Read our story on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters, here. And click here for a position-by-position look at this year's ballot.
The 2026 All-Star Ballot is out, and in just over a month, a number of first-time All-Stars will be off to Philadelphia to partake in the Midsummer Classic.
For some players, it won't just be their first All-Star Game. It will be their first All-Star start, an even more prestigious honor.
Last season, Francisco Lindor, Junior Caminero and Pete Crow-Armstrong were among the game's stars to draw their initial All-Star Game starts.
Who might receive that honor this season? We selected 10 players who could start their first All-Star Game in 2026, ranking them by how strong their candidacy is -- factoring in both their own numbers and the competition they face at their respective positions.
All stats below are through Thursday.
1. Bobby Witt Jr., SS, Royals
This one feels surprising, right? We had to check, but it's true: Despite being named to the AL All-Star team in each of the last two seasons, Witt is still eyeing his first start in the Midsummer Classic. He finished as the runner-up in voting at shortstop to the Orioles' Gunnar Henderson in 2024 and the Athletics' Jacob Wilson in '25.
That will almost certainly change this season. By FanGraphs' version of WAR, Witt has been the most valuable player in baseball, and it's not exactly close. His 3.8 fWAR easily clears the second-most valuable position player, Houston's Yordan Alvarez (3.1 fWAR). Witt has been typically splendid on both sides of the ball, leading the Majors with +17 outs above average and posting a 131 OPS+ even after a slow start.
2. James Wood, OF, Nationals
The NL outfield is always a logjam. Last year, for instance, Juan Soto -- yes, Juan Soto -- didn't even crack the roster. A slew of talented players are once again vying for limited spots this season. Even still, Wood feels like a safe bet to make his second career All-Star team -- and in his second full big league season, to boot.
Might he start? He has a pretty good case. By most accounts, Wood has been a top-10 hitter in baseball. Among qualified hitters, he ranks eighth in on-base percentage (.401) and 10th in OPS (.929), fueling the league's highest-scoring offense. His 157 weighted runs created plus -- which measures a hitter's overall offensive value, where 100 is league average -- is tied with the D-backs' Corbin Carroll for second best among NL outfielders.
3. Shea Langeliers, C, Athletics
Langeliers' first trip to the All-Star Game may very well come as a starter. He leads all qualified AL catchers in most offensive categories, including home runs (16), on-base percentage (.358) and slugging percentage (.557). His 150 wRC+ is tied with three-time AL MVP Aaron Judge for the 15th-best mark in the Majors.
This isn't really anything new from Langeliers, whose star turn dates back to last season. Since the 2025 All-Star break, he's been one of the top hitters in baseball, with a .968 OPS that trails only Nick Kurtz, Shohei Ohtani and Judge. Expect Langeliers, the 28-year-old former first-round pick, to finally get some flowers in July.
4. Max Muncy, 3B, Dodgers
Manny Machado and Nolan Arenado have held down the fort at the hot corner for the better part of the last decade, combining to start seven of the last eight All-Star Games for the NL. But Father Time appears to be taking a toll on both players -- even though Arenado is actually in the midst of a bounce-back season. That should crack the door open for the 35-year-old Muncy to start in Philadelphia, given that he's defying Father Time himself.
With the exception of maybe outfielder Andy Pages, Muncy has been the Dodgers' most consistent hitter. In his 11th big league season, he's slugging .513 with an .860 OPS -- both inside the top 30 among qualified hitters. He leads all Dodger hitters with 14 home runs. A third All-Star appearance almost certainly looms -- Muncy made the team in 2019 and 2021 -- and it should come as a starter.
5. Ben Rice, 1B, Yankees
Let's start with a trivia question: Can you name the two qualified players with an OPS over 1.000? You probably know that Yordan Alvarez is one of them. But the other? That would be Rice, whose 1.030 OPS is the second highest in the Majors. With a 181 wRC+, he's essentially been 81% better than league average, mostly because of elite power. His 34 extra-base hits are tied with Alvarez for the second most in MLB. And, if you were curious, this isn't a fluke: Rice's expected stats, which are based off the quality and quantity of contact, are in line with his 2025 numbers, when he was one of the unluckiest hitters in the game.
