Fantasy Baseball All-Star Teams: Ben Rice, Shohei Ohtani headline AL, NL squads at the break
The actual MLB All-Star teams have already been announced, and fans have had plenty of time to dissect each selection. For those of us who are passionate about fantasy baseball, here are the players who would populate the All-Star lineups if first-half fantasy production was the sole criteria.
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American League
Ben Rice, C, Yankees: Rice has been the most valuable catcher by a wide margin, as he leads the position in homers, RBI and runs scored. Remarkably, he has been the second-most valuable hitter in the American League.
Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics: Hitting out of the top-two spots in the lineup has worked for Kurtz, who is one of five Major Leaguers with at least 20 homers, 60 RBI and 60 runs. The slugger has also chipped in seven steals.
Jazz Chisholm Jr., 2B, Yankees: Remarkably, the top-12 second basemen play in the National League. Chisholm is outside the top-100 players, is batting .223, and is one of this season’s fantasy busts. Still, his power-speed combo (13 HR, 26 SB) are good enough to barely beat out Brayan Rocchio and Brooks Lee for top spot in this weak group.
Junior Caminero, 3B, Rays: Caminero primarily earned this spot thanks to a scorching 11-game stretch from June 23 to July 4 in which he tallied 11 homers and 22 RBI. His totals in his other 83 games (17 HR, 37 RBI) are more good than great.
Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals: For the second straight year, the ultra-talented Witt has produced remarkable fantasy numbers while being slightly underwhelming at the plate (.816 OPS). His five-category helpfulness is punctuated by ranking second in baseball with 30 steals.
Yordan Alvarez, OF, Astros: The MVP of the American League, both in real-life and fantasy, Alvarez tops the Junior Circuit in homers (31) and RBI (70). His 1.059 OPS is the best in baseball. Fingers crossed that the injury-prone slugger finally enjoys a fully healthy season.
Byron Buxton, OF, Twins: Speaking of injury prone players, Buxton holds this spot while currently sitting on the injured list. He will hopefully return soon from a hip injury, as he has been remarkable when healthy (25 HR, .904 OPS).
Randy Arozarena, OF, Mariners: Although not dominant in any area, Arozarena has been the true definition of a five-category contributor (11 HR, 45 RBI, 59 R, 19 SB, .286 BA). He joins Alvarez and Buxton as the only three AL members among the top-20 fantasy outfielders.
Miguel Vargas, DH, White Sox: A top-five waiver wire pickup in every league, Vargas has finally delivered on his long-touted potential by maximizing his power stroke (21 HR) and running the bases more aggressively (11 steals). He has been especially consistent, posting an OPS between .791 and .892 in each month this season.
Cam Schlittler, SP, Yankees: The current favorite for the AL Cy Young award, Schlittler leads the Junior Circuit in ERA and WHIP, while trailing only Dylan Cease in strikeouts. Schlittler also did his fantasy managers a favor by choosing to sit out the All-Star Game to rest up for the second half after starting Saturday vs. the Nationals.
Sonny Gray, SP, Red Sox: Gray narrowly edges out the AL Starter for the 2026 All-Star Game, Cease, for this spot on our team. The right-hander had a 4.30 ERA and 1.30 WHIP when returning from an IL stint on May 6 but has been lights-out (9-0, 1.98 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) since his return. Gray was somehow left out of the real All-Star festivities in favor of the likes of Ranger Suarez and Michael Wacha.
Louis Varland, RP, Blue Jays: Varland was scooped up in most leagues during May, which makes him one of this season’s waiver-wire gems. Among pitchers with at least five saves, he ranks second in ERA and strikeouts.
National League
Hunter Goodman, C, Rockies: Goodman has overcome poor contact skills (32.2% strikeout rate) by regularly making hard contact (16.4% barrel rate). His 27 homers are 12 more than any other NL catcher. Managers should keep in mind that he has far outperformed his expected stats.
Matt Olson, 1B, Braves: Olson surged out of the gate when he hit .302 with nine homers, 27 RBI and 25 runs in April. Since May 1, his production has been solid (16 HR, 30 RBI, 37 R, .252 BA) but not special.
Otto Lopez, 2B, Marlins: A career .260 hitter when he stepped to the plate on Opening Day, Lopez has posted a .334 average that leads baseball. The remarkable batting mark, combined with top-20 totals in runs and steals, has made him the No. 6 overall hitter.
Sal Stewart, 3B, Reds: After tallying nine homers and seven steals by the end of April, Stewart has produced 10 long balls and four swipes since the calendar flipped to May. He may be overrated in the eyes of some managers.
CJ Abrams, SS, Nationals: Abrams is one of just three players with at least 20 homers and 15 steals. He also ranks fifth in baseball in RBI (67).
James Wood, OF, Nationals: Remarkably, Wood has scored 21 more runs than any other player. That category propels him to the top of the overall hitter rankings, and he is also one of three players with at least 40 combined HR+SB.
Jordan Walker, OF, Cardinals: Walker is the stuff that fantasy dreams are made of, as he was plucked off the waiver wire early in the season and now ranks third in hitting value. His 136 R+RBI is second in baseball, he ranks 16th in batting average and he is one of five players with at least 20 homers and 10 steals.
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF, Cubs: After a mediocre start to the season, PCA has been red-hot since June 1 (14 HR, 12 SB, .374 BA, 1.232 OPS). Although inconsistent, he has the potential to carry fantasy teams during his best stretches.
Shohei Ohtani, DH, Dodgers: Ohtani is such an impressive player that his year-over-year OPS has dropped by 61 points, he has stopped running the bases aggressively, he is currently dealing with a minor knee injury and he still ranks as the sixth overall hitter. He’s also the fifth overall pitcher and would have made this article for that skill if he played in the American League.
Jacob Misiorowski, SP, Brewers: Despite skipping his final start of the first half to gain some extra rest, Misiorowski heads into the All-Star break as the No. 1 fantasy producer at any position. The lanky righty leads baseball in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts. The last qualified pitcher to reach the break with a better ERA than Misiorowski was Zack Grienke in 2015, and no qualified hurler in MLB history can top his first half WHIP (0.76).
Zack Wheeler, SP, Phillies: Unlike Major League Baseball, we will get Wheeler to attend our All-Star Game by selecting him during the initial selection process. The right-hander has made a miraculous recovery from thoracic outlet decompression surgery and ranks as the No. 3 fantasy starter despite making his season debut on April 25. The 36-year-old has posted the lowest ERA (2.13) and WHIP (0.89) of his outstanding career.
Mason Miller, RP, Padres: Remarkably, Miller has struck out 48.3% of the batters he has faced this year. He has posted eye-popping ratios (0.91 ERA, 0.78 WHIP) while converting all 25 of his save chances.
