We are now one week away from showtime—of course with showtime being the American Association All-Star Game being televised on MLB Network for the first time. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CDT on Wednesday, July 15 from Haymarket Park in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Rosters were revealed on July 2nd, with last man in voting concluding a few days later. While rosters will likely change slightly as a player or two drop out, they are more or less set now. Six players (all from the East) were selected, but will not participate. A seventh, Lake Country’s Dom Johnson, just hit the Injured List the other day and will technically be eligible to come back for the game, but he will probably be replaced as well.
That includes contract purchases of Lake Country’s Ryan Hernandez (Mexico) and Milwaukee’s Michael Hallquist (Chicago Cubs). Nothing has been announced yet, but I have heard rumors that a West Division All-Star will be joining an MLB organization, so another replacement will be named on that side.
Let’s take a look at the full rosters:
East Division Starters
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | SELECTIONS |
| C | Jaxx Groshans | Chicago | 2nd |
| 1B | Griffin Doersching | Milwaukee | 1st |
| 2B | Josh Allen (NP) | Kane County | 2nd |
| 3B | Michael Hallquist (NP) | Milwaukee | 1st |
| SS | Elvis Peralta | Gary SouthShore | 2nd |
| OF | Ray Zuberer III | Lake Country | 1st |
| OF | Joshua Mears | Lake Country | 1st |
| OF | Gio DiGiacomo | Chicago | 1st |
| DH | Ryan Hernandez (NP) | Lake Country | 2nd |
East Division Reserves
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | SELECTIONS |
| C | Mario Feliciano | Lake Country | 1st |
| INF | Jack Blomgren (NP) | Lake Country | 1st |
| INF | Claudio Finol | Kane County | 2nd |
| INF | Charles Mack | Kane County | 1st |
| INF | Ethan Wilder | Chicago | 1st |
| INF | Yordys Valdes | Milwaukee | 1st |
| OF | Matt Botcher | Kane County | 1st |
| OF | Korry Howell | Gary SouthShore | 1st |
| OF | Dom Johnson | Lake Country | 1st |
| OF | Caleb McNeely | Cleburne | 1st |
| OF | Ripken Reyes (NP) | Lake Country | 1st |
East Division Pitchers
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | SELECTIONS |
| P | Konnor Ash | Kane County | 2nd |
| P | Jacob Coats | Gary SouthShore | 2nd |
| P | Juan Diaz | Milwaukee | 2nd |
| P | Jake Gozzo | Kane County | 2nd |
| P | Peyton Long | Gary SouthShore | 1st |
| P | Jhordany Mezquita | Milwaukee | 2nd |
| P | Westin Muir | Kane County | 2nd |
| P | Reece Sharp | Kane County | 1st |
| P | Art Warren | Kane County | 1st |
| P | Davis Welch (NP) | Milwaukee | 1st |
| P | Ryder Yakel | Cleburne | 2nd |
West Division Starters
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | SELECTIONS |
| C | Juan Fernandez | Fargo-Moorhead | 2nd |
| 1B | Jose Sermo | Fargo-Moorhead | 1st |
| 2B | Sahid Valenzuela | Kansas City | 1st |
| 3B | Austin Callahan | Kansas City | 1st |
| SS | Michael Curialle | Sioux Falls | 1st |
| OF | Noah Marcelo | Winnipeg | 1st |
| OF | Henry George | Sioux City | 2nd |
| OF | Zac Vooletich | Sioux City | 2nd |
| DH | Josh Rehwaldt | Sioux Falls | 3rd |
West Division Reserves
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | SELECTIONS |
| C | Jacob Morrow | Lincoln | 1st |
| INF | Saul Garza | Kansas City | 1st |
| INF | Mike Hart | Sioux Falls | 4th |
| INF | Braulio Vasquez | Sioux City | 1st |
| OF | Connor Bagnieski | Lincoln | 1st |
West Division Pitchers
| POS | PLAYER | TEAM | SELECTIONS |
| P | Derrick Cherry | Winnipeg | 1st |
| P | Kyle Crigger | Fargo-Moorhead | 2nd |
| P | Durbin Feltman | Kansas City | 1st |
| P | Ryan Garcia | Kansas City | 1st |
| P | Tyler Jeans | Fargo-Moorhead | 1st |
| P | Zac McCleve | Lincoln | 1st |
