The Midsummer Classic lands at Citizens Bank Park with the game's two biggest names, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, both stuck watching from afar. That leaves plenty of room for someone else to steal the show in Philadelphia.
Bush’s PicksPicks madeJul 13, 8:09 AM CT
+123+122LeagueLeague-138
-175-176League +1.5League -1.5+151
-117Over 7.5Under 7.5+100
Best BetLeague +122
The National League sits as the short-money favorite at home, but that price was built before Ohtani, its best player, was ruled out. The American League's active core of Witt, Trout, Greene and Alvarez stacks up fine against a Freeman-Muncy-Pages group missing its headliner, which makes the plus-money dog worth a look.
League
+Witt, Trout, Greene, Alvarez all active and starting
+Trout owns 12 career All-Star selections, most of anyone
−Judge out with a rib stress fracture
−Guerrero Jr. opted out with back discomfort
League
+Braves, Dodgers, Phillies each send 5 All-Stars
+Freeman earning his 10th career selection
−Ohtani, the league's top vote-getter, out with knee issue
−Skenes and Misiorowski, two of NL's best arms, unavailable
No starting pitcher is locked in for either side, and that's by design. All-Star Game 'starters' change by the batter, with both managers running relay races through their bullpens from the first pitch. What is locked in is the list of arms who won't be part of it: Paul Skenes and Jacob Misiorowski, two of the National League's best, are skipping the exhibition entirely because both are lined up for real starts this weekend.
The absences pile up from there. Judge is dealing with a rib stress fracture and won't play, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pulled himself out with back discomfort, leaving real gaps in the AL's projected lineup. On the other side, Ohtani, the game's leading vote-getter, is managing left knee irritation that's already cost him a scheduled start and now costs the NL its top offensive weapon. Oddsmakers still like the National League to hold serve at home.
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American League
National League
That hands the stage to whoever's actually suiting up. Bobby Witt Jr., Mike Trout, Riley Greene and Yordan Alvarez anchor an AL lineup that doesn't lack for thump even without Judge and Guerrero, while Freddie Freeman is soaking up his 10th career selection and Max Muncy and Andy Pages fill out a National League order that's still stacked even with Ohtani sidelined.
American League
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
National League
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Philadelphia gets its own moment too. Bryce Harper was added as a legend pick after fans and players voted in Freeman and Matt Olson, giving the hometown crowd a reason to roar regardless of what the scoreboard says. It's a nice subplot in a city that's spent the week arguing about who got left off the roster in the first place.
That argument has a face: Zack Wheeler said being passed over again felt disrespectful and turned down a late invite to join as a replacement, tying a career-high with 14 strikeouts in his next start as a not-so-subtle response. Brice Turang has his own case as one of the year's biggest statistical snubs. None of it changes the roster in Philadelphia, but it's the kind of noise that makes an exhibition feel a little more like a real grudge match.
