Major League Baseball released its first update on All-Star Game voting Monday, but that's limited to just position players. While fans get to decide a portion of the roster, pitchers - along with reserve position players - are determined by "a combination of Player Ballot selections and choices made by the Commissioner's Office."
Teams will typically carry 14 or 15 pitchers, with 10 or so likely to be starters. Here's a look at where the race for those spots currently stands:
National League Locks
Jacob deGrom has had an incredible 2021 season.(Mike Stobe/Getty Images)Five starters from the senior circuit appear like relative locks to be All-Stars - Jacob deGrom (New York Mets), Zack Wheeler (Philadelphia Phillies), Brandon Woodruff (Milwaukee Brewers), Kevin Gausman (San Francisco Giants) and Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers). Barring injury or an unforeseen collapse, deGrom, already a three-time All-Star, would be the likely starter.
Josh Hader (Milwaukee Brewers) and Craig Kimbrel (Chicago Cubs) already have nine career All-Star appearances between them, and that number is likely to reach 11 soon, as each currently have ERAs under 0.70.
Other National League Candidates
Trevor Bauer is in his first season with the Dodgers.(Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)We listed seven names above that are pretty certain to be All-Stars, which leaves approximately seven or eight spots for other candidates. It's important to remember that each team is guaranteed to have at least one All-Star, which could serve as a tie-breaker in some of these cases.
- Max Scherzer (Washington Nationals): 5-4 with a 2.21 ERA, 3.05 FIP and 2.1 fWAR in 77 1/3 innings
- Trevor Rogers (Miami Marlins): 7-3 with a 2.02 ERA, 2.56 FIP and 2.2 fWAR in 75 2/3 innings
- Trevor Bauer (Los Angeles Dodgers): 6-5 with a 2.64 ERA, 3.79 FIP and 1.4 fWAR in 88 2/3 innings
- Taijuan Walker (New York Mets): 5-2 with a 2.07 ERA, 2.84 FIP and 1.8 fWAR in 61 innings
- Aaron Nola (Philadelphia Phillies): 5-4 with a 3.69 ERA, 3.25 FIP and 2.0 fWAR in 83 innings
- Yu Darvish (San Diego Padres): 6-2 with a 2.28 ERA, 3.13 FIP and 2.0 fWAR in 79 innings
- Richard Rodriguez (Pittsburgh Pirates): 24 games, 1.78 ERA, 1.93 FIP, 1.1 fWAR and seven saves in nine opportunities
- Edwin Díaz (New York Mets): 24 games, 2.81 ERA, 1.56 FIP, 1.1 fWAR and 12 saves in 13 opportunities
- Giovanny Gallegos (St. Louis Cardinals): 28 games, 2.27 ERA, 2.45 FIP and 1.0 fWAR
- Ryan Tepera (Chicago Cubs): 31 games, 1.99 ERA, 2.55 FIP and 0.8 fWAR
American League Locks
Lance Lynn is in his first season with the White Sox.(David Berding/Getty Images)Like the National League, there appears to be five starters that you can be pretty sure will be in Colorado; Gerrit Cole (New York Yankees), Carlos Rodón (Chicago White Sox), Tyler Glasnow (Tampa Bay Rays), Shane Bieber (Cleveland) and Lance Lynn (White Sox).
Boston Red Sox closer Matt Barnes - who has 14 saves in 16 attempts and a 1.5 fWAR - is the only reliever in the American League who looks like a pretty sure thing to be an All-Star.
Other American League Candidates
Nathan Eovaldi has had a strong 2021 season.(Kathryn Riley/Getty Images)Much of the game's elite starting pitching is currently concentrated in the National League, which means that the standards to be an American League All-Star may not be quite as high.
- Nathan Eovaldi (Boston Red Sox): 7-3 with a 4.11 ERA, 2.63 FIP and 2.2 fWAR in 72 1/3 innings
- Dylan Cease (Chicago White Sox): 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA, 3.26 FIP and 1.8 fWAR in 66 2/3 innings
- John Means (Baltimore Orioles): 4-2 with a 2.28 ERA, 4.18 FIP and 1.4 fWAR in 71 innings
- Kyle Gibson (Texas Rangers): 4-0 with a 2.13 ERA, 3.41 FIP and 1.4 fWAR in 71 2/3 innings
- Chris Bassitt (Oakland Athletics): 7-2 with a 3.43 ERA, 3.29 FIP and 1.7 fWAR in 86 2/3 innings
- Matthew Boyd (Detroit Tigers): 3-6 with a 3.56 ERA, 3.81 FIP and 1.4 fWAR in 68 1/3 innings
- Sean Manaea (Oakland Athletics): 5-2 with a 3.09 ERA, 3.18 FIP and 1.7 fWAR in 75 2/3 innings
- Scott Barlow (Kansas City Royals): 29 games, 1.95 ERA, 1.79 FIP and 1.1 fWAR
- Liam Hendriks (Chicago White Sox): 30 games, 2.22 ERA, 2.66 FIP, 0.9 fWAR and 17 saves in 20 opportunities
- Paul Fry (Baltimore Orioles): 24 games, 1.93 ERA, 1.65 FIP and 1.0 fWAR
- Aroldis Chapman (New York Yankees): 25 games, 1.93 ERA, 2.55 FIP, 0.8 fWAR and 12 saves in 14 opportunities
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
