MLB's All-Star Team For 2nd-Half of 2023 Season
When we talk about a Major League Baseball player being named an All-Star, what we're really saying is that he was exceptional for the first half of the season.
All-Star voting begins at the end of May, starters are named in late June, the game is played in early July and everything after that doesn't factor into the mix, leaving "second-half All-Stars" like Cole Ragans, CJ Abrams, Zach Gelof, Freddy Peralta and others lacking for recognition.
Until now.
Based solely on everything that has happened since the All-Star Break, we've put together rosters of second-half All-Stars, using the same roster constraints as an actual All-Star Game. (20 position players; 12 pitchers; at least one representative from each and every team.)
There is a fair amount of roster overlap with the actual All-Star Game. Of these 64 players, 27 were among the 78 (including replacements) named to this year's midsummer classic.
But there sure are a lot of names on this roster who were not even remotely worth considering three months ago.
One quick note before we dive in: While the actual All-Star Game rosters end up riddled with injury replacements, we're not worried about that here. Shohei Ohtani is done for the year, but he did enough before his season-ending surgery to still be the AL's starting DH. Likewise, Triston Casas, Tanner Bibee and Willson Contreras have been ruled out for the rest of the season, but they are more than welcome on this roster.
We'll declare a starter for each position before getting to the reserves and then the pitchers. At the end, we've broken down the full rosters by MLB team.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics are from July 14 onward and are current through the start of play Sept. 26.
Catchers
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AL Starting Catcher: Cal Raleigh, Seattle Mariners
After a modest first half, the Big Dumper has been on fire over the past two-plus months with 19 home runs in his last 60 games played. And for a while there, when he did homer, it was game over. Between July and August, Seattle went 11-0 in games in which Raleigh went yard.
Raleigh has also evolved into a legitimate asset on defense, throwing out 11 stolen runners attempting to steal just in the past three weeks.
NL Starting Catcher: William Contreras, Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers weren't even leading the NL Central at the All-Star Break, but they ran away with the division crown with Contreras leading that charge.
The catcher/designated hitter has started all but one game in the second half, batting .314 with an .882 OPS in the process. He has tallied at least one hit in 31 of his last 33 games, and has also started stealing bases out of nowhere with more swipes in the past month (four) than he had in the first 250 games of his career (three).
First Basemen
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AL's Starting First Baseman: Triston Casas, Boston Red Sox
After Boston's first 62 games, Casas was batting .194 with a rather pathetic .682 OPS. If they thought Justin Turner could handle playing first base every day at his age, the Red Sox might have pulled the plug on the Casas experiment right then and there.
But they stuck with their rookie, and he blossomed into one of the best hitters in the majors in the second half, batting .317 with 15 home runs before landing on the IL with shoulder inflammation two weeks ago. He now looks like a legitimate long-term building block for this franchise.
NL's Starting First Baseman: Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves
Fret not, Dodgers fans. Freddie Freeman will make the roster as an infield reserve and was a very strong candidate for this starting spot with his .349 batting average since the intermission.
However, Olson is batting .319 in his own right with an unrivaled 24 home runs and 61 RBI over the past two-and-a-half months. That's a 162-game pace of close to 60 home runs and 150 RBI as he has skyrocketed into a commanding MLB-wide lead in both departments.
It's hard to believe there was an 18-game stretch in which he didn't homer, but when Olson is hot, he is scorching.
Second Basemen
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AL's Starting Second Baseman: Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
After spending most of the first half of the season on the IL, a healthy Altuve has been kicking butt and taking names in the second half, batting .336 with a .974 OPS.
He's had several remarkable series since the All-Star Break, including hitting for the cycle at Boston and racking up eight hits in a three-game series in Baltimore. Nothing can compare to the stretch he had against Texas in early September, though, when he went 7-for-7 with five home runs between the fifth inning of one game and the third inning of the next one.
