The last time the same team had a different pitcher start the All-Star Game in back-to-back years?
That would be 2012 and 2013, when Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer represented the Tigers as the American League starter in the Midsummer Classic.
If a Yankee were going to follow Gerrit Cole’s lead this year to start the July 16 game at Globe Life Field — after Cole started his first All-Star Game last summer in Seattle — the best bet would have been one of their former All-Stars: Carlos Rodon, Nestor Cortes or Marcus Stroman.
And yet, as All-Star Game fan voting opened this week (for position players, with pitchers being voted in by the players), Luis Gil was among the leading candidates to start the game for the American League — understanding that plenty can happen between now and then.
Through 12 starts, Gil has posted a 1.82 ERA with 85 strikeouts in 69 ⅓ innings. The only qualified starter with a lower ERA is Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez. Opposing batters have hit just .129 against Gil with a .461 OPS, both marks leading the majors by a considerable margin (Suarez is second in both categories, at .167 and .485, respectively).
It has become difficult for opponents to muster multiple hits against Gil, never mind multiple runs — the latter has not happened since April 26 — all for a pitcher who would not have been in the Yankees rotation if Cole had not gotten injured in spring training.
Of course, Gil will have to keep doing this — though not necessarily at such a dominant pace — for six or seven more starts and then hope his final outing before the All-Star break does not fall too close to the All-Star Game that Tuesday in order for him to start the game. And then it will be up to Rangers manager Bruce Bochy to make the final call.
All of that is to say there are a lot of things that could keep Gil from actually starting the game. But he certainly has put himself in a strong position two-plus months into the season to make that happen.
His biggest competitors for the starting nod include Red Sox right-hander Tanner Houck (1.91 ERA in 13 starts, 84 strikeouts in 85 innings), Tigers ace Tarik Skubal (1.97 ERA in 12 starts, 86 K in 73 IP), Royals right-hander Seth Lugo (2.13 ERA in 13 starts, 71 K in 84.1 IP) and Orioles ace Corbin Burnes (2.26 ERA in 13 starts, 76 K in 79.2 IP).
Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (2.70 ERA, nine starts) cannot be discounted either, with Bochy managing and the game being played at Globe Life Field, though Eovaldi did miss time on the IL due to a groin strain.
Whether or not Gil gets the honor of starting the game, the Yankees certainly are on track to have at least a few other starters in the field, not to mention reserves or other pitchers (Stroman and Rodon are among those with a case to make the team).
Here’s a look at which other Yankees could be headed to Texas in July:
Outfield
At this point, Aaron Judge and Juan Soto would be locks to start the All-Star Game in center field and right field, respectively, provided Soto does not have to miss extended time due to the sore left forearm that forced him from Thursday night’s game.
Judge leads all major leaguers in WAR by both FanGraphs’ version (4.1) and Baseball Reference’s version (4.3). The Yankees captain also leads the majors in home runs (21), slugging percentage (.658) and OPS (1.080) while ranking second in on-base percentage (.423). Not bad for a guy who had a relatively quiet first few weeks of the season.
Soto is tied for first in fWAR (4.1) and fifth in bWAR (3.6). He ranked fourth in batting average (.318), first in on-base percentage (.424), third in slugging percentage (.603) and second in OPS (1.027).
In a game made for stars, Judge and Soto are two of the game’s biggest and should cruise into their sixth and fourth All-Star Games, respectively.
The only real question seems to be who would join Judge and a healthy Soto in the American League’s starting outfield. There’s a good chance it will be Astros right fielder Kyle Tucker, who has 19 home runs, a .979 OPS and 3.3 fWAR.
Beyond those three, cases could also be made for Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran, A’s outfielder Brent Rooker and Astros outfielder Yordan Alvarez (who could be the AL’s starting DH).
Alex Verdugo also has played well enough to be an All-Star — his defense in left field has been terrific along with his steady presence at the plate — though it may be tough for the Yankees to get their entire outfield on the roster.
Shortstop
Anthony Volpe is playing like an All-Star and deserves to be one. He has taken off as an all-around impact player on both sides of the ball in his second year.
There are only seven major leaguers with a higher fWAR than Volpe. His only problem is two of them happen to be AL shortstops — the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. and the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson — as the young trio could be vying for the All-Star start for years to come.
In some years, there have been just two shortstops on an All-Star Game roster, so it’s no guarantee all three make it this year, especially because some bench spots are often reserved for a player who is his team’s only representative.
