Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today's games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here. You have less than 24 hours to cast those All-Star votes.
The 2025 PRO SPIRIT MLB All-Star Ballot reopened for Phase 2 on Monday, and it will close tomorrow at noon ET. Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Dodgers DH Shohei Ohtani already punched their tickets to the Midsummer Classic -- set for July 15 at Atlanta's Truist Park -- by being their respective leagues' leading vote-getters during Phase 1 voting, but the rest of the starting spots remain up for grabs … for now.
Here's a quick look at who was in the lead at each spot when MLB released a Phase 2 voting update earlier this afternoon. (For more, see Thomas Harrigan's story here.)
American League
C - Cal Raleigh, Mariners
1B - Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays
2B - Gleyber Torres, Tigers
3B - José Ramírez, Guardians
SS - Jacob Wilson, Athletics
OF - Riley Greene, Tigers
OF - Javier Báez, Tigers
OF - Aaron Judge, Yankees (clinched spot in Phase 1)
DH - Ryan O'Hearn, Orioles
National League
C - Will Smith, Dodgers
1B - Freddie Freeman, Dodgers
2B - Ketel Marte, Diamondbacks
3B - Manny Machado, Padres
SS - Francisco Lindor, Mets
OF - Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves
OF - Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs
OF - Kyle Tucker, Cubs
DH - Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers (clinched spot in Phase 1)
Before you hop over to the ballot, where you can vote once per day, a few things stick out here:
• As of now, the Dodgers and Tigers -- the top two teams in the standings and in our latest Power Rankings -- would be tied for the most All-Star starters, with three apiece. The Cubs would be the only other club with more than one.
• Only five of these 18 players would be repeat starters from the 2024 All-Star Game: Judge and Ohtani, plus Guerrero, Marte and Ramírez. The fresh faces would include one rookie (Wilson), plus three other players who have never previously made an All-Star roster at all: Crow-Armstrong, O'Hearn and Raleigh.
• Among those candidates with a deficit to overcome by noon ET tomorrow: Mike Trout, who ranks third in the race for two AL outfield spots. While injuries have prevented Trout from actually playing in the All-Star Game since 2019, the last time he didn't win a starting spot via the fan vote was way back in 2012. The AL outfield winners that year? José Bautista (Blue Jays), Curtis Granderson (Yankees) and Josh Hamilton (Rangers). So yeah, it's been a while … and there's still time for the streak to continue.
-- Andrew Simon |
- Padres @ Phillies (6:35 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Given the heights NL wins co-leader Nick Pivetta has reached in his first year with the Padres, it's easy to forget he spent the first three-plus years of his career with the Phillies. He's a different, far better pitcher now, and is coming off one of the strongest starts of his career: Seven scoreless innings of three-hit ball with 10 strikeouts and no walks. The Phillies counter with Cristopher Sánchez, who posted a 1.85 ERA in five June starts.
- Cardinals @ Pirates (6:40 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): The last game the Pirates lost was started by ... Paul Skenes? The NL's ERA leader can redeem himself and extend the Bucs' win streak to five tonight against the scrappy Cardinals, who have prevailed in all but one of Skenes' five career starts against them.
- Brewers @ Mets (7:10 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): There's no ideal time to face the Brewers, but this is a particularly tough moment for the Mets, whose run of 13 losses in 16 games necessitated a players-only meeting over the weekend. Still, their offseason investment in reliever-turned-starter Clay Holmes has paid immediate dividends, and he can add to his NL-best wins total with No. 9 tonight. Another silver lining: The Mets are back at Citi Field, where they've compiled the Majors' best home record at 29-12, and they haven't forgotten their last meeting with Milwaukee, when Pete Alonso's ninth-inning homer set up a trip to the NLDS.
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We recently asked our 30 beat reporters to choose the first-half MVPs for the teams they cover, and while many of the superstars you'd expect to see on such a list are accounted for, there were also quite a few picks that are sure to raise some eyebrows.
Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, José Ramírez, Tarik Skubal, Elly De La Cruz and Paul Skenes are so good that they've practically become synonymous with the teams they play for, and they're all performing at elite levels again this season.
