The All-Star break is officially in full swing, and following an absolutely epic Home Run Derby Monday, fans are primed and ready for the Midsummer Classic this evening. Philadelphia is hosting the festivities for the first time since 1996, bringing the best of the best to the City of Brotherly Love. The American League leads the National League all-time, 48-45, and has dominated the better part of the last three decades, losing just five times since 1997, and winning 10 of the last 12. Though we
can’t forget last season, when a tied game after nine led to the first “swing-off” tiebreaker that allowed the NL to take the W as Philly’s own Kyle Schwarber won it in dramatic fashion.
Two star-studded lineups will be managed by a pair of excellent managers. Dave Roberts, the Los Angeles Dodgers skipper, is managing back-to-back years and his fifth All-Star game, and he will have five of his players on the roster. Making his managerial debut in the Midsummer Classic, Toronto Blue Jays manager John Schneider will be at the helm for the American League. The Jays fell to the Dodgers in a thrilling, seven-game World Series in 2025, and though Toronto hasn’t been as dominant this season, Schneider will have four players attending with Cy Young contender — and an old White Sox pal — Dylan Cease getting the start for the AL.
Leading the field with the most elected All Stars are the hometown Philadelphia Phillies, with six players represented this year, including two-time All-Star Cristopher Sánchez, who is starting on the mound for the National League. One of the best fun facts coming out of this year’s game is that Roy Halladay was the last starting pitcher to represent both the Blue Jays (2009) and the Phillies (2011). Though we will have long-time veterans with Chris Sale, Freddie Freeman, and Justin Verlander making their 10th ASG appearance, and the legendary Mike Trout was elected for the 12th time, getting the start out in center field tonight.
There are also quite a few young guys and rookies making their All-Star debut as well, as there are 11 players under 25 years old, and 36 first-timers. There is so much talent on both rosters, but I want to focus on three of those first-timers: Miguel Vargas, Munetaka Murakami, and Tristan Peters.
If you told White Sox fans a year ago that the team would go from 102 losses to three All-Stars (with a few more that were deserving or right on the cusp), they would probably think you were crazy. Heck, if you told them at the beginning of April, it would have felt like one big joke. But here the South Siders are: sending three excellent players to the national stage while holding first place in the AL Central.
Third baseman Miguel Vargas has not only been one of the best stories of the year, but his improvement across every facet of his game over the past two years has been amazing to watch. He’s been consistent every year with not chasing pitches while walking at higher rates. Still, the increases in production across his offensive stats while playing a solid third base have propelled him into the top players in the American League. Vargas’ 3.3 WAR is the fifth-best in the AL, his 13.7% walk rate ranks ninth, his .848 OPS ranks 13th, and he is tied for sixth with 21 home runs. I mean, seriously, this year’s Savant page is bonkers.
He can also rock a blue suit on the red carpet, so pray for the league.
Japanese rookie sensation Munetaka Murakami has also impressed pretty much everyone since he joined MLB, and despite being injured for the past six weeks, he still is tied for seventh for most homers in the AL with 20, and holds a 148 WRC+ on the season, sixth in the AL (min. 250 PAs). Mune’s 33.6% strikeout rate is the highest in the AL and fourth-highest in MLB, though he essentially balances that out with his 17.8% walk rate (third in AL), .540 slugging percentage (sixth). and 911 OPS (fifth). And again, he has maintained all of this while not playing for over a month. Murakami’s nine home runs were just beaten out by Kyle Schwarber’s 10 in the first round of the Home Run Derby, but his swing looked smoother than ever, and it certainly wasn’t a bad showing for his first time around.
Last, but DEFINITELY not least, is center fielder Tristan Peters. Replacing Byron Buxton due to injury, Peters was a late All-Star addition, but his success this season has been beyond impactful to the White Sox and truly unprecedented. Peters was acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in the offseason for “cash considerations,” in what may end up being some of the best money that GM Chris Getz has spent thus far. His .301 batting average is the third-best in the AL, and ninth-best in all of baseball, and Peters has mashed 20 of his 75 hits for doubles (26.7%), tied for fourth-most in the AL (alongside Vargas). From the Savannah Bananas to hitting for the cycle in his first full major league season, to the MLB All-Star game, it’s been a lot of fun watching him get to this point.
None of the Chicago White Sox players are starters right now, but hopefully they’ll get an inning at some point tonight. Cease has quite the lineup behind him, nonetheless, especially with all of that power loaded from top to bottom, with Trout leading off and Yordan Alvarez batting second while leading all of baseball with a 1.059 OPS and the AL with 31 homers. Two Derby contestants being on your team is also a flex, with Junior Caminero batting fourth, and Ben Rice balancing out the lineup in the seven-spot while being second in the AL with 29 bombs.
Since being snubbed for an All-Star selection in 2022, Cease is finally making his debut at the Midsummer Classic and is having arguably his best season yet with a 2.84 ERA. His 36.9% strikeout rate is trailing only the flame-throwing Jacob Misiorowski of the Milwaukee Brewers. Walks have always been something that Cease has struggled with in his career, and his 11% BB% is the fifth-highest among all qualified starters, but striking out over a third of your opponents while holding them to a .189 batting average has helped maintain his success this season.
For the National League, the lineup Cristopher Sánchez has behind him is just as scary, with MLB home run leader Schwarber giving Cease a run for his money right off the bat, followed by consistent sluggers Juan Soto and Freeman. Sánchez has been an elite pitcher for the last several years, and his 2.62 ERA and 1.186 WHIP have kept him not only front of mind as an All-Star but as a potential Cy Young candidate for the NL this season. His 38.6% chase rate is among the best in all of baseball, and his changeup is simply nasty, with opponents batting just .167 against him while drawing a 45.2% whiff rate on the pitch.
Tune into FOX at 7 p.m. CT for the action, and feel free to follow along with us in the comments!
