The 2026 MLB All-Star Game rosters have been announced — and they were assembled under uniquely difficult circumstances. A wave of injuries to some of the sport’s biggest names, combined with a surprising number of established stars having genuinely down seasons, left selectors working with a thinner field than usual. The result is a pair of rosters that tell a complicated story about where the game stands at the midpoint of 2026.
The injury list alone reads like an All-Star roster in its own right. Aaron Judge, voted in as a starter by fans, will miss the game with a rib injury. Mike Trout, also a fan vote starter, is on the injured list with a hamstring issue and is uncertain. Jose Ramirez is hurt. Francisco Lindor has played just 31 games. Tarik Skubal, Max Fried, and Hunter Brown are among the pitchers missing. Meanwhile, several healthy stars — Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Trea Turner, Julio Rodriguez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Kyle Tucker, Gunnar Henderson, and Jose Altuve, among others — are playing well below their career levels.
The bright spots are mostly on the National League side, where five starting pitchers have had monster first halves: Jacob Misiorowski, Cristopher Sanchez, Shohei Ohtani, Chase Burns, and Chris Sale all made the roster and will give the midsummer classic some genuine star power.
Here is a full breakdown of both rosters — biggest snubs, best picks, and what it all means.
National League
Biggest Snub: Brice Turang, 2B, Milwaukee Brewers
Turang is the obvious omission. He ranks seventh in bWAR and eighth in fWAR among NL position players at the midseason mark — the clear top snub on both major WAR systems. His combined WAR sits at 3.2, against 2.0 for Ozzie Albies, who was voted in as the starter at second base by fans. Turang has a higher OPS and better defensive metrics than Albies. He was better in 2024, better in 2025, and better in 2026. The fan vote got this one wrong.
The players then picked Luis Arraez of the Giants as the backup at second, and while that decision is defensible — Arraez is hitting .326 with a 3.1 combined WAR — Turang has 61 runs and 51 RBIs against 44 and 32 for Arraez. The right outcome would have been Turang as the starter and Arraez as the reserve.
Second-Biggest Snub: Justin Wrobleski, SP, Los Angeles Dodgers
If the All-Star Game rewards first-half production, Wrobleski is the most glaring pitching omission. He is 10-2 with a 2.80 ERA, tied for second among NL pitchers in wins and eighth in ERA. The players voted for Misiorowski, Sanchez, Burns, Sale, and Paul Skenes — but Skenes has watched his ERA climb to 3.62 and has not recorded a win in his past nine starts, with the Pirates losing all nine. Wrobleski had the better first half by the numbers, even if Skenes has the stronger long-term profile.
Logan Webb was a questionable league selection given his 5-6 record and 3.66 ERA, particularly since Arraez was already representing the Giants. Webb’s longer career track record apparently carried the day, but that logic was not applied consistently across the roster.
Quick NL Thoughts
Glad the league used a “legend” pick to add Bryce Harper. The game is in Philadelphia, he is having an All-Star-worthy season, and there was no excuse for him not to be on the roster. The NL outfield is genuinely loaded — Juan Soto, Andy Pages, and Brandon Marsh as starters, with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Corbin Carroll, James Wood, and Jordan Walker rightly added as reserves. The league also showed restraint by adding pitchers rather than extra relievers beyond the three mandatory player votes — Mason Miller, Jhoan Duran, and Raisel Iglesias. On who should start the game: Misiorowski has been the best story of the first half, which is what the All-Star Game is meant to celebrate, but with the game in Philadelphia, giving the ball to Sanchez — who leads in bWAR and is tied in fWAR — makes sense for the home crowd.
American League
Biggest Snub: Willson Contreras, 1B, Boston Red Sox
Contreras has the highest fWAR of any AL position player who did not make the team at 2.8, ranking ninth overall. His teammate Ceddanne Rafaela ranks sixth in AL bWAR at 3.6, with Contreras just behind at 3.5 — both sitting above Guerrero, who was voted in as the starting first baseman by fans despite hitting .265 with just four home runs. Blue Jays first basemen rank 28th in OPS at the All-Star break. Giving name recognition a small benefit of the doubt is understandable, but this is a stretch.
Nick Kurtz was the players’ pick at first base and deserved to start. Ben Rice was added as a league selection — he has better power numbers than Contreras but trails significantly in WAR, with defensive metrics that hurt his case. Contreras is the clearer All-Star on merit.
Second-Biggest Snub: Davis Martin, SP, Chicago White Sox
The AL pitching staff is genuinely nondescript, partly because the league’s quality is uneven at the midseason mark. The league needed a representative from every team, which produced some forced selections. Michael Wacha was chosen despite the Royals already having Bobby Witt Jr. on the team, and Martin’s numbers are clearly better: 9-3, 3.08 ERA, 96 innings, 90 strikeouts, 2.9 combined WAR against Wacha’s 5-5, 3.31 ERA, 108 innings, 84 strikeouts, 2.4 combined WAR. Martin also beats out the fifth reliever selection over Tampa Bay’s Bryan Baker. Five All-Star relievers is too many regardless of who fills those spots. Martin will likely make the team anyway, as pitcher availability rules tend to open spots during the event itself.
Quick AL Thoughts
Junior Caminero at third base is the right call and a great story. At 22 years old, already in his second All-Star Game, Caminero has 25 home runs and is forcing his way into the AL MVP conversation — a legitimate argument exists that he has permanently taken the starting third base role from the injured Ramirez going forward. The players also voted in two rookies — Kevin McGonigle at shortstop and Travis Bazzana at second base — and both are defensible picks, particularly McGonigle. Second base is the weakest position in either league this year, with Ernie Clement as the fan vote starter.
The broader AL picture is honest: with Judge missing, thin pitching depth, and several established stars underperforming, this is one of the weakest AL All-Star rosters in recent memory. Or it signals something interesting about the future — Witt, Caminero, Kurtz, McGonigle, Bazzana, Shea Langeliers, Parker Messick, and Cam Schlittler represent a new generation of AL stars getting their first or second All-Star looks.
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