NL's Starting Second Baseman: Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
Since the All-Star Break, Betts has started nearly twice as many games at second base as he has in right field.
And with all due respect to the likes of Nico Hoerner and Ha-Seong Kim, once you decide to count Betts as a second baseman, it's not a remotely close competition for who starts at 2B for the NL. Betts has been arguably the most valuable player in all of baseball in the second half, batting .355 with 13 home runs and an OPS well north of 1.000.
Betts cooled off considerably in September, allowing Ronald Acuña Jr. to run away with the NL MVP trophy odds. But Betts triple-slashed .455/.516/.839 with 11 home runs in August. No other NL second baseman has 11 home runs in the second half of the season.
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Third Basemen
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AL's Starting Third Baseman: Gunnar Henderson, Baltimore Orioles
Henderson has predominantly played shortstop since the All-Star Break, but he has still made 18 starts at the hot corner. And while the AL's shortstop market is over-crowded, there's not a third baseman in the league even arguably having a better second half than this runaway favorite for AL Rookie of the Year.
Henderson started slow in April and May, but caught fire in June and has stayed warm throughout July, August and September.
He's had at least one extra-base hit in 31 of his last 66 games, including the preposterous quadruple extra-base hit bonanza on August 20 against Oakland. Even if you erase that game, though, he'd still be batting around .270 with an OPS north of .800. Impressive stuff from the 22-year-old.
NL's Starting Third Baseman: Austin Riley, Atlanta Braves
Somewhat lost in the shuffle of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Matt Olson mania, Riley has had one hell of a second half.
After posting an OPS of .898 in 2021 and .878 last season, Riley was a little disappointing in the first half, entering the break with 16 home runs and just a .775 OPS. But he has woken up in a big way with 21 dingers and a .981 OPS since mid-July.
He has also had quite the second half with the glove, committing just three errors in 152 chances.
Shortstops
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AL's Starting Shortstop: Corey Seager, Texas Rangers
If Seager had played the entire season, there's a real chance he would've edged out Shohei Ohtani for AL MVP. Because after hitting .353 with a 1.026 OPS in the first half, Texas' shortstop has been every bit as potent in the second half, batting .307 with a 1.040 OPS.
And he has really stepped up his game in the home run department, going from 12 in his first 59 games to 21 over his last 54 contests. That's a 162-game pace of 63 dingers, by the way, as it has been nearly three months since the last time he went more than six consecutive games without going yard.
NL's Starting Shortstop: Trea Turner, Philadelphia Phillies
While Seager was prolific in both halves of the season, Turner very clearly turned a corner in early August.
Through Philadelphia's first 110 games, he was batting .236 with just 10 home runs and looked like a $300 million bust. But he exploded out of his funk beginning on August 5, racking up 16 home runs and a 1.258 OPS in the span of 33 games. He has come back to earth a bit over the past two weeks, but he was hotter than the sun for a while there, including a 16-game hitting streak.
Outfielders
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AL's Three Starting Outfielders
- Julio Rodríguez, Seattle Mariners
- Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros
- Chas McCormick, Houston Astros
If forced to choose just one outfielder per league, J-Rod would be the clear choice in the AL. He didn't hit all that well in the first half, but he has had six four-hit games over the past month and a half, batting .328 and slugging .608 since the intermission.
But Houston has had quite the tandem in Tucker and McCormick. The former has hit 16 home runs amid his 34 total extra-base hits to go along with 14 stolen bases. The latter is batting .296 with 14 dingers and 10 stolen bases of his own.
NL's Three Starting Outfielders
- Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves
- Cody Bellinger, Chicago Cubs
- Michael Harris II, Atlanta Braves
Again, if forced to pick just one, it's not exactly a tough call. With Mookie Betts already assigned to second base, Acuña is the clear choice for top NL outfielder, racking up 19 home runs and 27 stolen bases while triple-slashing .342/.423/.613.
