A’s 1-2 punch Langeliers, Kurtz to start 1st All-Star Game

The Athletics’ powerful 1-2 punch is headed to Philadelphia.

Catcher Shea Langeliers and first baseman Nick Kurtz will represent the A’s in the 2026 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on July 14 at Citizens Bank Park, and both will start for the AL squad.

“I think it’s going to be a really cool experience,” Langeliers said. “250 years of the United States in Philadelphia. Just the way that lined up is really cool.”

Langeliers won the fan vote to start behind the plate, beating out Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk, 65% to 35%, in Phase 2. With the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. -- the fan vote winner at first base -- declining to participate, the start goes to Kurtz, who was ranked highest at his position on the player ballot. Both players will be making their first All-Star appearances.

Typically occupying the top two spots in a dangerous A’s lineup, Langeliers and Kurtz have both been among MLB’s best hitters at their positions in 2026. Langeliers leads all AL catchers with 20 home runs, batting .264 with an .822 OPS in his fifth Major League season. Saturday’s announcement comes just after Langeliers exited Friday night’s game against the Marlins with a left thumb contusion, but the catcher is day to day and expected back by Tuesday -- a full week ahead of the 2026 Midsummer Classic.

The reigning AL Rookie of the Year, Kurtz is steadily improving in his second Major League season as he builds an early AL MVP case. He entered Saturday leading the Majors in RBIs (66) and walks (76), while his .424 on-base percentage and .949 OPS both ranked second in the American League, behind only the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez.

It’s the second straight season the A’s have had two All-Stars, both position players. In 2025, Jacob Wilson was the AL’s starting shortstop in the Midsummer Classic as a rookie, while Brent Rooker was a reserve at designated hitter. Rooker came up big for the AL All-Stars, launching a three-run home run in the seventh inning in his lone at-bat and hitting two more dingers during the first-ever All-Star swing-off.

2026 has been quite the year for both Langeliers and Kurtz, who missed out on All-Star nods in 2025 but put together torrid second halves and carried that momentum into 2026. Langeliers had a 1.018 OPS in the second half of 2025, closing strong in his third full MLB season. Kurtz, who debuted in May 2025, posted a 1.107 OPS in 59 games after last season’s All-Star break and was a unanimous choice for AL Rookie of the Year. Drafted on July 14, 2024, two years to the day of his first All-Star appearance, Kurtz acknowledged he’s come a long way in a short time.

“It’s crazy,” Kurtz said. “Two years ago feels like it’s so long ago now.”

Both players will have something special to look forward to when they arrive in Philadelphia. Kurtz grew up just an hour away in Lancaster, Pa., so the All-Star Game will serve as a homecoming for him. For Langeliers, who became a father for the first time in early May, 2026 continues to be a whirlwind.

“I don’t think there’s any other way to put it other than it’s been crazy,” Langeliers said. “It’s been a wild ride. It’s been the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Becoming a father, that just changes everything. I feel more tired, obviously, stuff like that. To be an All-Star in the same year, I think this year will be hard to top.”

Shea Langeliers, C

Previous All-Star appearances: None

Something to know: Langeliers is the first A’s catcher to start an All-Star Game since Terry Steinbach in 1989 and the first A’s catcher to be named an All-Star since Stephen Vogt in 2016. He recently joined Khris Davis as the second player to post four consecutive 20-homer seasons for the A’s over the past 20 years. Since the A’s moved to California in 1968, Langeliers is the ninth player with a stretch of at least four consecutive 20-homer seasons.

Nick Kurtz, 1B

Previous All-Star appearances: None

Something to know: This will be a homecoming of sorts for Kurtz. He grew up in nearby Lancaster, Pa., as a die-hard Phillies fan, and his family had season tickets for years when he was a kid. His fandom ran so deep that he named his pets after his favorite Phillies Bryce Harper, Ryan Howard, Chase Utley and Hunter Pence. Kurtz is the first A’s first baseman selected to the All-Star Game since Matt Olson in 2021.