Annually, the Major League Baseball (MLB) Home Run Derby and All-Star Game feature some of the best talent in each league (American and National) gathered in one place to converse and compete against each other. The 2024 festivities at the home of the Texas Rangers will host superstar sluggers Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies), Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Dodgers), and Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) as well as the All-Stars mentioned below who are not talked about as often as these big, marketable names.
Five Underrated First-time MLB All-Stars
The following five athletes deserve to play in Tuesday’s game based on their first-half performances. Yet they are somewhat underrated for a variety of reasons such as their teammates overshadowing them, the media not giving them enough attention, or their team not doing well overall. Next week, these newly minted All-Stars have the opportunity to sparkle on a national stage by partaking in this midsummer spectacle.
1. Steven Kwan
First-time All-Star Steven Kwan, the American League’s starting left fielder and leadoff hitter for the first-place Cleveland Guardians, has always had a knack for racking up base hits and accumulating a high batting average. He has taken his special ability to the next level this season, not letting a month-long absence with a hamstring injury deter his performance. In 67 games, he is batting an extraordinary, Major-League leading .361 (97 hits in 269 at-bats) with a career-high nine home runs and 27 RBIs. The two-time Gold Glove Award winner is also playing his customarily stellar outfield defense. This club’s most well-known hitter, fellow All-Star starter José Ramírez, would not have the opportunity to accumulate 77 RBIs, a mark second-best in baseball, without Kwan constantly on-base setting the tone for Ramirez and the rest of Cleveland’s hitters. In a sport that is more than ever embracing the three true outcomes (home run, walk, and strikeout), it is refreshing to see contact-first, so-called slap hitters like Kwan and fellow All-Star, San Diego Padres infielder Luis Arráez get recognized for their achievements. The Guardians need Kwan to stay healthy and productive at the plate if they want to hold on to their division lead the rest of the season and make a deep run in the playoffs.
2. Jurickson Profar
Sticking with the theme of left-fielders having career years, Jurickson Profar has finally found a home in San Diego, where he has emerged as arguably the unsung hero of the Padres’ loaded lineup. Profar has been in the baseball limelight since he represented his native country Curacao in the 2004 Little League World Series. A few years later, the Rangers signed him as an international free agent and, not long after, he was seen as one of the premier young prospects across the league. The 31-year-old debuted with the Rangers in 2012, yet his breakout did not come until 2018 when he cranked 20 home runs and drove in 77 runs. The following year, the Rangers traded Profar to the Oakland Athletics where he only spent one season. Since 2020, the versatile, athletic player has primarily suited up for the Padres, aside from spending most of last season with the Colorado Rockies. This year has been his best yet as Profar has locked down the team’s left-field opening by hitting .311 with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs. At last, Profar appears to be living up to the immense potential he showed as a prospect, with his consistently reliable performance exactly what the contending Padres have and will continue to desire down the stretch of this season. What a great coincidence that his first All-Star game appearance will be at the home field of his first Major League team!
3. Jarren Duran
Heading into the All-Star break, manager Alex Cora’s Boston Red Sox are doing better than expected. This past offseason, the club did little to improve what was a last-place team in 2023. However, Boston is right in the AL Wild Card race and only five games behind the first-place Baltimore Orioles. Center fielder Jarren Duran’s extended breakout is one of the main factors behind this team’s surprising first half. The club’s seventh-round selection in the 2018 MLB Draft largely struggled in limited playing time in his first two Major League seasons (2021 and 2022). Last year, things started to change as he tasted lingering top-level success for the first time, seeming to claim an outfield position as the season wore on. Duran, who entered this season as the Red Sox’s starting center fielder, has provided a dynamic sparkplug presence atop this team’s lineup and in the outfield. The well-deserved, first-time All-Star has truly broken out at the plate, batting .278 with 10 home runs, 41 RBIs, 25 doubles, and 10 triples, giving opposing pitchers someone else to worry about that is not the club’s franchise face, third baseman, Rafael Devers. Duran’s power and speed combination makes him one of the Red Sox’s most exciting players to watch and may lend to a memorable All-Star moment for the rising star.
4. Ryan McMahon
An avalanche has fallen on the Rockies yet again with the club stuck in their comfortable position of last place in the National League (NL) West. Colorado still fails to attract pitchers to play for them because of their unique home ballpark challenges, and the pitchers they employ have yet to learn the secret to limiting runs at Coors Field. That often makes anything good done by their average offense a moot point. Their All-Star representative this year, third baseman Ryan McMahon is worthy of the selection as he is batting .272 with 14 home runs and 45 RBIs. While his numbers have to be taken with a grain of salt because half of his games are played at the hitters’ paradise that is the Rockies’ home ballpark, they do reflect a player who has stood out for many seasons, yet gets limited attention because of the awful team around him. Although unlikely, what are the odds that McMahon becomes the second-straight Rockies player to win the All-Star-Game MVP Award, an honor claimed by his teammate, catcher Elias Diaz last July.
5. Tanner Scott
The Miami Marlins have entrusted left-handed relief pitcher Tanner Scott to save their wins, a job that he has completed more times than not over the past year and a half. He was a big reason behind their push to snag the last NL Wild Card spot last year, finishing the regular season with a 9-5 record, 2.31 ERA, and 12 saves in 74 games. While it appears that last year was an aberration with the Marlins currently sunk deep in last place in the NL East division, Scott continues to successfully save games the few times he has been called upon over the past few months (1.38 ERA, 13 saves). His All-Star-Game appearance may serve as a showcase for all the contending teams as most of them could use this impending free agent who is extremely likely to be traded to another team by the end of the month’s trade deadline.
These are just a few players who will get the chance to make their mark in their first All-Star Game. For some, this may be the only time they get to compete in the “midsummer’s classic”, while for others it may be the start of a yearly occurrence.
Main Image: Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
