MLB All Star Game Predictions 2026 start the second the vote goes live and the sport turns into an argument about faces, not only numbers. Hours later, a two second clip of Paul Skenes snapping off 102 mph will drown out three weeks of steady singles. At the time, voters swear they pick merit; However, they keep clicking the names that already feel like the season’s headline. Yet still, the ballot has room for one new star every summer, because baseball always wants the next obsession. Shohei Ohtani will pull votes like gravity again, and Aaron Judge will own the American League spotlight the moment he runs into a fastball. Suddenly, the conversation shifts from who deserves it to who cannot be ignored, and that shift decides the starters. Kyle Tucker already proved that uniform changes do not scare voters, because the Cubs brought him in and the National League still stamped him as a starter in 2025. Consequently, the real question stays simple. When production and presence collide on one ballot, who starts for each league in 2026.
How the 2026 starter vote really works
A projection for 2026 needs an anchor that fans already accepted. Per MLB.com’s 2025 All Star roster release, the starter list at Truist Park came from a familiar formula: stars with a proven brand, plus breakout stories who forced their way in with a first half loud enough to drown out doubt.
Detroit taught the clearest lesson; At the time, the Tigers put Gleyber Torres at second, Riley Greene and Javier Báez in the outfield group, and Tarik Skubal on the mound.
Chicago offered the other lesson; Before long, Kyle Tucker entered 2025 with a new uniform after the Cubs acquired him the previous winter, and the National League still voted him into the starting outfield.
That background shapes MLB All Star Game Predictions 2026, because it explains what 2025 stats can and cannot do. A 2025 stat does not guarantee a 2026 start; However, a 2025 season can build the kind of trust that survives a normal April slump.
Three levers drive the starter vote, and each one leaves fingerprints.
First, health decides the floor; If you do not play, you do not stay on the ballot. Despite the pressure, fans punish absence faster than they reward nuance.
Second, the hook has to travel; On the other hand, a marketable line needs proof, or it dies in a week. Cal Raleigh’s Big Dumper nickname works because the home runs kept coming, not because the internet found a joke. Yet still, a nickname like The Martian can juice a vote when the bat backs it up.
Third, the team matters more than the ballot pretends; Before long, every club pushes graphics, drops clips, and asks fans to vote like it is civic duty. Consequently, a player on a contender shows up in your feed more often, and repetition turns into votes.
Keep those levers in mind, and the board reads cleaner. At the time, I lean on 2025 production, then I project forward under one rule. If a player opens 2026 with a normal first half for him, he stays in the starter lane.
The three buckets that keep the board honest
Locks sit at the top; Yet still, even a lock can lose momentum if he disappears for a month. Toss ups live in the middle; Suddenly, one month of thunder can erase six weeks of quiet. Newcomers live at the bottom; However, they need a hot first half and a story that fans can repeat.
With that set, MLB All Star Game Predictions 2026 become a countdown from the most volatile spots to the ones that feel almost pre written.
The 2026 starter board from 10 to 1
10 Third base where taste and timing fight each other
Third base voting looks stable until the position reminds you it can flip in three weeks. Years passed, and the ballot still swings between the veteran everyone trusts and the young bat everyone wants to meet.
For the American League, José Ramírez has the cleanest path to reclaim the job he already won in 2025 voting. However, he opted out of the actual game that summer, and that choice always leaves a small question mark around the next campaign.
If Cleveland stays in the playoff odds mix by mid June, fans will click Ramírez on habit and on highlight. On the other hand, Junior Caminero lurks as the youth play again, because Tampa Bay can sell the new bat when the clips keep stacking.
For the National League, Manny Machado stays the practical pick; At the time, San Diego lived on national windows, and Machado still turned one swing into a week of replays.
2026 starter call. American League third base: José Ramírez. National League third base: Manny Machado.
9 American League shortstop where a new crown wants the old chair
The American League shortstop vote carried a strange tell in 2025. Jacob Wilson started for the Athletics. Consequently, the ballot proved it will reward a breakout even when the brand does not look like a typical vote magnet.
