2022 MLB All-Star Game rosters: One thing to know about every player, from Aaron Judge to Albert Pujols

The rosters are set for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game. After revealing the starters who won spots through fan voting earlier this week, the league unveiled the rest of the best on Sunday evening. The American League and National League will have 33 representatives each. That’s one more than usual, as commissioner Rob Manfred used a new rule to honor Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera with spots on the rosters.

Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles will host the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, July 19. It will start at 8 p.m. ET on FOX, concluding a long weekend of events including the Home Run Derby on Monday night and the MLB draft on Sunday afternoon. It’s Dodger Stadium’s first time hosting the All-Star Game since 1980.

We’ve got one big thing to know about every player who is earning a place in history, a new star on his Baseball-Reference page

How MLB All-Star voting worked

The initial starting lineups of 10 batters were chosen by fan vote. Aaron Judge and Ronald Acuña Jr. secured their starting spots after leading their leagues in votes from the initial round of voting. For every other starting spot, two finalists per league position went to a second round of voting.

The remaining 23 spots — pitchers and reserves — were chosen by a player ballot, and then the commissioner’s office. The players’ ballots account for 17 of those (eight pitchers, nine hitters), while the commissioner’s office fills the remaining slots and ensures every team is represented.

A process change in 2017 means the All-Star managers no longer choose any players. Braves skipper Brian Snitker and Astros manager Dusty Baker will still choose the starting pitchers, a decision typically announced the day before the game.

Per usual, some players will drop out due to injury or other concerns, like rest for a pitcher. New All-Stars will be minted as replacements and be added to the original 66 selected players.

American League All-Star starting lineup

Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays catcher: The latest example of baseball stars coming in all shapes and sizes, the 5-foot-8, 265-pound Kirk is simultaneously the heaviest catcher ever named an All-Star and the shortest since Yogi Berra and Smoky Burgess in the 1960s.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays first baseman: Guerrero, who homered and won MVP in last year’s game, could become the third player in baseball history with two All-Star homers before age 24. Right now, that list consists of Johnny Bench and Mickey Mantle.

Jose Altuve, Houston Astros second baseman: Altuve is rapidly becoming one of the generation’s most accomplished second basemen. With his eighth All-Star selection, he ties Robinson Cano for the most of the 2000s.

Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox shortstop: Don’t be surprised if Anderson thrives in the All-Star limelight. In two career postseason series, he is batting .485. And he gave last season’s nationally televised Field of Dreams game a Hollywod ending with an emphatic walk-off homer.

Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox third baseman: No one will be happier to share the AL dugout with Devers than Yankees ace Gerrit Cole. Devers has six homers off Cole, including three in five plate appearances in 2022.

Aaron Judge, New York Yankees outfielder: The Yankees superstar leads MLB in home runs with 30, and he is especially powerful against fastballs. He has 20 long balls against heaters, while no one else in baseball even has 15.

Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels outfielder: Count this as another leaderboard Trout will summit. The only active players with more All-Star selections than Trout are this year’s honorary additions, Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera.

Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees outfielder: A Los Angeles native, Stanton blasted a home run all the way out of Dodger Stadium in 2015.

Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels designated hitter / pitcher: What can you do at this point except compare Ohtani to himself? This season, the two-way wonder has been better as a pitcher, logging a park-adjusted ERA+ of 163 — meaning he has been 63 percent better than league average — while his OPS+ on the hitting side is merely 137.

American League All-Star pitchers

Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays starter: You want strikeouts? McClanahan has strikeouts. He leads MLB with 141 punchouts. Watch for the changeup against righties and the slider against lefties.

Justin Verlander, Houston Astros starter: Back from Tommy John surgery at age 39, Verlander might be baseball’s Tom Brady. In the annals of MLB starters pitching at 39 or older, his park- and era-adjusted ERA so far this year ranks behind only Roger Clemens in 2005 and Cy Young in 1908.

Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees starter: The Yankees ace has Los Angeles roots. He was born in Newport Beach and attended UCLA.

Alek Manoah, Toronto Blue Jays starter: Miss the days of the marquee starting pitcher who worked deep into the game? Manoah is with you, and trying to change the game from the inside.

Framber Valdez, Houston Astros starter: Wake up the infielders. Nobody gets more grounders than Valdez. His 67.5% groundball rate is more than 10 points clear of the second-best qualified starter.

Martin Perez, Texas Rangers starter: Perez returned to Texas, where he played the first seven years of his major-league career, with a middling 4.71 career ERA. This year? An out-of-nowhere 2.72 mark.

Nestor Cortes, New York Yankees starter: Straight-up released by the Mariners after the 2020 season, Cortes has been on a rocket to stardom ever since.

Paul Blackburn, Oakland Athletics starter: Oakland’s lone representative averages less than 92 mph on his fastball, but also allows less than one homer per nine innings.

