Ranking NL West, AL Central and MLB's All-Division Teams so Far in 2025
Voting for the 2025 Major League Baseball All-Star Game will open two weeks from today on June 5, with the midsummer classic scheduled to take place on July 15, pitting the American League's best against the National League's best.
But what if instead of a single exhibition game, it was a five-day extravaganza: a round-robin tournament consisting of the biggest and brightest stars from each of the six divisions?
Who would be able to assemble the most unbeatable roster?
The rules of the game are simple: 26-man rosters with a minimum of one player per team, just like the real All-Star Game. (We considered a minimum of two or even three players per team, but that many mandatory Marlins, Rockies and White Sox just seemed a little cruel.)
Each roster consists of: a starting nine, a five-man rotation (each pitcher would start one of the five games against the other divisions, so the No. 4 and No. 5 starter end up being every bit as important as the ace), a seven-man bullpen, a super-utility man, a back-up catcher and three more hitters on the bench.
As with actual All-Star Game rosters, selections are based predominantly on how well the players have performed thus far this season. We have also chosen (and made note of) injury replacements, where needed.
Divisions have been ranked in ascending order of what sort of odds we suspect they would get on winning this hypothetical tournament.
6. National League Central
1 of 6
Starting Lineup
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Nolan Arenado, 3B
- Kyle Tucker, RF
- Rhys Hoskins, 1B
- Oneil Cruz, DH
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Lars Nootbaar, LF
- Carson Kelly, C
- Brice Turang, 2B
Reserves: Elly De La Cruz, Austin Hays, Victor Scott II, Ivan Herrera (backup catcher), Brendan Donovan (utilityman)
Starting Rotation: Paul Skenes, Hunter Greene, Freddy Peralta, Andrew Abbott, Andrew Heaney
Bullpen: Ryan Helsley (closer), Steven Matz, Abner Uribe, Emilio Pagán, Dennis Santana, Graham Ashcraft, Kyle Leahy
Observations and Tribulations
Not a single Chicago Cub made the cut for the pitching staff, but of course MLB's highest-scoring offense produced quite a few of the NL Central's bats.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is making quite the run at NL MVP, and his combination of 12 home runs and 14 stolen bases would be a fantastic way to jump start one of these games from the leadoff spot. Joining him in the lineup are Kyle Tucker, Dansby Swanson and Carson Kelly, the latter of whom is finally cooling off, yet still entered Wednesday with an OPS north of 1.000. Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner also didn't miss this roster by much.
Beyond the Cubbies, though, this lineup just doesn't pack anywhere near the punch of most of the others. Nolan Arenado, Rhys Hoskins and Lars Nootbaar are all having fine seasons, but certainly weren't immediately penciled in as starters at their positions in the first pass through the division. And while Brice Turang's platinum glove at second base would be valuable, having him at starter instead of NL hits leader Brendan Donovan is admittedly a sacrifice of some offense. (Though, Turang is batting almost .300 and steals a lot of bags.)
A rotation anchored by Paul Skenes, Hunter Greene and Freddy Peralta would be dynamite in real life, but the overall impact of this five-man rotation is mediocre at best in this exercise.
The bullpen isn't fantastic, either, with Ryan Helsley having by far the least impressive season of the six closers chosen in this exercise. Abner Uribe is arguably having the best season of the relievers on this roster, and the Brewers haven't even made him their closer yet.
Put this roster up against the Los Angeles Dodgers and you'd expect the NL Central All-Stars to kick some butt. However, there's little question that it is the least formidable of these All-Division teams.
5. National League East
2 of 6
Starting Lineup
- CJ Abrams, SS
- Juan Soto, RF
- Pete Alonso, 1B
- Kyle Schwarber, DH
- James Wood, LF
- Austin Riley, 3B
- Kyle Stowers, CF
- Bryson Stott, 2B
- Drake Baldwin, C
Reserves: Bryce Harper, Francisco Lindor, Matt Olson, Agustín Ramírez (backup catcher), Edmundo Sosa (utilityman)
Starting Rotation: Jesús Luzardo, Zack Wheeler, MacKenzie Gore, Chris Sale, Kodai Senga
Bullpen: Kyle Finnegan (closer), Edwin Díaz, Matt Strahm, Anthony Bender, Huascar Brazobán, Reed Garrett, Dylan Lee
Observations and Tribulations
Let's dive right in with what might be the most controversial choice of this entire exercise: CJ Abrams over Francisco Lindor at starting shortstop.
Historically speaking, it's a gigantic "no contest" in Lindor's favor. But Abrams has been low-key sensational this season, batting .313 with eight home runs and nine stolen bases in 36 games played. That extrapolates to 36 and 41, respectively, over the course of a 162-game season. He has also only committed three errors after a combined 39 in the previous two years. The 24-year-old appears to have made the proverbial leap in his fourth season.
