13 home runs.

>Apologies to ... Corbin Carroll, Diamondbacks; Jordan Walker, Cardinals; Michael Harris II, Braves; Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs

>Shohei Ohtani will end up winning this vote and he's always a great choice. He's got Schwarber beat in batting average and on-base percentage and is obviously more of a threat on the bases, too. That said, Schwarber has 22 home runs and a .593 slugging compared to 10 and .502, respectively, for Ohtani. They are close enough that I'm letting my Hoosiers bias carry the day here.

>Starting pitcher: Cristopher Sánchez, Phillies

>Whichever pitcher ends up being picked here by Dave Roberts will be plenty worthy. It's a murderer's row of frontline studs right now, as I noted late last week in looking at the Cy Young race. Sánchez is a cut above at this juncture, though, due in large part to his scoreless innings streak that deserves more attention.

>Apologies to ... Jacob Misiorowski, Brewers; Chase Burns, Reds; Ohtani, Dodgers; Kyle Harrison, Brewers; Chris Sale, Braves; Braxton Ashcraft, Pirates; Paul Skenes, Pirates