Clay Holmes, New York Yankees reliever: Yes, that is a 0.46 ERA. Leaning on a power sinker that touches triple digits, Holmes has taken over at the back of the Yankees bullpen.

Emmanuel Clase, Cleveland Guardians reliever: Clase also has an unhittable triple-digit fastball. His is a cutter, though. Good luck.

Jorge Lopez, Baltimore Orioles reliever: Talk about a transformation. Just last year, Lopez struggled to a 6.07 ERA, mostly as a starter. This season, he has been a surprise bullpen star leading a surprise surge by the Orioles.

Gregory Soto, Detroit Tigers reliever: Make it two All-Star Games in a row for the left-handed Tigers closer. Fewer walks and fewer homers have him performing even better (2.70 ERA) than last year.

American League All-Star reserves

Jose Trevino, New York Yankees catcher: A huge reason for the Yankees’ historic start, Trevino rates as the best pitch framer in baseball.

Luis Arraez, Minnesota Twins infielder: That .350 batting average is impressive no matter how you look at it, but it gets more impressive with historical context. Using FanGraphs’ era-adjusted stats, we can see that Arraez’s average is beating the 2022 average by as much as Rod Carew in his legendary 1977 season — when he batted .388.

Andres Gimenez, Cleveland Guardians second baseman: Meet the only player from the Francisco Lindor blockbuster to make the 2022 All-Star Game.

Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox shortstop: To go with the usual stellar offense, Bogaerts is playing the best shortstop defense of his career, by most advanced metrics.

Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians third baseman: Currently the MLB leader in RBIs, Ramirez has twice as many runs batted in (66) as strikeouts (33), a feat no qualified hitter has pulled off in a full season since 2011.

Julio Rodriguez, Seattle Mariners outfielder: The youngest All-Star can do it all. He has 15 homers and is tied for the AL lead with 21 steals.

George Springer, Toronto Blue Jays outfielder: It’s Springer’s fourth All-Star selection, but his first since heading north to give veteran oomph to the young Blue Jays.

Byron Buxton, Minnesota Twins outfielder: It’s been a long time coming, but Buxton makes his first All-Star game on the back of serious power. A whopping 35 of his 53 hits have gone for extra bases.

Andrew Benintendi, Kansas City Royals outfielder: Get a good look now, because Andrew Benintendi might be on your team in August. The contact-hitting lefty is one of trade season’s most sought after hitters.

Kyle Tucker, Houston Astros outfielder: Didn’t realize Tucker was a power-speed threat? Don’t beat yourself up, his 14 steals have already tied his career high for a full season.

Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros designated hitter: Alvarez is simply the best hitter in baseball. His offensive production is an MLB-best 93% better than the league average by the park-adjusted metric wRC+.

Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers designated hitter: No active player has been selected to as many All-Star teams as Cabrera, who will be attending his 12th Midsummer Classic.

National League All-Star starting lineup

Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs catcher: As if catching weren’t punishing enough, Contreras also leads MLB in a painful category: He’s been hit by 15 pitches already this year.

Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman: Perennially productive, Goldschmidt may be in the midst of a career year. He leads the NL in all three triple slash categories — batting average, on-base percentage and slugging.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., Miami Marlins second baseman: The scintillating 24-year-old second baseman is the first MLB All-Star born in the Bahamas.

Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop: Turner edged Atlanta Braves shortstop Dansby Swanson in voting for the starting spot — 52% to 48% — and those two will be compared frequently. They are each slated to hit free agency this winter as two of the most prized shortstops.

Manny Machado, San Diego Padres third baseman: Even with a sprained ankle hobbling him in recent weeks, few if any players are having a better 2022 than Machado. With a .311 batting average, 14 homers, seven steals and the usual stellar defense, FanGraphs WAR rates him as the best player in baseball.

Ronald Acuña Jr., Atlanta Braves outfielder: Any fears that last year’s knee injury would slow Acuña on the bases have been assuaged. He has racked up 17 steals in 52 games — the same number he stole in 82 games in 2021.

Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder: You may not think of him as a slugger, but Betts is already tied for the all-time lead in three-homer games, with six.

Joc Pederson, San Francisco Giants outfielder: Though at least two other members of his now infamous fantasy football league are on All-Star rosters, Pederson should be able to take batting practice without fear of being slapped. Tommy Pham won’t be participating.

Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter: Unfortunately, the thing you need to know is that Harper will miss the game. He’s still recovering from surgery on his broken thumb.

National League All-Star pitchers

Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers starter: The 34-year-old Dodgers legend and future Hall of Famer has never started an All-Star Game. A lot of people are hoping that changes this year.

Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins starter: Already over 130 innings for the season, Alcantara goes deep in every start. He’s more than 10 innings clear of second place. And it’s not just quantity. He’s rocking a 1.73 ERA.

