'Biggest no-brainer in the world': D-backs make Marte's All-Star starter case

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When he was left off the NL All-Star team in 2023, Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte was devastated.

Now, after the first round of fan voting for the 2025 All-Star Game has been completed, Marte is in prime position to start his second straight Midsummer Classic.

Marte was the leading vote-getter among second baseman with 1,561,235 votes, with the Dodgers' Tommy Edman in second place with 1,059,174. Marte, who won the fan vote last year, also earned a starting assignment in 2019.

Should Marte -- who was hitting .313 with a 1.012 OPS entering the D-backs' 9-8 loss to the Marlins on Friday -- win once again, he would become the first Diamondbacks player to win three fan elections and would become the first NL second baseman to win consecutive fan votes since Chase Utley won five straight from 2006-10.

Phase 2 of the voting will begin at 9 a.m. MST on Monday, with fans voting for the finalists at each position during a three-day window that concludes at 9 a.m. MST on Wednesday.

Later that night, the winners will be announced on ESPN at 4 p.m. MST during the MLB All-Star Starters Reveal Show presented by PRO SPIRIT. During this second phase of voting, in which fans can vote once per day on MLB platforms, vote totals will reset (i.e., vote totals from Phase 1 do not carry over) and the winner at each position (including three outfielders per league) will be named a starter.

“My fans are doing a great job [voting],” Marte said. “My family [too]. I would be happy to be with the other superstars over there in the National League. For me it is very special.”

Last year, Marte got to bring his family with him to the game, which made it extra special for him.

“My kid, we had fun,” Marte said. “And to be in the clubhouse with [Shohei] Ohtani and all the other superstars was fun.”

One person who will continue to vote and lobby for Marte is Torey Lovullo, who managed last year’s NL team by virtue of the Diamondbacks getting to the 2023 World Series.

Marte also has the support of his teammates like right-hander Merrill Kelly, who walked away with a win last Saturday in Colorado thanks to Marte’s offensive support.

“He makes our team go,” Kelly said. “He’s definitely a catalyst. When he goes, we go. He puts a lot of pressure on any pitcher he faces, he’s dangerous from both sides of the plate and he’s been really good defensively the last couple of years. When he’s locked in, he’s one of the best players in the league.”

In fact, for some of his teammates, there’s simply no doubt Marte should be the starter.

“I mean, that's got to be the biggest no-brainer in the world,” first baseman/DH Pavin Smith said. “I mean, he's doing everything right -- hitting, playing defense, controlling the zone, walking, hitting for power. It's crazy. That 3-0 pitch he hit the other day [Tuesday against the White Sox], it was like the most perfect pitch you could possibly throw and he still hits a homer. It's pretty amazing.”

Right-hander Brandon Pfaadt will be casting his votes in support of Marte.

“He's one of the best players in the league,” Pfaadt said. “The consistency that he shows up with every day is amazing and he's the reason that we win a ton of ballgames. So if there's anybody that should be in it, I think he's more than deserving.”