Bobby Witt Jr. should change that in 2026. Per the FanGraphs WAR leaderboard for 2025, Witt finished among the league leaders, and his skill set reads clean even to fans who do not live inside a spreadsheet.
Kansas City also sells the simplest hook. He does everything fast. Suddenly, speed turns ground balls into singles. Consequently, defenders rush and the errors pile up.
So the 2026 call lands here. American League shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr. National League shortstop: Francisco Lindor; At the time, New York never stopped watching him and he rarely missed games.
8 Designated hitter where the ballot rides a hot bat
In MLB All Star Game Predictions 2026, designated hitter voting rewards heat, not balance. One binge can win the slot. Another quiet month can lose it.
Ryan O’Hearn grabbed the American League role in 2025, and that matters for 2026 because voters love a surprise that keeps paying rent.
If Baltimore stays visible and O’Hearn keeps punishing mistakes, he can repeat; However, this spot flips fast, and a star level bat can take it with a loud first half.
Shohei Ohtani makes the National League side feel almost unfair. Per FanGraphs, he sat near the top of the sport in 2025 value again, and his name alone pulls votes from every time zone.
MLB All Star Game Predictions 2026 accept the obvious. American League designated hitter: Ryan O’Hearn. National League designated hitter: Shohei Ohtani.
7 Second base where the new club actually matters
Gleyber Torres is not a Yankees story anymore. At the time, Detroit signed him before the 2025 season, and he started at second base in the All Star Game the same summer.
Because of this loss in Detroit’s season ending Game 5 marathon against Seattle, Torres also became a reminder of how much players grind through. Yet still, that pain did not erase the first half votes.
If the Tigers hover near the top of the MLB standings again by mid June, Torres stays in front. However, second base can flip if a new bat runs a scorching first half.
Ketel Marte remains the National League pick. Arizona’s lineup runs hot in streaks; Consequently, Marte’s bat tends to show up right when the ballot cares.
2026 starter call. American League second base: Gleyber Torres. National League second base: Ketel Marte.
6 First base where legacy wins close races
First base tempts people to overthink. Fans rarely do; However, they click the hitter they trust to ruin a pitcher’s night.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. earned the American League starter tag in 2025. Consequently, a normal first half in 2026 keeps him in front of most challengers
Freddie Freeman holds the same kind of advantage in the National League. At the time, he started for the Dodgers in 2025, and Los Angeles keeps him in every spotlight that matters.
2026 starter call. American League first base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. National League first base: Freddie Freeman.
5 Catcher where one player turned the position into a headline
Catcher voting used to feel sleepy. Cal Raleigh blew that up; Hours later, every broadcast treated his at bats like an event.
Per an MLB press release from July 2025, Raleigh led the majors with 33 home runs in 84 games at the time of the vote, plus a 1.024 OPS that looked unreal for a catcher.
At the time, Reuters noted Raleigh also broke Johnny Bench’s long standing pre break home run mark for catchers, and that kind of headline sticks to a ballot.
Once a catcher hits like that, the position stops being a debate and becomes a campaign. Yet still, the risk lives in the body, because the job takes a toll.
Assuming health holds, the American League catcher starter stays Cal Raleigh. Consequently, Seattle’s fan base votes hard, and the power sells itself.
Will Smith stays the National League pick. The Dodgers started him in 2025, and he benefits from the same truth Freeman enjoys; However, a Dodger who plays every day rarely loses a tie breaker.
2026 starter call. American League catcher: Cal Raleigh. National League catcher: Will Smith.
4 Left field where October memories leak into July
Riley Greene did not need a metaphor in 2025. He needed pitches; Consequently, he punished them.
Per his MLB player page, Greene finished 2025 with 36 home runs and 111 RBIs, and Detroit’s run kept him visible all summer.
That stat line gives him runway into 2026 voting. However, left field becomes a knife fight when another bat runs a loud April.
