Marsh completes ultimate comeback story with All-Star recognition

This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

Brandon Marsh has a kid-like quality in the way he plays and enjoys baseball, so it’s easy to imagine him playing Wiffle Ball as a kid in his backyard pretending to be and dreaming of one day being an All-Star.

“You always want to be an All-Star,” Marsh said Sunday morning at Kauffman Stadium. “You always want to call yourself an All-Star growing up.”

Marsh not only learned he made his first All-Star team on Saturday night, but he learned he will be in the starting lineup at Citizens Bank Park on July 14, too. Marsh is the first Phillies outfielder selected to a starting spot since Raul Ibañez in 2009.

“It’s a really special moment,” Marsh said.

Marsh entered Sunday batting .310 with 15 home runs, 46 RBIs and an .857 OPS. It’s hard to believe, but he was batting .095 (4-for-42) when he went on the injured list on April 20, 2025, with a strained right hamstring. He rejoined the team on May 3, 2025. He has hit .306 with an .846 OPS in 170 games since.

“It could show you that anything's possible,” Marsh said. “Just going from the bottom of the bottom and now being here, it’s inspiring. A lot of people have done it in the past, and I try to follow in their footsteps.”

Marsh on Sunday thanked his teammates, coaches, managers and others for getting him to this point in his life and career. He said he got countless text messages, including a few blasts from the past.

But Marsh thanked his family, too.

He was asked what he thought his father might think about his All-Star appearance. Jake Marsh Jr. died from cancer in 2021.

“He was one of my biggest, if not my biggest, supporter growing up,” Marsh said. “Put him and my mom right there with each other. He obviously grew up, he played the game. He didn't play after high school, but he loved ball. He knew the game. Yeah, you know, I think he's got the best seat in the house. He gets to watch from the front row. I think he'd be super proud. It’s a big reason why I do it.”