Tony Gonsolin, Los Angeles Dodgers starter: “The Cat Man” earns his nickname. He is a proud fan of cats, weird cat shirts and even Hello Kitty.

Corbin Burnes, Milwaukee Brewers starter: No pitcher has been better since the start of 2020. He leads all qualified starters with a 2.30 ERA and a diabolical 34.8% strikeout rate.

Luis Castillo, Cincinnati Reds starter: A showcase of stars? Yes. But if Castillo takes the mound in Los Angeles, it will also be a showcase for the best trade chip on the market ahead of the Aug. 2 deadline.

Joe Musgrove, San Diego Padres starter: With his first All-Star nod, we can officially add Musgrove to the list of pitchers who have ascended to stardom after leaving Pittsburgh.

Max Fried, Atlanta Braves starter: Part of a famous rotation trio at the Los Angeles baseball factory that is Harvard-Westlake High School, Fried has pulled ahead of former classmates Lucas Giolito and Jack Flaherty (for now).

Edwin Diaz, New York Mets reliever: He has faced 139 batters in 2022. He has struck out 70 of them. Only Aroldis Chapman has posted a better strikeout rate across a full season.

Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers reliever: After starting the season with 19 scoreless outings, Hader has been relatively mortal, with a 4.91 ERA in 11 innings since.

David Bednar, Pittsburgh Pirates reliever: The Pirates would probably feel a lot worse about giving up Clay Holmes if they didn’t have Bednar — a devastating reliever in his own right who also hails from Pittsburgh.

Ryan Helsley, St. Louis Cardinals reliever: The 27-year-old has turned a fastball that averages 99 mph into a microscopic 0.73 ERA.

Joe Mantiply, Arizona Diamondbacks reliever: A 6-foot-4 lefty having a great year for Arizona, Mantiply was drafted into professional baseball in the 27th round of the 2013 MLB draft — a round that doesn’t exist anymore. He’s the fourth — and possibly final — player ever signed out of the 27th round to make an All-Star team, joining fellow bullpen stalwarts Buzz Capra, Brendan Donnelly and Ryan Cook. Yes, he is here partially because the Diamondbacks needed a representative, and yes, his might be the last name you remember on a Sporcle in five years. But after waiting 27 rounds to get his chance, Mantiply has already completed a herculean task in making you remember it at all.

National League All-Star reserves

William Contreras, Atlanta Braves catcher: It was one of the season’s feel-good moments when he exchanged lineup cards with his brother, starting NL catcher Willson Contreras. What sort of emotions will be on display when they share an All-Star lineup?

Travis d’Arnaud, Atlanta Braves catcher: Two catchers from the same team? Yes indeed. Where only eight teams are getting average offensive production from the catcher spot, the Braves are getting superb production — including an MLB-best 21 homers and .536 slugging percentage.

CJ Cron, Colorado Rockies first baseman: Cron loves Coors. The 32-year-old first-time All-Star is batting .355 with 15 of his 20 homers at home.

Pete Alonso, New York Mets first baseman: Does this mean Alonso will go for a three-peat in the Home Run Derby? All signs point to yes.

Jeff McNeil, New York Mets second baseman: Ever screamed at the TV for hitters to just go the other way and break the shift? McNeil heard you. He’s batting .392 against shifts.

Dansby Swanson, Atlanta Braves shortstop: If Aaron Judge is having the best contract year in baseball, Swanson might be second. The former No. 1 pick has broken out at exactly the right time.

Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals third baseman: Arenado has already accumulated 4.2 Wins Above Replacement in 2022 by FanGraphs’ calculations. Colorado Rockies hitters, as a whole, have 5.0.

Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies outfielder: A real boy of summer, Schwarber has a .745 career OPS before June, and an .886 OPS from June 1 on. That includes an MLB-leading 17 homers since the calendar turned to June this year.

Starling Marte, New York Mets outfielder: Maybe joining the Mets is finally getting Marte the recognition he deserves. Always threatening .300 with strong defense and a bushel of steals, Marte is making his first All-Star team since 2016.

Ian Happ, Chicago Cubs outfielder: Almost nobody has shaved their strikeout rate more than Happ from 2021 to 2022. The sneaky Cubs star is reaping the benefits with a career-best OBP.

Juan Soto, Washington Nationals outfielder: Anchoring a moribund Nationals lineup, Soto is seeing as close as anyone gets to the Barry Bonds treatment in 2022. He has 73 walks, 71 hits … and only 54 strikeouts.

Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman: Pujols is returning to the All-Star Game for the first time since 2015 as part of his farewell tour. With any luck, he will get a sendoff worthy of his generational greatness — a la Cal Ripken’s final All-Star Game, when Alex Rodriguez handed over the shortstop position before Ripken punctuated the night with a home run.