The other potential controversy: Marcell Ozuna's .877 OPS left off the roster while all three of the NL East's noteworthy first basemen made the cut. The idea of leaving his glove-less bat off the list is a little less offensive than omitting Bryce Harper or Matt Olson. Such is life in this division loaded with big bats.
Got to love that rotation, too. Jesús Luzardo, Zack Wheeler and MacKenzie Gore are arguably three of the five best candidates for NL Cy Young, while Chris Sale is the reigning Cy Young winner who has bounced back nicely from a tough start. And, oh yeah, Kodai Senga has a 1.43 ERA through 50.1 IP. Not too shabby.
The big problem, though, is the bullpen, which shouldn't come as a surprise, given the teams involved here. Save for Kyle Finnegan, Washington's relief situation has been a travesty. Atlanta's hasn't been much better with Raisel Iglesias struggling at closer. The Phillies went from bad to worse with José Alvarado's 80-game suspension. And, well, the Marlins are the Marlins.
Not sure this All-Division 'pen could be trusted to protect any lead against the caliber of lineups in play. That's enough of a red flag for them to land at No. 5. Though, if the starters are able to work deep into each of their games, maybe the NL East could win this thing.
4. American League East
3 of 6
Starting Lineup
- Trent Grisham, CF
- Aaron Judge, RF
- Rafael Devers, DH
- Alex Bregman, 3B
- Jonathan Aranda, 1B
- Carlos Narvaez, C
- Jarren Duran, LF
- Anthony Volpe, SS
- Jackson Holliday, 2B
Reserves: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Wilyer Abreu, Gunnar Henderson, Austin Wells (backup catcher), José Caballero (utilityman)
Starting Rotation: Max Fried, Garrett Crochet, Chris Bassitt, Carlos Rodón, Tomoyuki Sugano
Bullpen: Luke Weaver (closer), Aroldis Chapman, Pete Fairbanks, Mark Leiter Jr., Jeff Hoffman, Bryan Baker, Brendon Little
Observations and Tribulations
Aaron Judge's presence alone ensured the AL East would never be considered for last place, and combining him in the heart of the order with Rafael Devers and Alex Bregman would be all sorts of fun. Also fun is the ability to oscillate between lefties and righties throughout this entire lineup, even though the bottom four spots in the order are mighty weak compared to the other divisions.
In particular, left field and second base aren't great, though Jackson Holliday has been a whole lot better than he was last year as a rookie, and Jarren Duran is at least turning a corner after a rough first few weeks.
Toughest calls in regard to the offense were Jonathan Aranda vs. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for starting first baseman, and Gunnar Henderson vs. Bo Bichette for the final roster spot. Apologies to Canada for those two decisions.
What the AL East lacks in the back half of its lineup, it makes up for with maybe the best top-to-bottom pitching staff of the bunch. And, yet again, good variety as far as handedness goes, with three southpaws in the rotation and two more in the bullpen.
Tomoyuki Sugano almost got edged out by Drew Rasmussen, but let's give the O's a win there. They haven't had many lately.
3. American League Central
4 of 6
Starting Lineup
- Steven Kwan, LF
- Bobby Witt Jr., SS
- José Ramírez, 3B
- Spencer Torkelson, 1B
- Riley Greene, DH
- Byron Buxton, CF
- Zach McKinstry, RF
- Dillon Dingler, C
- Gleyber Torres, 2B
Reserves: Maikel Garcia, Harrison Bader, Javier Báez, Bo Naylor (backup catcher), Daniel Schneeman (utilityman)
Starting Rotation: Kris Bubic, Tarik Skubal, Joe Ryan, Pablo López, Shane Smith
Bullpen: Jhoan Duran (closer), Lucas Erceg, Emmanuel Clase, Cade Smith, Tommy Kahnle, Carlos Estévez, Danny Coulombe (on IL, would be replaced by Hunter Gaddis)
Observations and Tribulations
Shouldn't be any real surprise that there are considerably more players from Detroit's roster (eight) than there are from Chicago (just Shane Smith).
Shout out to that White Sox rookie with a 2.05 ERA through nine starts, though. Oakland's Jacob Wilson is the clear favorite for AL Rookie of the Year, but Smith is keeping things interesting.
Fellow CHW rookie Chase Meidroth reasonably could have taken Gleyber Torres' spot on this roster, batting .295 through 26 games played. And if we had to remove Byron Buxton (concussion) from this roster, it'd be Javier Báez taking his place as the starter in center field, and I suppose Luis Robert Jr. in a division where outfield is pretty bleak.
But that's more than enough about the White Sox.
Not a ton of power in this lineup, though Spencer Torkelson and Riley Greene do each have a dozen home runs on the year. And though he only has five dingers, we all know Bobby Witt Jr. can rake, as he tries to defend his 2024 batting title. However, limited HR potential keeps the AL Central from ranking as well as a division with four teams in playoff position maybe should.