The only reason Rice isn't further up on this list -- the reason he's not a slam-dunk to start the All-Star Game -- is because of the next guy.
6. Nick Kurtz, 1B, Athletics
If Rice isn't starting at first base for the AL in Philadelphia, it will almost certainly be Kurtz. The 23-year-old former first-round pick has done nothing but hit since making his MLB debut last April, and he's already made history in his second big league season. His 48-game on-base streak (which included one of the longest streaks of consecutive games with a walk in MLB history) tied Mark McGwire for the longest in A's franchise history. It's not a surprise, then, that Kurtz owns an MLB-best .437 on-base percentage.
Whatever metric you prefer, Kurtz and Rice are two of the best hitters in the Majors. Weighted On-base Average (wOBA), a version of OPS that properly values extra-base hits, actually has Rice (.435 wOBA) and Kurtz (.410) as two of the three best hitters in baseball, behind Alvarez. All of that is to say: Both of these players are deserving of their first ASG start.
7. Xavier Edwards, 2B, Marlins
Here's our second position battle on this list, with Edwards and Milwaukee's Brice Turang (more on him in a bit) each fighting for their first All-Star Game start at the keystone. These two second basemen have remarkably similar profiles. Let's start with Edwards, who ranks in the top 10 in base hits (73), batting average (.311) and on-base percentage (.396). He hardly ever strikes out -- his strikeout rate is in the 93rd percentile of MLB -- and he plays excellent defense (he was a Gold Glove finalist last year).
Edwards has also taken a step forward by incorporating some modern elements to his game. Though he's just 5-foot-9, Edwards is hitting for power, doubling his home run total from last season and raising his slugging percentage by over 100 points. That's because of concerted changes in the batter's box to his setup and swing -- especially as a right-handed hitter. Combined, all of this puts Edwards in a strong position to start the All-Star Game.
8. Brice Turang, 2B, Brewers
Turang undoubtedly deserves a say here, too. His .869 OPS is slightly better than Edwards' .864 mark, as is his 147 wRC+ -- which edges Edwards' 144. But these are slim margins. What's more fascinating here is how similar these players are.
Like Edwards, Turang has overhauled his approach to become a complete big league hitter -- not just a slap hitter. Last year, he revamped his mechanics to swing faster, and those changes continue to pay off via a career high hard-hit rate. Two years after posting a .665 OPS in 619 plate appearances, Turang's OPS is a top 25 mark in the Majors and comparable to that of two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper (.873).
9. Jordan Walker, OF, Cardinals
Walker's long-awaited breakout is one of the best stories in baseball in 2026. After a couple of lost seasons, everything has finally clicked for Walker, a first-round pick in the 2020 Draft. Still just 24 years old, Walker is hitting .291/.355/.537 with an .892 OPS and 15 home runs through the Cardinals' first 59 games. That's a better OPS than Mike Trout and a higher slugging percentage than Aaron Judge. He's always had the ability to hit for power -- thanks to the second-fastest average bat speed -- and now that he's keeping the ball off the ground, an All-Star nod is in order.
As we outlined earlier, competition is stiff in the NL outfield. Walker's 151 wRC+ is fourth best among qualified NL outfielders, trailing Soto, Wood and Carroll. But there's not an insurmountable gap. It wouldn't be all that surprising to see Walker taking the field in the first inning in Philadelphia.
10. CJ Abrams, SS, Nationals
Wood gets his fair share of credit for fueling a Nationals lineup that ranks as the highest-scoring unit in the Majors, slightly ahead of the Dodgers. But Abrams has been a remarkable partner in crime. Only Andy Pages has more RBIs than Abrams (47), whose .903 OPS ranks 15th best in the Majors. By Statcast's batting run value metric -- which calculates the sum of a player's contributions, assigning each pitch a run value based on its outcome -- Abrams has been the fourth-most productive hitter in baseball. His +21 run value trails only Alvarez, Rice and Kyle Schwarber.
Plus, there's a void at shortstop in the National League. Lindor has missed the last six weeks with a calf injury. Elly De La Cruz, who might have been the favorite to start, is sidelined with a hamstring strain. If he's not back in time, this sure looks like it's Abrams' role to lose.