Here’s how the three young studs stacked up entering Thursday:
Witt: .319 BA, .935 OPS, 11 HR, 16 2B, 6 3B, 17 SB, 10 Outs Above Average, 4.0 fWAR
Henderson: .264 BA, .948 OPS, 19 HR, 8 2B, 4 3B, 8 SB, 3 OAA, 3.8 fWAR
Volpe: .290 BA, .803 OPS, 6 HR, 10 2B, 6 3B, 11 SB, 5 OAA, 2.9 fWAR
Catcher
Barring a surprise, either Salvador Perez or Adley Rutschman will be the AL’s starting catcher with the other serving as a backup. The veteran and young star are putting together strong seasons, each batting above .300 with an OPS higher than .800 and strong defensive metrics.
Jose Trevino was an All-Star in 2022, and his hot start at the plate this season was reminiscent of the one he had two years ago. But it’s probably not a bad thing for the veteran to get some rest over the break. He and Austin Wells have formed a strong tandem this season.
First base, second base and third base
Anthony Rizzo and Gleyber Torres have gotten off to slower starts (though Torres has picked it up over the past month), meaning the All-Star Game is unlikely to be in the cards for them this season. Same goes for DJ LeMahieu, who is just over a week removed from making his season debut because of a non-displaced foot fracture. Even if he catches fire in the next few weeks, that won’t be enough time to earn a trip to Texas.
Designated hitter
Giancarlo Stanton has put together the makings of a bounce-back season through the early going, benefitting from getting lighter over the offseason, which has allowed him to use his legs more in the batter’s box and overall just stay healthy.
That said, he’s still probably a long shot to make the All-Star team. Alvarez is the favorite to start at DH, and the rest of the bench spots are more likely to go to guys who play the field.
Bullpen
The Yankees have the second-lowest reliever ERA in the majors (2.90), trailing only the Guardians (2.38). Holmes has been central to that early success, recording 18 saves — second in the league behind Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase — with a 1.32 ERA.
Bullpen spots can be hard to predict in the All-Star Game because it is another place teams might be able to claim their one representative. That makes it difficult for the likes of Luke Weaver to have a chance to make the roster, as strong as he’s been to start the season. But Holmes should be headed for Texas.
Rice is cooking
It’s around that time of the year when teams begin to make their first wave of promotions in the minor leagues, and the Yankees made a notable one in bumping catcher/first baseman Ben Rice from Double-A Somerset to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The club has no shortage of catching depth, including four already on the 40-man roster in Trevino, Wells, Carlos Narvez (Triple-A) and Agustin Ramirez (Double-A). Rice pushed his way into the fold with a breakout season in 2023.
But it’s Rice’s bat that has been his loudest tool, which is why the organization has gotten him a decent amount of action at first base as well — including his Triple-A debut on Wednesday, when he crushed a home run.
Before that, though, the Yankees had Rice make one last Double-A start behind the plate on Tuesday, when he just so happened to be catching the reigning AL Cy Young winner.
”Ben was fantastic,” Gerrit Cole told reporters after making his first rehab start. “A lot of moving parts for him today — they had a lot of meetings and stuff, first game of the series — [but] we were able to connect to get on the same page. I thought his targeting was great. He kept a nice level head to give us an opportunity to execute all the different pitches. We’re trying to perform, but also check some boxes at the same time. It was very pro out of Ben.”
Rice, who had most of his college career at Dartmouth robbed by COVID-19, ended up playing 97 games at Double-A (between this season and last) and batting .295 with a .974 OPS and 28 home runs.
The left-handed-hitting Rice becomes another intriguing prospect at Triple-A, especially considering the organization’s lack of depth at first base.
Rizzo has a club option for next season, and LeMahieu is under contract through 2026. The Yankees have had Wells taking ground balls at first base on days when he’s not catching to give them another potential option in case Rizzo got hurt, though LeMahieu’s return gives them further protection there.
Want to catch a game? The Yankees schedule with links to buy tickets can be found here.
What can’t Soto do at the plate?
Soto’s offensive tools are obvious and, in case you hadn’t heard, generational.
But one underrated one? Bunting.
Sure, on most occasions you would rather see Soto swinging away and doing damage. But in Sunday’s series finale against the Giants, he served warning to teams that he has the threat of bunting for a hit in his back pocket, too, when the third baseman tries to shift on him.
“I have Judge [behind me] and he’s red-hot, why not drop it down every once in a while just to get on base for him to drive me in?” Soto said.
Manager Aaron Boone recalled a day in spring training when the Yankees practiced drag bunts and bunting for hits, and Soto opened some eyes.
“[Bench coach Brad] Ausmus came to me and said, ‘He’s probably the best at doing it,’” Boone said. “He’s already done it a couple times this year.
“Understanding what’s behind him, take what the game gives you. Look, he’s not going to do that a lot obviously, but there’s situations when you need base runners, they’re giving it to you, it opens up the field for you moving forward.”