Acuña has been so ridiculous that even a mighty fine second half by Harris—.319/.351/.516 with nine home runs and nine stolen bases—helplessly pales in comparison. But stack Harris up against his mortal counterparts and he looks doggone good.
Bellinger would be the NL's No. 2 outfielder, though, boasting virtually identical batting average (.312), OBP (.354) and stolen bases (nine) to Harris, but with nearly twice as many home runs (17). Even if the Cubs ultimately fall short of making the playoffs, Bellinger is going to get a lot of down-ballot votes for NL MVP.
Designated Hitters
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AL's Starting DH: Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
We'll need an injury replacement here—Yordan Alvarez, please and thank you—but Ohtani was the cream of the crop prior to his season-ending elbow surgery.
At the All-Star Break, Ohtani led all hitters with 32 home runs. He wasn't quite on pace for 60, but it was feasible. And in 46 games played after the break, he had an even better OPS (1.097) than he did in his first 89 games (1.050).
Part of that is because teams stopped pitching to him. Ohtani was intentionally walked in 8.4 percent of his second half plate appearances, compared to 1.0 percent in the first half. And he still frequently made teams pay when they declined to take the bat out of his hand.
NL's Starting DH: Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
Like his partner in crime, Trea Turner, it wasn't until early August that Harper really sprang to life. After hitting just five home runs in his first 77 games, "The Showman" is hitting .298/.426/.652 with 15 home runs over his last 45 contests. The most recent blast was a 451-foot moonshot.
About two months ago, we wrote about struggling stars ready to get hot in the second half. Harper was one of them, and we noted that his launch angle was way below his career norms. Suffice it to say, he has honed back in his swing and could be getting ready for more October heroics.
AL Position Player Reserves
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Catchers
- Adley Rutschman, Baltimore Orioles
- Yainer Diaz, Houston Astros
Infielders
- Yandy Díaz, Tampa Bay Rays
- Marcus Semien, Texas Rangers
- Alex Bregman, Houston Astros
- Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals
- J.P. Crawford, Seattle Mariners
- Zack Gelof, Oakland A's
Outfielders
- Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
- Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros
- Luis Robert Jr., Chicago White Sox
The biggest takeaway here is that the American League has been loaded with quality infielders as of late.
In addition to the six reserves listed above, Luis Rengifo was having a sensational second half prior to suffering a ruptured biceps tendon in early September, and Rafael Devers is one heck of a solid snub with a .932 OPS over his last 61 games played.
And in case you haven't paid any mind to what Oakland's second baseman has been up to lately, let the record show that Gelof isn't just here because the A's need representation on the roster. They actually have a reliever who made the cut, as well. But Gelof—who made his MLB debut on the first day of the second half of the season—has 13 home runs and 14 stolen bases, becoming this woebegone team's MVP in a hurry.
Still, Gelof barely made the list, because Semien has clearly been better, as have Witt and Crawford, clogging up the middle infield slots.
NL Position Player Reserves
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Catchers
- Willson Contreras, St. Louis Cardinals
- Gabriel Moreno, Arizona Diamondbacks
Infielders
- Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Nico Hoerner, Chicago Cubs
- CJ Abrams, Washington Nationals
- Wilmer Flores, San Francisco Giants
- Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds
Outfielders
- Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks
- Juan Soto, San Diego Padres
- Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies
- Nolan Jones, Colorado Rockies
Quite a few snubs from this list, most notably Pete Alonso, Xander Bogaerts, Ha-Seong Kim and Dansby Swanson.
However, the 'one player per team' rule came into play in a big way here with Cincinnati, Colorado, San Francisco and Washington all needing some representation.
Of the bunch, De La Cruz is the least deserving by far, but who else from the Reds can you call a second-half All-Star? They've been treading water in the wild-card race, but not because of any particular stars. TJ Friedl and Graham Ashcraft are the only other even remotely viable candidates, but at least EDLC is a household name that has provided some incredible moments this season.
