This story was excerpted from Jake Rill's Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
BALTIMORE -- In 2024, the Orioles had a whopping five All-Stars. In 2025, their only representative at the Midsummer Classic was designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn.
How many players should Baltimore expect to send to Philadelphia for this year’s All-Star Game scheduled for July 14 at Citizens Bank Park?
It’s possible the O’s will have only one All-Star for the second consecutive year. But the club is also having a better first half than last season, and there are at least a handful of players on the roster who can be viewed as viable candidates.
With fan voting currently taking place (more on that here), let’s look at five Orioles who could potentially be All-Stars next month. (We’ll include pitchers here, too, though they are not part of the voting process.)
After a disappointing second half of the 2024 season and an injury-plagued campaign in 2025, Rutschman has returned to the form that made him an All-Star in both 2023 and 2024. In fact, the 28-year-old catcher is on track to have an even better showing than either of those years.
Through 48 games entering Monday, Rutschman was hitting .267 with 14 doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 36 RBIs and an .832 OPS. His 2.1 fWAR ranked third among American League catchers, behind only the Tigers’ Dillon Dingler (2.5) and the A’s Shea Langeliers (2.3).
But the best facet of Rutschman’s game this season has been his improved defense, stemming from his new right-knee-down catching technique. He has thrown out an AL-high 13 baserunners (already the second-highest total of his five-year MLB career) at a caught-stealing rate of 36.1% that would rank as his best.
RHP Rico Garcia
It can be challenging for non-closer relievers to make the All-Star Game, as they can often get overlooked. But Garcia’s numbers are eye-popping enough to put him in consideration.
A journeyman for much of his six-year MLB career, the 32-year-old Garcia posted a 1.00 ERA in 27 innings over his first 29 appearances. He’s allowed only three runs -- and that number was two before giving up a solo home run to Toronto’s Brandon Valenzuela on Sunday.
Perhaps Rutschman won’t be the only O’s catcher on the AL’s All-Star Game roster, though the 21-year-old Basallo is listed on the ballot as a designated hitter. He’s unlikely to win the fan vote -- that honor will likely go to Houston’s Yordan Alvarez -- but Basallo is building a solid case to make the team as a reserve.
In his first full big league season, Basallo hit .267 with nine doubles, one triple, nine homers, 26 RBIs and an .815 OPS in 54 games. He is also trending upward after posting a .338/.376/.597 slash line over 25 games in May.
1B Pete Alonso
The Polar Bear is a popular player, so he’ll likely get plenty of fan support in voting. But Alonso is also hitting much better than he was early in the season, and if that trend continues over the next few weeks, the 31-year-old could slug his way to his sixth All-Star nod in nine MLB seasons.
Alonso entered Monday with 13 home runs (tied for the team lead) and a .770 OPS. His 10-game hitting streak ended Sunday, but he was still hitting .311 (23-for-74) over his past 19 games.
RHP Kyle Bradish
It could take a few more strong outings for Bradish to pitch his way into the All-Star conversation. But the 29-year-old right-hander is always capable of getting on a roll -- as he did from May 8-31, when he recorded a 1.72 ERA over five starts.
After allowing five runs in four innings during a loss to the Blue Jays on Saturday, Bradish has a 3.89 ERA through 13 outings this season. If the righty can get that number down a bit, he could be worthy of his first career All-Star selection.