The actual All-Star teams have already been announced and fans have had plenty of time to dissect each selection. For those of us who feel passionately about fantasy baseball, here are the players who would populate the All-Star lineups if first-half fantasy production was the sole criteria.
American League
Cal Raleigh, C, Mariners: Raleigh’s 38 homers are the second-highest first-half total in MLB history and more than double the total of any other catcher this season. He is more dominant at his position than anyone else in this article.
Cody Bellinger, 1B, Yankees: Bellinger’s 3-homer, 6-RBI effort on July 11 pushed him to the front of a mediocre group of AL first basemen. The 30-year-old has rebounded from a slow start with a .638 OPS at the end of April and a .910 mark since May 1.
Ceddanne Rafaela, 2B, Red Sox: A late-round pick who entered the season with a lifetime .664 OPS, Rafaela has produced the highest OPS (.796) of any qualified Red Sox hitter and could finish the season as a 25-25 player.
José Ramírez, 3B, Guardians: Ramírez has thus far been immune to a down year from the Guardians offense. He could reasonably finish with a 30-40-.300 stat line.
Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals: Witt’s year-over-year OPS has dropped by 78 points, but he’s still plenty good enough to make this list. A second-half power uptick would put him back among the top-5 hitters.
Aaron Judge, OF, Yankees: The No. 1 fantasy asset, Judge has an excellent chance to win the AL Triple Crown. Maintaining his 1.194 OPS would give him the best single-season mark since Barry Bonds in 2004.
Riley Greene, OF, Tigers: Talk about a breakout season — Greene has exceeded the RBI total and matched the homer mark that he produced in 137 games last year.
Byron Buxton, OF, Twins: After years of teasing fantasy managers, Buxton is finally staying healthy and maximizing his incredible skill set. Pete Crow-Armstrong is the only player who is ahead of Buxton in both homers and steals.
Brent Rooker, DH, Athletics: Rooker is well on his way to a third straight 30-homer season, making him one of baseball’s most consistent power hitters.
Tarik Skubal, SP, Tigers: Skubal sits no lower than 3rd this season in wins, ERA, WHIP and strikeouts. Since 2023 he has logged a 2.43 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 483-65 K-BB ratio.
Garrett Crochet, SP, Red Sox: Crochet has been everything the Red Sox could have expected, leading the majors in strikeouts while sitting second in ERA and third in wins.
Josh Hader, RP, Astros: Hader is tied for the AL lead in saves and is one of five pitchers in baseball to have at least 10 saves and five wins. He also has the most strikeouts (65) of anyone with multiple saves.
National League
Will Smith, C, Dodgers: Smith’s OPS dropped in four consecutive seasons before surging up by 206 points this year. Remarkably, he ranks third among the star-studded Dodgers lineup in fantasy production.
Pete Alonso, 1B, Mets: Alonso has earned this spot by doing exactly what he was expected to do — lead all first basemen in homers and RBI. His .280 average is a nice bonus.
Ketel Marte, 2B, D-backs: Marte narrowly gets this nod over Brice Turang by being a more effective power hitter whose skill set plays better in points leagues. He missed nearly a full month and could still match his career-high 36 homers from 2024.
Eugenio Suárez, 3B, D-backs: Since the 2024 All-Star break, Suárez trails only Judge in RBI and ranks 4th in home runs. And Suárez is no longer a batting average drain.
Elly De La Cruz, SS, Reds: Arguably baseball’s most exciting player, De La Cruz is also a balanced fantasy contributor who ranks among the top-10 in steals and runs while also placing 14th in RBI and 26th in homers.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs: PCA is the breakout player of 2025, fully maximizing his exciting skill set to rank 3rd in overall fantasy production while sitting among the top-7 in homers, runs, RBI and steals.
Kyle Tucker, OF, Cubs: Tucker has been everything the Cubs and fantasy managers hoped for. Expect more elite production as he speeds toward being the marquee free agent of the upcoming offseason.
James Wood, OF, Nationals: In an otherwise disappointing season, Wood has been a bright spot for the Nats. His .915 OPS ranks 8th in baseball, and he will be a first-round fantasy pick in 2026.
Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers: Ohtani is on pace for fewer than half of his 2024 steals total and still ranks as the No. 2 overall asset. Judge is the only player within 18 of his league-leading runs scored total (91).
Zack Wheeler, SP, Phillies: With a 2.86 ERA and 1.00 WHIP over the past five seasons, Wheeler is the most consistent ace in baseball. This season, he is a top-10 player in all four standard pitching categories, which includes ranking second in WHIP and strikeouts.
Paul Skenes, SP, Pirates: The Major League leader in ERA, Skenes is being held back by a Pirates team that has given him enough support to earn just four wins.
Edwin Díaz, RP, Mets: There are three NL relievers who have more saves than Diaz, but none of those men can match his ERA (1.66), WHIP (0.87) and strikeout total (55).
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