The story below is a collaboration between writers from MLB.com and Yahoo Sports, who are joining forces this season to cover topics from around baseball.
The All-Star Game MVP Award debuted in 1962, and 40 years later, it was named for Hall of Famer Ted Williams. While all of the winners obviously are All-Stars, some have been Williams-caliber, inner-circle greats, while others have been more of the under-the-radar variety.
Looking at just the past 10 years, Mike Trout in 2014 and ’15 became the fifth player with multiple All-Star Game MVPs and the first to win them consecutively. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (2021) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022) are among the other recent winners. But last year, it was Rockies catcher Elias Díaz, a distinctly unlikely hero, who claimed the honor after hitting a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning.
The point is: You never know. (After all, the All-Star Game is still baseball.) So who will be this year’s Trout (or this year’s Díaz) when the AL and NL square off Tuesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas? We gathered six writers (three from MLB.com and three from Yahoo Sports) and challenged each to take their best guess.
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It’s hard to argue against Skenes being named the NL’s starter for the All-Star Game on Tuesday. It didn’t hurt his cause that the rookie flamethrower was electric yet again in his final start before the break, throwing seven no-hit innings and striking out 11 on Thursday against the Brewers. With his 1.90 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings, Skenes enters the Midsummer Classic having utterly dominated opposing hitters over his first 11 MLB starts.
Not only will it be a thrill to see him face the best of the best from the AL, but it will also be a chance for Skenes to shine on the biggest stage he has seen in his fledgling career. He tends to rise to the occasion, and if he overwhelms a stacked AL lineup on Tuesday, he could take home the MVP trophy.
— Manny Randhawa (MLB)
There aren’t many things that Elly De La Cruz can’t do on a baseball field. And that’s exactly why he’s going to win All-Star Game MVP. De La Cruz is likely to hit a ball to the cavernous gaps at Globe Life Field and run like a gazelle around the bases. I wouldn’t put it past him to hit an inside-the-park home run as well, which would be the first in the All-Star Game since Ichiro Suzuki in 2007 and the crowning achievement of an MVP evening.
— Russ Dorsey (Yahoo Sports)
It’s time for Ohtani to make his mark on the Midsummer Classic. The Dodgers superstar has started each of the past three All-Star Games (all for the AL as an Angel), but he has yet to perform the kind of jaw-dropping feat we’re used to from the two-time AL MVP. This is going to be the year. Ohtani’s one All-Star Game highlight is his leadoff single off Clayton Kershaw to start the 2022 game. He needs a bigger one.
Here’s the prediction: Ohtani crushes a monster home run in his first at-bat of the 2024 All-Star Game and turns that into an All-Star Game MVP Award for his trophy case. The All-Star Game is about baseball’s biggest stars shining on the national stage, and in his first Midsummer Classic as a Dodger, now is Ohtani’s turn.
— David Adler (MLB)
Picking an All-Star Game MVP is like playing darts on a roller coaster. Most hitters will have just two at-bats, two opportunities to make an impact. There’s a delightful element of randomness here. But I’m a big-brained boy who thought too hard about this, so I’m picking Ketel Marte because the American League pitching staff has a lot of lefty hurlers, and Marte obliterates southpaws. His 11 homers against wrong-handers are three more than anybody else in MLB can claim.
There’s also a chance that the backup NL second baseman, Luis Arraez, sees some time at first base, which would leave Marte in the game longer. Arizona’s second baseman was comically locked-in during the 2023 postseason, racking up four total RBI in the two World Series games played in Texas. That’s not particularly predictive, but when it comes to ASG MVP, little is.
— Jake Mintz (Yahoo Sports)
This pick is a little bit about gut feeling, which is probably as good an instrument as any when it comes to predicting an All-Star Game MVP. Perez is a beloved, 13-year veteran and nine-time All-Star enjoying a resurgent season for a surprising Kansas City team, and if he does anything to become a viable MVP candidate, he certainly would qualify as a sentimental choice.
But if you want the logical case, here goes: As the only backup to AL starting catcher Adley Rutschman, Perez figures to get a solid chunk of playing time, with a chance or two for a consequential at-bat if the game remains close into the later innings. He has tasted postseason and All-Star success in the past (three ASG hits, including a two-run homer off Johnny Cueto in 2016) and won’t be fazed by any situation. Plus, if Perez is facing a flame-throwing reliever in a big spot, he can still catch up to anyone’s heat. He is slugging 1.000 off pitches 97-plus mph this year and remains the Statcast Era leader in that category.
— Andrew Simon (MLB)
6. David Fry, DH, Guardians (AL)
For all that will (understandably) be made about Bobby Witt Jr. making his All-Star appearance just a short drive from where he grew up and starred at Colleyville Heritage High School, how about another homecoming story — and a far more unlikely All-Star — in Guardians utilityman-turned-slugger David Fry?
Fry, who is five years older than Witt, attended Grapevine High School, Colleyville’s biggest rival, and he’s sure to have a healthy number of friends and family in attendance in Arlington — not to mention four other teammates from the first-place Guardians. I’m envisioning an absolute managerial masterclass from Bruce Bochy late in the game in which he pinch-hits Fry, who has absolutely demolished left-handed pitching this season, against Tanner Scott or Matt Strahm and Fry goes yard to give the AL a late lead and, ultimately, the win.
— Jordan Shusterman (Yahoo Sports)
