Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the MLB. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Orioles fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.
MLB’s announcements of the first round of All-Star voting yesterday made it official that the Orioles will not have any players selected as starters for this year’s game. That’s not a surprise to anyone who was watching the vote total updates, nor is it a surprise to anyone who has
been watching the team this year. One of their problems is that the stars aren’t playing like stars often enough to make great things happen.
Even bad teams in bad years get at least one All-Star. Those have been the rules for many years now. It’s guaranteed. This is looking like an “only one” year for the Orioles, for all that we had higher hopes going into the year. In this week’s survey, I listed five players and asked you to think about which would make the most deserving All-Star. Here are the results:
I was waffling on whether to include Brandon Young in this poll. He doesn’t have enough innings to qualify for the ERA leaderboard (about 15 short), but if he did, he would sit sixth in the AL for ERA. That’s not too shabby. In general, though, I think that when a starting pitcher makes it onto the team, even as the token lone All-Star, it tends to be with a gaudier ERA, WHIP, and/or strikeout rate than Young has.
To my surprise, Alonso comes out as the plurality winner here. Maybe I should be less surprised. The Polar Bear struggled to start the season but has been living up to his reputation for close to a couple of months now. He’s taken the team lead in home runs hit and, in doing so, already has more home runs than any 2025 Orioles player did. Alonso has already been an All-Star five times and is not a bad pick to get a sixth bid.
I’d like to see Samuel Basallo get some recognition in his rookie year. I don’t know if he will. It is probably going to depend on which position it’s easiest to slot in an Oriole after determining the starters from fan voting and the reserves from player voting. Rutschman was the second-place choice in this poll. As he is on the concussion injured list right now, he’s not able to enhance his case. I wish him a speedy recovery.
The full All-Star rosters will be announced on July 4. We’ll find out who the Orioles get then.
This week’s survey is sponsored by FanDuel.