And while Washington had to be represented by somebody, Abrams was making the team regardless. Did you know he's leading all MLB players with 29 stolen bases since the All-Star Break? Or that he has clubbed 11 home runs in the process? There's not a whole lot on the Nats roster worth getting excited about, but they have a budding star at shortstop.
Lastly, let the record show that Schwarber is the backup DH and not actually a reserve outfielder. But with 23 home runs in the second half, he's got to at least make the team.
AL Starting Pitchers
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The Starter: Cole Ragans, Kansas City Royals
Other Starters
- Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
- Sonny Gray, Minnesota Twins
- Grayson Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles
- Kyle Bradish, Baltimore Orioles
- Tanner Bibee, Cleveland Guardians
- Tarik Skubal, Detroit Tigers
- Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays
A tip of the cap to Ragans, who quite unexpectedly turned "The Aroldis Chapman Trade" into "The Cole Ragans Trade." Since landing in Kansas City, he has made 11 starts with a 2.34 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and an 11.2 K/9, emerging as maybe the best pitcher in baseball over the past two months. I suppose we'll find out next season whether the former first-round pick is a flash in the pan or a legitimate multi-season ace for a franchise that still desperately needs more pitching.
Elsewhere, how about Rodriguez's tale of two seasons? He spent the six weeks leading up to the All-Star Break in Triple-A after a brutal 10-start stint in the majors. But what was a 7.35 ERA in the first half has turned into a 2.66 ERA in the second half, including going eight shutout innings in a ginormous game against Tampa Bay two weekends ago.
And let's be sure to point out how well Skubal has pitched since returning to the big leagues 10.5 months after undergoing flexor tendon surgery. He was a breakout star through the first four months of last season, and he hasn't missed a beat, giving the Tigers a 2.95 ERA in 14 starts dating back to July 4. It took about a month to get his stamina back, but he has gone at least six innings in six of his last seven starts, posting a 2.05 ERA and an 11.9 K/9 during that stretch.
NL Starting Pitchers
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The Starter: Blake Snell, San Diego Padres
Other Starters
- Freddy Peralta, Milwaukee Brewers
- Brandon Woodruff, Milwaukee Brewers
- Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers
- Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
- Kodai Senga, New York Mets
- Justin Steele, Chicago Cubs
For a while there as August melted into September, the NL Cy Young was the only major award even remotely open for a debate. But Snell ended that discussion, too, with his months-long tightrope walk, posting a 1.54 ERA in the second half despite walking 50 batters in 82.0 innings of work. (Striking out 102 batters in the process didn't hurt.)
Beyond that clear choice to start this fictitious All-Star Game, the Brew Crew brings one heck of a one-two-three punch to the table. Between Peralta, Woodruff and Burnes, they've had three aces each post a second-half ERA in the 2.59-2.84 range. Milwaukee isn't a particularly popular pick to win it all, but it sure could put up a fight against Los Angeles and/or Atlanta with one of those guys starting the vast majority of their postseason games.
And let's give it up for Senga, who went from really good to borderline elite once he got the walks under control. He was averaging 4.7 BB/9 in the first half, but has slashed that rate to 3.4 in the second half, posting a 2.51 ERA in the process. He and his ghost fork have racked up eight consecutive quality starts, striking out at least 10 batters in three of those outings.
AL Relief Pitchers
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The Closer: Pete Fairbanks, Tampa Bay Rays
Other Relievers
- Jhoan Duran, Minnesota Twins
- Trevor May, Oakland A's
- Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians
One could make a very strong case for four different Tampa Bay relievers on this All-Star roster. Because in addition to Fairbanks boasting a 16.7 K/9 in the second half, Colin Poche, Robert Stephenson and Shawn Armstrong have all been indispensable for the team that presently leads the AL in run differential for the season. But despite two recent blown saves that have ballooned his ERA a bit, give us Fairbanks because 48 strikeouts in 26.0 innings is the type of dominance that made Félix Bautista a no-brainer All-Star in the first half.