Holy pitching, though. Couldn't even find room in the rotation for Michael Wacha, Seth Lugo, Casey Mize or Reese Olson, the worst of which has a 3.02 ERA. And with Emmanuel Clase (8.2 IP, 1 ER, 12 K since April 21) seemingly all the way back from his rough start (10.1 IP, 9 ER, 9 K), this bullpen is a murderer's row of the highest order.
2. American League West
5 of 6
Starting Lineup
- Jeremy Peña, SS
- Jacob Wilson, DH
- Cal Raleigh, C
- Isaac Paredes, 3B
- Wyatt Langford, LF
- Tyler Soderstrom, 1B
- Randy Arozarena, RF
- Jorge Polanco, 2B
- Jake Meyers, CF
Reserves: Zach Neto, Julio Rodríguez, Corey Seager (on IL, would be replaced by JP Crawford), Shea Langeliers (backup catcher), Josh Smith (utilityman)
Starting Rotation: Hunter Brown, Nathan Eovaldi, Tyler Mahle, Jacob deGrom, Bryan Woo
Bullpen: Andrés Muñoz (closer), Josh Hader, Mason Miller, Steven Okert, Bryan Abreu, Bryan King, Chris Martin (on IL, would be replaced by Justin Sterner)
Observations and Tribulations
There are a bunch of spots where it was a tough call between two or three strong options, but AL West shortstop takes the cake in the "guaranteed to make some people mad no matter how we slice it" department. We managed to find room for all four of the healthy options, though, by putting Jacob Wilson at designated hitter.
Of the bunch, he has the best batting average at .341, with just 10 walks and 10 strikeouts in 195 plate appearances. But Jeremy Peña (.302), Zach Neto (.278) and J.P. Crawford (.274) aren't exactly struggling at the dish.
Beyond that challenge, right field was tough for the complete opposite reason of no great options. Randy Arozarena has exclusively played left this season, but he used to dabble in right and has been much more productive this season than any of the other options.
Most difficult omission among the hitters was Dylan Moore, having the year of his life with an .850 OPS.
For pitchers, the tough one to leave out was Tyler Anderson. However, who on earth would he replace? WAR suggests Jacob deGrom has been the least impactful of the five chosen, and he merely has a 1.49 ERA with 40 strikeouts in his last six starts. The flames on his fastball aren't quite what they used to be, but he's still one of the most masterful pitchers in the business, when healthy.
Lastly, on the subject of flames, imagine needing to deal with Mason Miller in the seventh, Josh Hader in the eighth and Andrés Muñoz in the ninth innings. If the AL West gets a lead in this fictitious tournament, good luck taking it back.
1. National League West
6 of 6
Starting Lineup
- Shohei Ohtani, DH
- Corbin Carroll, CF
- Fernando Tatis Jr., RF
- Freddie Freeman, 1B
- Mookie Betts, SS
- Jackson Merrill, LF
- Will Smith, C
- Ketel Marte, 2B
- Matt Chapman, 3B
Reserves: Manny Machado, Andy Pages, Teoscar Hernández (on IL, would be replaced by Jung Hoo Lee), Gabriel Moreno (backup catcher), Geraldo Perdomo (utilityman)
Starting Rotation: Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Logan Webb, Robbie Ray, Corbin Burnes, Michael King
Bullpen: Robert Suarez (closer), Tanner Scott, Jason Adam, Shelby Miller, Randy Rodriguez, Camilo Doval, Jake Bird
Observations and Tribulations
Had we mandated that each team place at least five players on each All-Division roster, perhaps that many Rockies in the mix would have been enough to drag the NL West down to within striking distance of the others.
But with Jake Bird the only necessary representative from outside the four competent teams in the division, the NL West would be expected to pretty well dominate this hypothetical round-robin tournament.
I mean, how ridiculous is that starting lineup?
Matt Chapman would be the clear No. 9 hitter in spite of eight home runs, predominantly edging out Manny Machado for the starting job because you're going to want Chappy's glove at the hot corner. Will Smith is batting .339, and he can't even crack the top two-thirds of the lineup, because it would be even more preposterous to put Mookie Betts or Jackson Merrill down in the 7-hole.
And in addition to Machado, you've got Andy Pages coming off the bench, despite batting .343 with seven home runs in his last 25 games. Geraldo Perdomo, too, who probably should edge out Betts for starting shortstop due to his excellent defense and AVG and OBP marks almost identical to Shohei Ohtani's.
The starting rotation isn't quite as strong as some others, especially with so very many Dodgers on the shelf. But when Michael King is your No. 5 starter with a 2.59 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 10.3 K/9, you're not exactly in bad shape.
Lastly, the bullpen is loaded. Robert Suarez had one major gaffe 10 days ago, but entered that one 15-for-15 in save chances with a 0.51 ERA. Tanner Scott has 23 strikeouts against just one walk. And getting two parts of San Francisco's middle relief situation (Randy Rodriguez and Camilo Doval) sounds like a dream with how well they've been shutting down everyone in the seventh and eighth innings this season.
Now, how do we go about convincing Major League Baseball to do this tournament?
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