So the American League pick stays Riley Greene, with the assumption that Detroit stays relevant and Greene stays healthy.
Kyle Tucker sits in the National League mix again, even if his outfield spot changes. Chicago can slide him to left in an All Star lineup, because the outfield alignment is flexible; Yet still, the votes care about the name and the swing, not the patch of grass.
Tucker’s 2025 Cubs season kept the profile high, and the National League already proved it will vote him in.
2026 starter call. American League left field: Riley Greene. National League left field: Kyle Tucker.
3 Center field where defense finally gets paid
Center field starts as a glove argument, then turns into a speed argument, then ends as a highlight argument. Pete Crow Armstrong checks all three boxes; At the time, Cubs fans treated him like a nightly reel.
A Reuters game report from June 2025 captured the moment his season changed categories. Crow Armstrong became the first Cub to hit 20 home runs and steal 20 bases before the All Star break
MLB.com later noted he finished among a small group with 30 home runs and 30 steals in 2025. Consequently, fans stopped treating him like a prospect and started treating him like an attraction.
So the National League center field starter for 2026 feels like Pete Crow Armstrong, assuming the bat stays loud.
Julio Rodríguez remains the American League call. Seattle keeps him visible; Before long, familiarity turns into votes, and he already held an All Star slot in 2025 as a reserve.
2026 starter call. American League center field: Julio Rodríguez. National League center field: Pete Crow Armstrong.
2 Starting pitcher where the game turns into a television event
There is no higher theater in July than Paul Skenes staring down Aaron Judge with a 102 mph heater in his back pocket. That is not flowery. This is the product.
For the National League, Skenes owns the slot if he gives the league another normal first half. Per MLB.com’s 2025 announcement of the All Star starting lineups and pitchers, the league leaned into his history and treated him like a headline, not a curiosity.
FanGraphs also backed the hype with elite 2025 value. Consequently, the 2026 projection does not need a new angle. It needs only health.
Tarik Skubal holds the American League version of that job. Detroit trusted him in 2025, and the FanGraphs WAR leaderboard placed him among the top arms in baseball.
2026 starter call. American League starting pitcher: Tarik Skubal. National League starting pitcher: Paul Skenes.
1 Right field where the vote feels pre written
Aaron Judge does not need a campaign. He is the campaign; At the time, pitchers knew that, and the rest of the sport watched anyway.
Per FanGraphs, Judge led baseball in 2025 total WAR, and that kind of season does not fade by the next May.
So the American League right field starter in 2026 stays Aaron Judge, because the sport’s loudest player keeps living in the sport’s loudest market.
Ronald Acuña Jr. brings the National League version of that pull. Atlanta voted him into the 2025 starting outfield; Consequently, the fans will do it again if he stays on the field.
2026 starter call. American League right field: Aaron Judge. National League right field: Ronald Acuña Jr.
What will change these MLB All Star Game Predictions 2026 in a hurry
The cleanest way to get embarrassed in December is to pretend July behaves like a lab. It does not.
In that moment, a player can steal a start with three weeks of dominance. Yet still, an injury can erase a grip on the ballot in ten days. Despite the pressure, the vote keeps punishing absence, because absence looks like irrelevance.
Expect MLB trade rumors to creep into the conversation even when the ballot pretends it is pure. However, fans rarely vote for a headline that has not played a game, so the rumors need real at bats behind them.
Watch the hooks that actually travel. Big Dumper works because the production stays absurd. Skenes sells because the radar gun keeps cooperating. Consequently, the 2026 race will belong to the players who make the clip easy to explain in one sentence.
So here is the question that sticks. When the 2026 starters line up and the cameras hunt for the faces, will the ballot reward the best first halves again. Or will it crown the players who felt unavoidable on your screen, even when the FanGraphs WAR leaderboard says the gap sat closer than your gut wants to admit.
Finally, the vote will do what it always does, and MLB All Star Game Predictions 2026 will keep moving with it. It will pick a few obvious stars. Then it will pick one name that makes half the sport yell.
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