| P | Trey Morrill | Sioux City | 1st |
| P | Tyler Myrick | Kansas City | 1st |
| P | Peniel Otano | Sioux City | 1st |
| P | Eli Saul | Winnipeg | 1st |
| P | Zach Willeman | Sioux City | 1st |
Selections By Team
| EAST | SELECTIONS | WEST | SELECTIONS | |
| Chicago | 3 | Fargo-Moorhead | 4 | |
| Cleburne | 2 | Kansas City | 6 | |
| Gary SouthShore | 4 | Lincoln | 3 | |
| Kane County | 9 (1 NP) | Sioux City | 6 | |
| Lake Country | 6 (3 NP) | Sioux Falls | 3 | |
| Milwaukee | 6 (2 NP) | Winnipeg | 3 |
Biggest Surprises
- Josh Allen has played in the American Association since 2018, while Jose Sermo has been in the league most of the time since 2016. Both are surefire AA Hall of Famers. Yet, Allen was picked for the All-Star Game for the first time since 2019. Sermo, meanwhile, had never been an All-Star until this year. I swear, I looked back though box scores and this was his first selection, despite four 20-home run seasons and a Player of the Year honor
- Despite currently sitting in third place in the East and having won 12 of their last 14 games, Cleburne has a league-low two All-Stars. Even Chicago has three selections despite a disastrous season
- Jacob Morrow and Mario Feliciano were both selected despite only playing about 20 games apiece by selection day. Both are hitting very well for catcher standards (Morrow .364, Feliciano .337 with 7 homers), but given the small sample size, it was a bit surprising
- Zach Willeman would’ve undoubtedly been an All-Star last season (2.34 ERA in 50.0 IP) if he wasn’t picked up by the Cincinnati Reds in late June. This year he’s logged a pedestrian 4.85 ERA. He’s been a strong arm for three years in Sioux City, but there were better options this year
- This is not a surprise, but worth mentioning: Mike Hart earned his fourth selection, joining Brent Krause (2006-09) as the only four-time All-Stars in American Association history. Kane County skipper George Tsamis will be managing his fifth All-Star Game (two for St. Paul, three for Kane County), extending his own record.
Biggest Snubs
- Remember when I said Cleburne had just two All-Stars? A few Railroaders have legitimate gripes. RHP Aaron Mishoulam is 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA over 45.1 innings. INF Frankie Tostado is slashing .328/.361/.569 with 8 home runs, 42 RBI, and a league-high 18 doubles. RHP Connor Richardson has a 2.08 ERA and 30 strikeouts in 30.1 innings out of the bullpen. All three absolutely could’ve been selected
- Dakota Hudson is on the Inactive List so he’ll be unavailable, but he’s 6-1 with a 2.09 ERA over 43.0 innings. Ryan Hernandez was selected even after he went off to the Mexican League, so why not pick Hudson even if he won’t play? He should’ve been selected, at least for vanity
- David Shaw has logged a 2.55 ERA over 21 outings for host Lincoln. Being a dependable reliever for the host squad, they could’ve found room for him
- Tripp Clark is slashing .342/.412/.530 in 33 games as a catcher and didn’t get in. That’s definitely a surprise
- A lot of good outfielders got left out in the West: Dillon Thomas (.297/.415/.543 with 10 HR and 44 RBI), Jesus Lujano (.323/.377/.421, 30 RBI), Anthony Hall (.311/.401/.486, 10 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 30 RBI), and host Lincoln’s Jairo Pomares (.282/.394/.521, 10 HR, 36 RBI) all put up All-Star-caliber first halves but will spend the break at home
- Second base in the West was rather weak, but Sahid Valenzuela (.303/.366/.360, 10 2B, no homers, 14 RBI) is starting, while Keshawn Lynch (.311/.350/.432, 11 2B, 1 HR, 22 RBI) wasn’t picked at all. You could’ve easily swapped those two and have been justified in doing so
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