Phase two of All-Star voting ended on Thursday at noon, and the National League Starters were announced on ESPN. Pitchers and alternates for the game will be announced on ESPN on July 2. The All-Star festivities begin on July 10 with the Home Run Derby, followed by the game on July 11. The game will be hosted at the home of the Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park.
Five different teams are represented in the National League side, with four players making their first ever start. Three Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers lead the way. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Miami Marlins, and St. Louis Cardinals all come in with one representative in the starting lineup.
Catcher: Sean Murphy (Atlanta Braves)
Sean Murphy will be making his first appearance in an All-Star Game in his first season since coming to the Braves from the Oakland Athletics. He will become the fifth Braves catcher to start an All-Star Game. He joins Brian McCann, Javy Lopez, Joe Torre, and Del Crandall. Through the first half of the season, Murphy is slashing .289/.385/.540 with a .926 OPS, and a 146 OPS+, all career highs. His 13 home runs, and 44 RBI through the first 81 games put him on pace to have career highs in both as well.
According to Baseball Savant, Murphy is in the top 10% of baseball in Average Exit Velocity, Max Exit Velocity, xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, and Barrel%. Murphy has long been one of, if not the, best defensive catcher in baseball, winning a Gold Glove for the Athletics in 2021. This season he ranks in the top 10% of catchers in both Pop Time and Framing.
First Base: Freddie Freeman (Los Angeles Dodgers)
Freddie Freeman continues to set the mark that all other first baseman try and match. In 2023, he will make his first start in the mid summer classic since coming to the Dodgers, and his fourth overall in his career. Freeman beats our new Braves first baseman Matt Olson for the start. Freeman leads all NL first baseman in R, SB, AVG, SLG, wOBA, xwOBA, wRC+, and fWAR. An incredibly impressive season which sees him slashing .321/.399/.544 with 14 home runs, 52 RBI, and a league leading 27 doubles.
Second Base: Luis Arraez (Miami Marlins)
Miami Marlins second baseman Luis Arraez is going for an incredible feat this season. He may become the first player to hit .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941. Arraez will be making his second All-Star appearance. 2023 will be his first time starting. He will also become the first Marlins second baseman to start an All-Star Game in franchise history. Currently slashing .392/.444/.485 with an impressive .929 OPS for a contact hitter. He leads all NL second baseman in AVG, OBP, wOBA, xwOBA, wRC+, and BABIP.
Third Base: Nolan Arenado (St. Louis Cardinals)
Nolan Arenado struggled at the start of the season. Through the first month of the season, he was hitting .230. But, he has bounced back in a huge way, hitting .290 in May and .302 so far through June. Arenado has been the standard at third base for nearly a decade now, and will be making his eighth straight All-Star appearance. This will be the fifth time in the last six All-Star Games that he will be starting at third base. He is leading all NL third baseman in RBI and SLG.
Shortstop: Orlando Arcia (Atlanta Braves)
Having the most surprising season of all All-Stars is Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia. On the season he is slashing .303/.358/.436 with six home runs and 26 RBI. All of these are on pace to be career bests. In a league with much more established shortstops, Arcia earns his first start in the 2023 All-Star Game.
Outfield: Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL), Mookie Betts (LAD), Corbin Carroll (AZ)
Ronald Acuña Jr.
Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. led all vote getters in Phase One of All-Star voting. Because of this, he automatically will start the All-Star Game, Just like Shohei Ohtani over in the American League. He is putting up one of the most complete statistical seasons we have seen in a long time. Currently he is slashing .331/.408/.585 with 19 home runs, 51 RBI, 36 Stolen Bases, and 71 Runs scored. Ronald is in the top 1% of all hitters in Average Exit Velocity, Max Exit Velocity, HardHit%, xwOBA, xBA, xSLG, and Arm Strength. He looks to become the first player since Alfonso Soriano in 2006 to have 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases.
Mookie Betts
Mookie Betts has been named to his seventh straight All Star Game. This will be his fifth time winning the fan vote, and getting the start in the mid summer classic. Betts quickly became one of the most popular players in all of baseball, getting the job done on both sides of the game. Slashing .260/.360/.523 with 20 home runs, 51 RBI, and 61 Runs. he is one of the most decorated players of his generation, and his Baseball Savant page bears that out. He is top 20% in baseball in every stat listed other than Max Exit Velocity and Outfielder Jump.
Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll is the second rookie to make this year’s starting lineup. Josh Jung is the other rookie, he will be starting at third base for the American League. The former first round pick and top prospect has dazzled everyone this season with his skill on both sides of the game. He has also helped lead the surprise Arizona Diamondbacks to a 50–35 record, two games above the second place Dodgers. He has a .290 AVG to go along with 17 home runs, 44 RBI, 24 stolen bases, and 60 runs scored. Corbin looks to become the first rookie to have a 40-40 season in baseball history.
Designated Hitter: J.D. Martinez (Los Angeles Dodgers)
J.D. Martinez has won the fan vote for the second time in his career, but will make his third start of his career in the 2023 All-Star Game. His 18 home runs this season are more than he hit all of last season. To go along with that, he is leading all NL DH in SLG, wOBA, wRC+, ISO, and RBI. Martinez is in the top 10% of NL DH in Average Exit Velocity, HardHit%, xwOBA, xSLG, and Barrel%. He continues his resurgence this season for the second place Los Angeles Dodgers.
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