MLB Finalizes Home Run Derby Field
The field is set for the Home Run Derby. Yankees second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. became the final player to join the eight-man competition tonight. The Derby will take place on Monday evening at Atlanta’s Truist Park. The group:
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
- Byron Buxton, Twins
- Junior Caminero, Rays
- Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees
- Oneil Cruz, Pirates
- Cal Raleigh, Mariners
- Brent Rooker, Athletics
- James Wood, Nationals
Raleigh is MLB’s home run leader with 36. He is well on track to surpass Salvador Perez’s record of 48 homers by a catcher. There’s a good chance Raleigh will become the first backstop in league history to hit 50. Wood, Caminero and Buxton have all reached the 20-homer mark, while Rooker is one away.
Chisholm has 17 longballs despite losing a month to injury, while Acuña has connected on 11 since returning from an ACL tear in late May. Cruz, who has 16 homers in 82 games, arguably has more raw power than anyone else. His 122.9 MPH home run off Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson in May was the hardest-hit ball since Statcast began tracking a decade ago. Cruz has accounted for five of the top seven exit velocities in MLB this season.
Acuña, who’ll be playing at his home park, is appearing in the event for the third time. The other seven contestants are making their first Derby appearances. Last year’s champion, Teoscar Hernández, elected not to participate because he did not want to stress his legs after spending a couple weeks on the injured list in May with a left groin strain (link via Bill Plunkett of The Orange County Register). Buxton is a Georgia native who’ll play in his home state. Raleigh, Caminero and Acuña will all be in the starting lineup for the following night’s All-Star Game. Wood, Rooker, Chisholm and Buxton made the All-Star teams as reserves.
MLB Announces 2025 All-Star Rosters
The starting lineups for the 95th All-Star Game were revealed earlier this week, and the league has now announced the rest of the American League and National League rosters for the upcoming Midsummer Classic on July 15 in Atlanta. Each roster is comprised of 32 players — the nine starting position players determined by fan voting, and then 23 pitchers and backup position players selected by both a player ballot and input from the Commissioner’s office.
The league’s share of the reserve picks will help adhere to the rule that every team must have at least one All-Star rep. This rule could also be observed via substitutions that will inevitably be named to the rosters in the coming days, as some players won’t participate in the All-Star Game due to injury or personal choice. The starting pitchers won’t be announced until July 14, with each team’s manager (Aaron Boone for the AL and Dave Roberts for the NL) deciding who will get the honor of the All-Star start.
The Dodgers lead the way with five players selected, while the Tigers and Mariners each had four players selected. Nineteen of the players in this year’s game are making their All-Star debuts. Clayton Kershaw made the team specifically as a “Legend Pick” from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, in a nod to Kershaw’s performance over what is sure to be a Hall-of-Fame career.
American League
- Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Mariners
- First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
- Second base: Gleyber Torres, Tigers
- Third base: José Ramírez, Guardians
- Shortstop: Jacob Wilson, Athletics
- Outfield: Aaron Judge, Yankees
- Outfield: Riley Greene, Tigers
- Outfield: Javier Báez, Tigers
- Designated hitter: Ryan O’Hearn, Orioles
- Pitchers: Hunter Brown/Astros, Kris Bubic/Royals, Aroldis Chapman/Red Sox, Garrett Crochet/Red Sox, Jacob deGrom/Rangers, Max Fried/Yankees, Josh Hader/Astros, Yusei Kikuchi/Angels, Andres Munoz/Mariners, Tarik Skubal/Tigers, Shane Smith/White Sox, Bryan Woo/Mariners
- Backup position players: Jonathan Aranda/Rays, Alex Bregman/Red Sox, Byron Buxton/Twins, Jazz Chisholm Jr./Yankees, Alejandro Kirk/Blue Jays, Steven Kwan/Guardians, Brandon Lowe/Rays, Jeremy Pena/Astros, Julio Rodriguez/Mariners, Brent Rooker/Athletics, Bobby Witt Jr./Royals
National League
- Catcher: Will Smith, Dodgers
- First base: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
- Second base: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks
- Third base: Manny Machado, Padres
- Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Mets
- Outfield: Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
- Outfield: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs
- Outfield: Kyle Tucker, Cubs
- Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers
- Pitchers: Jason Adam/Padres, Matthew Boyd/Cubs, Edwin Diaz/Mets, MacKenzie Gore/Nationals, Clayton Kershaw/Dodgers, Freddy Peralta/Brewers, Robbie Ray/Giants, Randy Rodriguez/Giants, Chris Sale/Braves, Paul Skenes/Pirates, Logan Webb/Giants, Zack Wheeler/Phillies, Yoshinobu Yamamoto/Dodgers
- Backup position players: Pete Alonso/Mets, Corbin Carroll/Diamondbacks, Hunter Goodman/Rockies, Elly De La Cruz/Reds, Brendan Donovan/Cardinals, Matt Olson/Braves, Kyle Stowers/Marlins, Eugenio Suarez/Diamondbacks, Kyle Schwarber/Phillies, Fernando Tatis Jr./Padres, James Wood/Nationals
MLB Announces 2025 All-Star Starting Hitters
Major League Baseball announced the starting lineups for the 2025 All-Star Game this evening. The starting lineups are determined by fan vote. Starting pitchers and reserves, which are determined by a combination of player vote and the league office, will be announced on Sunday evening. Each team will eventually get at least one All-Star. 13 teams had at least one starter. The Dodgers and Tigers — the respective league leaders — were in front with three selections apiece.
The game will be played at Atlanta’s Truist Park on July 15.
American League
- Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Mariners (1st selection)
- First base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (5th selection)
- Second base: Gleyber Torres, Tigers (3rd selection)
- Third base: José Ramírez, Guardians (7th selection)
- Shortstop: Jacob Wilson, Athletics (1st selection)
- Outfield: Aaron Judge, Yankees (7th selection)
- Outfield: Riley Greene, Tigers (2nd selection)
- Outfield: Javier Báez, Tigers (3rd selection)
- Designated hitter: Ryan O’Hearn, Orioles (1st selection)
National League
- Catcher: Will Smith, Dodgers (3rd selection)
- First base: Freddie Freeman, Dodgers (9th selection)
- Second base: Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks (3rd selection)
- Third base: Manny Machado, Padres (7th selection)
- Shortstop: Francisco Lindor, Mets (5th selection)
- Outfield: Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves (5th selection)
- Outfield: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs (1st selection)
- Outfield: Kyle Tucker, Cubs (4th selection)
- Designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (5th selection)
MLB Awards 2025 All-Star Game To Atlanta Braves
MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced today that the Atlanta Braves will host the 2025 All-Star festivities. The 95th edition of the “midsummer classic” will be third one to take place in Atlanta but the first at Truist Park, which opened in 2017. The other instances were 1972 and 2000.
“I commend Terry McGuirk, Derek Schiller, the entire Braves organization and the Atlanta Sports Council for leading this effort,” Manfred says in a press release. “As a model of success on and off the field, the Braves deserve to host the All-Star Game. Truist Park and The Battery Atlanta will provide fans a world-class experience in 2025. We look forward to working with the Braves and local leaders to deliver a memorable All-Star Week that brings people together and benefits the community in many ways.”
The 2021 All-Star Game was originally set to be in Atlanta but the league moved it to Colorado. This was in response to changes to election laws in Georgia, which were criticized for being discriminatory.
“Over the last week, we have engaged in thoughtful conversations with clubs, former and current players, the Players Association, and The Players Alliance, among others, to listen to their views,” Manfred said in a statement at that time. “I have decided that the best way to demonstrate our values as a sport is by relocating this year’s All-Star Game and MLB Draft. Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. In 2020, MLB became the first professional sports league to join the non-partisan Civic Alliance to help build a future in which everyone participates in shaping the United States. We proudly used our platform to encourage baseball fans and communities throughout our country to perform their civic duty and actively participate in the voting process. Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.”
Manfred made reference to that past decision today, as relayed by Evan Drellich of The Athletic. “I made the decision in 2021 to move the event, and I understand that — believe me — people had then and probably still have different views as to the merits of that decision.”
The 2024 game will be hosted by the Rangers while the 2026 game was long ago given to the Phillies in order to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. For clubs that would like to host a future game, their next opportunity won’t be until 2027.