MLB announced its full All-Star Game rosters on Sunday, but as always, there were some major snubs. Here are Chris Driscoll’s picks for the National League starters — the players who’d get the nod if it were up to him, not the fan voters.
Stats are accurate as of July 4, 2025.
Catcher: Will Smith
Similar to the American League with Cal Raleigh, I am not sure if anyone in the National League has a good case to start over Will Smith. Out of all catchers who have played over 50 games, Smith is the only one who has a WRC+ above 140 … and his is 171. Even though he has been slightly below average behind the plate, his bat more than makes up for that.
First Base: Pete Alonso
It is always hard to make a case against Freddie Freeman. With this being said, I do not believe he has been a top-two first baseman this year. Alonso has been the clear better hitter and is more available than Freeman. Freeman has been better in the field and on the basepaths. In fact, if you wanted to go with the more well-rounded player, I would go with Matt Olson instead because he has been debatably the best fielding first baseman this year.
However, in the end, Alonso has had a career season at the plate, and that gap outweighs everything else.
Most home runs by a Met against the Yankees:
🥇Pete Alonso (11)
🥈David Wright(9)
🥉Cliff Floyd (8) pic.twitter.com/l6kA1bTIvd— SleeperMets (@SleeperMets) July 7, 2025
Second Base: Ketel Marte
Usually, I agree with the sentiment that “the best ability is availability.” However, with the way Marte has been playing since missing most of April, I am having a hard time justifying starting anyone else. Even with him missing about 20 games, he still clears Brendan Donovan in WAR by one whole win. In addition, his WRC+ clears every other second baseman (minimum 50 games) by at least 50 points.
The sample size is large enough for me. Marte has been the best second baseman in the NL.
Shortstop: Francisco Lindor
This one was tough. If the voting had closed in early June, this would not be a question. However, Lindor has really struggled for the past month. With this being said, I think he was good enough for the first couple of months to justify giving him the starting nod.
If it were not going to Lindor, I would have gone with either Trea Turner or Elly De La Cruz. While both have been slightly better at the plate, Lindor has been better in the field. It will be very interesting to see if any of these guys make the “All-MLB Team” at the end of the season.
Third Base: Manny Machado
This was undoubtedly the toughest one. It was neck and neck between Manny Machado and Matt Chapman. Their numbers at the plate are very similar, while Chapman has been better on the basepaths and in the field. With this being said, Chapman has not played since the beginning of June. If he had, Chapman would likely be a lock, but it is tough to justify giving him the nod. He will, however, likely return next week.
This play by Manny Machado still has my jaw on the ground 😮 pic.twitter.com/vHw6WnKVOf
— Baseball (@mlbelites_) July 6, 2025
Outfielders: Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kyle Tucker, James Wood
I think the fans got two of the three selections right. Both Crow-Armstrong and Tucker have been awesome and deservedly got the nod. With this being said, for as awesome as Ronald Acuna Jr. has played, 37 games is just too small of a sample size for me. The fact that James Wood has played in nearly all of his games and amassed a 162 WRC+ is pretty insane to me.
Designated Hitter: Shohei Ohtani
Need I say more? After Ohtani got Tommy John surgery, I expected a relatively deep regression, even if he was still going to be great. However, rather than pitching a ton and being a very good hitter, he has turned into one of the best hitters in the league while pitching minimally, which I was not expecting at all.
Main Image Credit:
