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The starting lineups for the 2025 Major League Baseball All-Star Game are set. The Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Dodgers lead the way with three players each chosen as starters. Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani will lead each team in the All-Star Game as the league's best converge on Truist Park in Atlanta. However, there were some selections made that caught fans by surprise.
1. Jacob Wilson's inclusion
The race for the starting shortstop spot in the American League was one of the closest. Jeremy Pena and Jacob Wilson are both leading their teams at the plate. Each are having career-years and have made an impact on winning. However, Wilson's selection is historic. He is the second rookie shortstop to start in the All-Star Game in MLB history.
Wilson beat out stiff competition to secure his spot as a starter. The fan vote helped him beat out Pena and Bobby Witt Jr. at his position. The rookie has a bright future, and his selection as an All-Star starter is proof. However, he will be hard-pressed to earn the same honor again with Witt Jr. and Pena continuing to play at an MVP level.
2. Gleyber Torres' selection
The Tigers have been one of the league's best teams all season. Tarik Skubal leads the race for the AL Cy Young Award, which would make him a back-to-back winner. However, his second baseman surprised fans when he was named a starter alongside Riley Greene and Javier Baez. After fighting off injury earlier this season, Torres has been electric.
While Torres' selection caught fans off guard, the competition for second base in the AL was not as stiff as it usually is. Jose Altuve and Marcus Semien were mainstays at the top of the voting for years. However, down seasons for both had them out of the running early. Torres' main competition was Jackson Holliday, who lost to Torres in the fan vote handedly.
3. Juan Soto's exclusion
Juan Soto was called out for his lack of effort earlier this season. However, the New York Mets' newest superstar has been on a tear since making a change. Soto's power has returned and he has almost single-handedly carried New York's offense through a rough patch. Unfortunately for him, his turnaround did not come soon enough to earn a starting spot in the All-Star Game.
Soto finished behind Kyle Tucker, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ronald Acuna Jr. in the voting. While he will play in the game, this is Soto's fourth career All-Star nod. After being so popular with the New York Yankees, Soto's cold stretch affected him more than experts thought it would in the eyes of fans.
