Nine MLB standouts who could be first-time All-Stars in 2026

So many of the main characters and stalwarts from recent years – think Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Tarik Skubal, Mookie Betts – have been slowed by injury or poor performance. Yet the show must go on and, unsurprisingly, a slew of players – some rookies, others very veteran – have stepped forward to replace them.

Ready for American League starting pitcher Cam Schlittler? How about NL starting center fielder Michael Harris II?

Sure, plenty can happen between now and early July, when the full roster will be announced. Yet with fan voting now open and early surprises starting to solidify, USA Today Sports examines nine players on track to earn their first invites to the Midsummer Classic (statistics through the completion of games on Sunday, June 7):

CF Andy Pages, Dodgers

It’s so very Dodgers that as they come under fire for All That’s Wrong With The Game – good luck finding an MLB press release about the impending lockout that doesn’t invoke their name – that their best player is making just $800,000.

OK, we’ll allow that Shohei Ohtani is their “best” player, but nobody in the big leagues has produced 3.8 WAR without both pitching and hitting. With that in mind, behold Pages, with 14 homers and an .852 OPS, five outs above average defensively and a trove of clutch at-bats that have kept the Dodgers atop the NL.

It will be a typically large Dodgers contingent on hand, with the likes of Max Muncy and Justin Wrobleski as equally deserving as Freddie Freeman and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But Pages will be flying the charter.

CF Oneil Cruz, Pirates

Remember this guy? Stands 6-7, slated to be Pittsburgh’s answer to Elly De La Cruz as a massive and massively talented shortstop before he was relegated to the outfield?

Well, Cruz is more than justifying the great expectations heralding his arrival.

The big fella is on pace for a 30-homer, 40-steal season and, with his long levers and elite bat speed, ranks in the 100th percentile for both average exit velocity (96.4 mph) and hard-hit rate (59.2%). Sure, the big hacks and larger strike zone have resulted in a majors-leading 98 strikeouts, and he’s a below-average center fielder.

But with a .350 OBP and a did-you-see-this element to his game, this guy should get Cruzed to Philly.

C Shea Langeliers, Athletics

Just a remarkably steady climb for a player who endured a trade from Atlanta and a move down I-80 to Yolo County in his first few seasons with the A’s. Langeliers leads AL catchers in home runs (16), OPS (.880) and average (.281), all while handling an inexperienced pitching staff that’s already deployed 10 starters this season.

RHP Nick Martinez, Rays

Perhaps this will be the winter Martinez again receives a multiyear contract after two seasons of accepting the qualifying offer from Cincinnati and then a one-year, $13 million deal with Tampa Bay.

It was once again a shrewd pitching investment for the Rays: Martinez is second to Schlittler in the AL with a 2.29 ERA and has given up two or fewer runs in 11 of his 12 starts.

2B Ernie Clement, Blue Jays

It’s tempting to call this a 12-month All-Star nod, piggybacking off Clement’s excellent 2025 followed by his record-setting 30-hit postseason. But let’s check the tape: Clement leads the AL with 77 hits, ranks fifth in the majors with a .306 average and first with 19 doubles and naturally leads all AL second basemen in almost every meaningful statistical category.

He remains an excellent defensive second baseman while filling in at shortstop against left-handers, and should piggyback his eye-opening World Baseball Classic nod by joining this AL super team.

LHP Eduardo Rodríguez, Diamondbacks

Wait a minute: Rodriguez, a World Series champion with Cy Young Award votes on his resume, has never been an All-Star?

Perhaps that’s about to change.

It’s been an injury- and illness-laden journey for Rodriguez, 33, the past six seasons, but he’s absolutely found his groove in Arizona, where he’s fifth in an overly loaded NL ERA race and has posted three starts of seven innings and no earned runs.

INF/OF Casey Schmitt, Giants

Wow, what a disappointing season for the Giants. Yet Schmitt has been a consistent power source through it all, with 15 homers, 28 extra-base hits and an .868 OPS.

It’s been a most pleasant surprise for a guy who has never been able to solidify a position nor play 100 games in a season. Now, he’s forced the issue even as top prospect Bryce Eldridge has arrived and Rafael Devers has started producing. An everyday player, and the Giants’ best representative in Philly.

OF Brandon Marsh, Phillies

Speaking of Philly...

It will be interesting to see how engaged the hometown fan base is at the virtual ballot box, with longtime faves Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber both worthy of selection, and though Schwarber has a more viable case, he’s blocked in fan balloting at DH by Ohtani.

Amid all that, let’s not forget about Marsh, whose damp mane and thick beard are familiar to fans after four straight playoff appearances.

The dude leads the majors in batting (.338), is OPS-ing .889 and for a while was the only guy keeping the Phillies afloat as manager Rob Thomson got fired and others struggled.

Sure, our preliminary plan is for the NL to carry a dozen or so outfielders, but alas: If ever there’s a time Marsh gets a nod, this would be it.

2B Brice Turang, Brewers

Yet another “Wait, he hasn’t been an All-Star yet?” Nope, that was the World Baseball Classic we saw Turang taking a star turn and emerging as one of the most respected ballplayers on that vaunted Team USA squad.

Now he and the Brewers are at it again.

The eternal “surprises” in the NL Central are 39-23 and Turang leads them with 3.0 WAR. With nine homers and 11 steals, he’s creeping toward a 30-30 season and his .881 OPS leads all major league second basemen.

With the Brewers’ fan base activated and the generally wiser habits of voters in the dot-com era, this should be an easy, righteous outcome in the voting booth.