But what about Kris Bubic over Bobby Witt Jr. in Kansas City? Who saw that coming? And Bubic is not the only shocker. Sal Frelick (Brewers), Brendan Donovan (Cardinals), Hunter Goodman (Rockies) and Jonathan Aranda (Rays) are all outperforming better-known teammates thus far in 2025.
Several other first-half surprises have even put themselves into contention for starting spots in the All-Star Game. Cubs outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk, Athletics rookie shortstop Jacob Wilson and Orioles DH Ryan O'Hearn are all finalists at their positions, and you can vote for them here until noon ET tomorrow. -- Ed Eagle |
DEPARTMENT OF RIDICULOUS BOX SCORES |
Last night at Globe Life Field, the Rangers played their fourth straight extra-innings game, twice rallying from three runs behind to even the score before the Orioles escaped with a 10-6 victory in 11. It was a wild time -- though not the wildest in the history of Orioles-Rangers matchups -- but a rollercoaster win probability chart is not even why we're talking about this game. The real reason? These two lines in the box score: Rogers, Tr., P: 2 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K Leiter, PH: 1 AB, 0 R, 0 H, 0 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K "Rogers, Tr." is Orioles lefty Trevor Rogers, who became just the third starting pitcher (in the non-Shohei Ohtani division, obviously) to bat in an MLB game since the universal DH arrived in 2022. Why? Baltimore had to move starting DH Gary Sánchez behind the plate -- thereby losing the DH spot -- when starting catcher Chadwick Tromp left with an injury. The Rangers also gave up the DH, moving Jonah Heim behind the plate in extras after pinch-running for starting catcher Kyle Higashioka in the ninth. They had no position players remaining on the bench with one out in the 11th, leading Jack Leiter (typically a starting pitcher) to pinch-hit for reliever Hoby Milner.
Per MLB.com researcher extraordinaire Sarah Langs, this was the first game with the DH rule in place -- since the DH was instituted in 1973 -- in which both teams gave a plate appearance to a player who is primarily a pitcher for his career. As you can see from the stats above, though, neither Rogers nor Leiter exactly made anyone who was watching pine for the days of pitchers batting regularly. Some things are best left to Ohtani.
-- Andrew Simon |
The Futures Game is always a highlight of All-Star Weekend, and this year's edition should be no different. Of the 50 players scheduled to suit up for the American and National League squads, no fewer than 31 of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 prospects are included, including nine of the top 22. Among them are some of the biggest names in prospectdom, and undoubtedly some of baseball's future superstars. The 2025 All-Star Futures Game is set to take place at 4 p.m. ET on July 12 at Truist Park in Atlanta. It will air live on MLB Network and be simulcast on MLB.TV, MLB.com and via the MLB app. Melanie Newman, Yonder Alonso, Jonathan Mayo and Sande Charles will be on the call. Here are three players in particular to watch in this year's annual prospect showcase: Jurrangelo Cijntje, LHP/RHP, Mariners SEA No. 8/MLB No. 84 The 15th overall pick in last year's Draft is the most unique pitcher in the sport, the subject of Seattle's grand switch-pitcher experiment. The organization vowed to give the ambidextrous Cijntje the chance to switch-pitch, and so far, he has done just that. Cijntje starts right-handed and relieves left-handed at High-A Everett, where he's striking out more than a batter per inning. Leo De Vries, SS, Padres SD No. 1/MLB No. 3 The highest-ranked position player attending the game, the 18-year-old De Vries is a little more than a year removed from being the top-ranked talent in the 2024 international signing class. He's a switch-hitting shortstop already performing at High-A Fort Wayne thanks to a suite of advanced tools and a mature approach. Sebastian Walcott, SS, Rangers TEX No. 1/MLB No. 9 The 19-year-old Bahamian's precocious mix of athleticism, power and speed at a premium position give him a chance to develop into the best player from his island nation. He's coupled eight homers and 18 steals already this season, playing as the second-youngest regular at Double-A. In a game like this, Walcott's tools will be something to behold. -- Joe Trezza |
Pick one of the day's games, open up your board and see if you can get bingo with these baseball occurrences. Play free >> |
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