And to fill out the rest of the AL's pitching staff, it's hard to argue with just stocking up on the saves leaderboard. Clase tops the list with 17, with Fairbanks and Duran tied at 15 while May is a surprise in fourth place with 14.
May may be the most deserving of the bunch, though, posting a 1.64 ERA in the second half and allowing a run in just one of his last 21 outings. Oakland doesn't get many leads, but May protects them when they do arise.
NL Relief Pitchers
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The Closer: Devin Williams, Milwaukee Brewers
Other Relievers
- David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates
- Josh Hader, San Diego Padres
- Tanner Scott, Miami Marlins
- Ryan Brasier, Los Angeles Dodgers
Williams has been impeccable throughout his career, boasting a 1.77 ERA since the beginning of 2020. But he has been even better than usual as of late with a 1.16 ERA and a 15.0 K/9 since the intermission, allowing just two extra-base hits in 23.2 innings pitched.
The NL has quite a few other minuscule ERAs from which to choose, though.
Scott has given the Marlins a 1.67 mark while emerging as their closer. Hader isn't far behind his former teammate Williams with a 1.37 ERA and a 14.2 K/9.
However, Brasier's 0.33 mark in 27.1 innings pitched takes the ERA cake. He was a disaster through the first six weeks of the season before getting released by Boston. But in addition to only allowing one earned run since Independence Day, he hasn't even allowed an inherited runner to score since landing in LA.
Last but not least, Bednar has three more saves (20) than any other pitcher in the majors in the second half, which would be good enough for inclusion even if we didn't need him as the lone representative for the Pirates.
Second Half All-Stars by MLB Team (AL)
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AL East
- Baltimore Orioles (4): Kyle Bradish, Gunnar Henderson, Grayson Rodriguez, Adley Rutschman
- Boston Red Sox (1): Triston Casas
- New York Yankees (2): Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge
- Tampa Bay Rays (2): Yandy Díaz, Pete Fairbanks
- Toronto Blue Jays (1): Chris Bassitt
AL Central
- Chicago White Sox (1): Luis Robert Jr.
- Cleveland Guardians (2): Tanner Bibee, Emmanuel Clase
- Detroit Tigers (1): Tarik Skubal
- Kansas City Royals (2): Cole Ragans, Bobby Witt Jr.
- Minnesota Twins (2): Jhoan Duran, Sonny Gray
AL West
- Houston Astros (6): Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman, Yainer Diaz, Chas McCormick, Kyle Tucker
- Los Angeles Angels (1): Shohei Ohtani
- Oakland A's (2): Zack Gelof, Trevor May
- Seattle Mariners (3): J.P. Crawford, Cal Raleigh, Julio Rodríguez
- Texas Rangers (2): Corey Seager, Marcus Semien
Second Half All-Stars by MLB Team (NL)
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NL East
- Atlanta Braves (5): Ronald Acuña Jr., Michael Harris II, Matt Olson, Austin Riley, Spencer Strider
- Miami Marlins (1): Tanner Scott
- New York Mets (1): Kodai Senga
- Philadelphia Phillies (3): Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner
- Washington Nationals (1): CJ Abrams
NL Central
- Chicago Cubs (3): Cody Bellinger, Nico Hoerner, Justin Steele
- Cincinnati Reds (1): Elly De La Cruz
- Milwaukee Brewers (5): Corbin Burnes, William Contreras, Freddy Peralta, Devin Williams, Brandon Woodruff
- Pittsburgh Pirates (1): David Bednar
- St. Louis Cardinals (1): Willson Contreras
NL West
- Arizona Diamondbacks (2): Corbin Carroll, Gabriel Moreno
- Colorado Rockies (1): Nolan Jones
- Los Angeles Dodgers (3): Mookie Betts, Ryan Brasier, Freddie Freeman
- San Diego Padres (3): Josh Hader, Blake Snell, Juan Soto
- San Francisco Giants (1): Wilmer Flores
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