Early Contenders To Represent The White Sox In The All-Star Game

Major League Baseball rules mandate that every team must have at least one representative in the All-Star Game. And for the last few years, the Chicago White Sox have been accustomed to taking advantage of that rule.

In each of the last three seasons, the White Sox have had just one representative in the Midsummer Classic.

In 2023, outfielder Luis Robert Jr. was more than deserving when he had 26 home runs and a .899 OPS at the break. Robert also participated in the Home Run Derby that year, losing in the semifinals to Randy Arozarena, but altogether putting on a strong showing while representing the White Sox.

In 2024, Garrett Crochet was another very deserving candidate. Crochet had a 6-6 record with a 3.02 ERA and 150 strikeouts over 107.1 innings at the break. His numbers struggled during the final stretch of the season because of some fatigue, but during the early stages of the 2024 season, Garrett Crochet was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball and the only real bright spot for a miserable White Sox team.

In 2025, Shane Smith definitely took advantage of the MLB rule mandating one representative from each team. He had a 4.26 ERA at the All-Star break, largely due to a very rough beginning to July. In the middle of June, his ERA was down to 2.37, but he too struggled with some arm fatigue before the All-Star break.

Under normal circumstances, Smith would not have been selected as an All-Star, but he was the best storyline going for the White Sox during the first half of the 2025 season, and he ended up being their lone representative.

It looks like this trend might change in 2026. One week into May, the White Sox have a handful of players making legitimate cases for the AL All-Star roster. This year, the players selected while wearing a White Sox uniform will be there on merit, not because of an MLB rule forcing them onto the roster.

In my opinion, the White Sox are in a good spot to have at least two and potentially up to four All-Stars in this year's Midsummer Classic, which will take place at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Tuesday, July 14.

Here's a look at the White Sox players with a chance to make the 2026 All-Star Game.

I predicted this one before the season, and it's looking like a complete no-brainer for the White Sox.

Munetaka Murakami has 15 home runs and 29 RBIs in his first 38 career games. That puts him among the MLB leaders in both categories. His incredible start to his rookie season is one of the biggest stories in Major League Baseball this year. He's a superstar both on and off the field and one of the most popular players on an international scale right now.

He should be a shoe-in for the All-Star Game and likely the Home Run Derby as well.

Davis Martin has been the breakout star for the White Sox this season. It's been a pleasant surprise, and it's been really fun to watch.

He has made seven starts this year and has a 5-1 record with a 1.64 ERA and a career high in strikeouts per nine innings. Martin is one of nine pitchers with five wins on the season, and he ranks third in baseball in ERA. He's also top 20 in the league in fWAR at 1.6.

If that's not an All-Star starting pitcher, I don't know what is.

Colson Montgomery has carried over most of his success from 2025 into 2026. He's not making quite as many waves as Murakami, but his OPS+ is right in line with where it was last year.

He's also been really strong defensively and currently ranks 28th in baseball in fWAR at 1.5.

If Montgomery keeps this up offensively, he'll be sitting at 20+ home runs by the break. That kind of production from a shortstop who also plays very good defense and plays in one of the largest media markets in the country should absolutely get him onto the AL All-Star roster.

My other preseason prediction to make the All-Star team was White Sox closer Seranthony Domínguez.

Domínguez has pitched in 16 games this season with a 3.68 ERA and eight saves. He's seventh in baseball in saves right now and fifth in the American League.

As things stand right now, Domínguez would definitely be on the outside looking in, but if he puts together a strong couple of months, gets that ERA below 3.00, and continues to convert save opportunities consistently, we could see him among the AL leaders in saves by the All-Star break. This one still has an outside shot of happening.

I'd be surprised if Sean Burke does enough to get the national recognition it takes to become an AL All-Star. As good as he's been this season and as good as he could be in the future, there still isn't much buzz surrounding Burke right now.

We see deserving starting pitchers get passed over for All-Star nods all the time simply because they don't have a big name or don't play for one of the better teams in baseball.

That being said, Burke has a 3.68 ERA this season, and in his last two starts before Friday night, he had thrown 13.1 scoreless innings with 12 strikeouts. If he gets hot and that ERA keeps dropping, who knows what could happen.

Miguel Vargas is going to have an uphill climb. While he's been very good this season with a .781 OPS and seven home runs, and you could realistically be talking about a player with an OPS over .800 and 15-plus home runs by the All-Star break, the competition is steep when it comes to AL third basemen.

Kazuma Okamoto of the Toronto Blue Jays has him beat in both OPS and home runs while bringing the same international appeal that Murakami does.

Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays also tops Vargas in both home runs and OPS, and there is a longer track record there because Caminero was an All-Star in 2025 and hit 45 home runs. Once you break through as an All-Star, you tend to get the benefit of the doubt and earn repeat selections.

Josh Jung of the Rangers also has an All-Star appearance on his résumé and is currently batting .323.

Even if the on-paper numbers for Miguel Vargas look good, I have a hard time seeing how he makes the All-Star team as the fourth most deserving third baseman in the American League. That's not even factoring in the possibility of someone like José Ramírez heating up, but never say never, I suppose.

I would have felt a lot better about this one before Wednesday's game, when Noah Schultz got tagged for seven earned runs and raised his ERA to 4.68 on the season. A lot of that wasn't his fault, and his overall stat line doesn't fully reflect how well he's pitched. Still, we've already seen the flashes from Schultz this season.

In his three starts prior to Wednesday afternoon, he had thrown 17 innings with a 1.59 ERA.

I'm still bullish on his future and the impact he will have on the White Sox this year. If he can string together a really strong two months before the All-Star break, we've seen Major League Baseball prioritize getting young starting pitchers into the All-Star Game in the past. It's a long shot, but it's not impossible.