The 2024 MLB All-Star Game is here!
Will the National League make it two straight victories over the American League after snapping a nine-game skid last year?
As Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and the rest of baseball’s best descend upon Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, for this year’s Midsummer Classic, we’ll have live updates and analysis from Arlington throughout the game (8 p.m. ET on FOX).
After the final pitch is thrown, ESPN’s MLB experts will share their biggest takeaways right here as well.
The starting lineups
Who will win the All-Star Game and by what score?
Jorge Castillo: The American League is clearly better than the National League in just about every department besides the reserves. But the Senior Circuit will ride an electrifying first inning from Paul Skenes and a strong bench to victory. National League 5, American League 3.
Alden Gonzalez: If Mookie Betts and Ronald Acuna Jr. were healthy, perhaps it’s a different story. But as things stand, it seems pretty clear that the AL has the talent advantage — especially in the starting lineup, and especially in the outfield. Skenes might be able to tame them in the bottom of the first, but eventually they’ll break through and cruise. American League 8, National League 3.
Jeff Passan: The American League starting lineup, even after withdrawals, remains far superior to the National League’s. The AL relief pitchers are all nasty in different ways. The National League will do some damage in the middle innings, but the AL’s stuff advantage and power off the bench will prove the difference. American League 3, National League 2.
Jesse Rogers: At first glance it seems like the AL has the advantage in terms of starting lineups — even with Shohei Ohtani switching leagues. However, the NL reserves are sneaky good. Give me Freddie Freeman, Luis Arraez, Will Smith and Marcell Ozuna off the bench. That group wins this one, with Ryan Helsley closing it out. National League 6, American League 5.
Who is your All-Star Game MVP pick?
Castillo: Skenes is attracting all the attention, but he isn’t the only mind-blowing first-time All-Star on the NL roster. Elly De La Cruz is an unprecedented combination of power and speed. The shortstop is going to put his dazzling talent on display and become the first Cincinnati Reds player since shortstop Dave Concepción in 1982 to claim the award.
Gonzalez: Perhaps nothing epitomizes the strength of this American League team better than the fact that Bobby Witt Jr. — the 24-year-old superstar shortstop who can run, hit for power and defend as well as anyone — will be coming off the bench. Witt will be playing close to home, with somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 family and friends in the stands, and he’ll put on a show in the middle to late innings.
Passan: The left-field line is an inviting place at Globe Life Field, and nobody hits with pull power like Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Isaac Paredes. He’s so good at yanking the ball down the line — and at 329 feet, it is calling his name — that a late-inning, off-the-bench shot to push the AL ahead sounds like a genuinely possible outcome.
Rogers: I’ll go with the chalk: Ohtani. He’ll get enough at-bats to give himself a shot, going deep at least once.
What’s the one All-Star Game matchup you are most excited to see?
Castillo: Besides Skenes versus the top of the American League lineup, Mason Miller versus anyone late in a close game would provide great theater. The Oakland A’s rookie closer’s fastball is averaging 100.9 mph this season. He has touched 104 mph. What could a dose of All-Star Game adrenaline produce?
Gonzalez: The 1998 NBA All-Star Game is still talked about for a very obvious reason: an older, still-in-his-prime Michael Jordan matched up against a young, up-and-coming Kobe Bryant, both unafraid to go after one another. It was magical. Skenes, perhaps already the most electric pitcher in the game, facing Juan Soto, arguably the sport’s best pure hitter, might be as close as baseball comes to something like that, particularly because of the way Soto would embrace the drama of such a matchup. I hope it lasts a dozen pitches.
Passan: Skenes vs. anyone, but particularly Gunnar Henderson, Aaron Judge and Soto.
Rogers: Since everyone is wanting to see Skenes vs. Judge or Soto, I’ll go with Japanese rookie Shota Imanaga against one of those big guys. In fact, give me the 5-foot-10 Imanaga and his rising fastball against the 6-7 Judge. That should be fun.
What do you expect from Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes as the NL’s starting pitcher?
Castillo: Gasoline. Skenes is full of moxie. He’s not going to shy away from challenging Henderson, Soto and Aaron Judge with the heater in that first inning. It’ll make for great entertainment.
Gonzalez: Brevity. Skenes will be facing a string of hitters who have never seen him before. And though they’ll be some of the best in the world, facing triple-digit fastballs and knee-buckling splinkers from a pitcher whose arm slot is really difficult to pick up is an exceedingly difficult challenge without prior exposure. Give these hitters time, and they’ll figure it out. But for one introductory inning — or two, we hope — Skenes will make like Pedro Martinez in 1999.
Passan: Splinkers galore. Yes, Skenes is going to pop a few 102s on the radar gun, but it’s his splinker, not his heater, that is the best pitch in baseball. The hybrid splitter-sinker runs with the sort of velocity of an average major league fastball, only to drop as if gravity suddenly remembered it existed.
Rogers: Every pitch he throws to be 100 mph or more. Why mess around with off-speed stuff? Give the fans what they want to see. And if an AL slugger squares it up, great. The ball will go a long way. Or we’ll see three K’s. Either way, it will be cool.
Source: www.espn.com