The dynamic duo of Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson will be taking their talents to Arlington as American League All-Star starters.
The Orioles’ two superstars won the fan voting at catcher and shortstop, earning their spots in the AL starting lineup. It will be the first career All-Star appearance for Henderson, the reigning AL Rookie of the Year and a 2024 AL MVP frontunner. Henderson’s fWAR of 6.0 is second highest in baseball behind Aaron Judge’s 6.1, and his 26 home runs trail only Judge’s 32 among AL hitters. He ranks fourth in baseball with a .983 OPS.
Henderson had previously committed to participating in the Home Run Derby, and now it’s official that he’ll also be on the All-Star team (not that there was any doubt). Gunnar outperformed all other AL shortstops in Phase 1 voting, then easily defeated the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. in a face-to-face matchup in Phase 2.
This will be the first All-Star start and second All-Star appearance for Rutschman, who came up short last year in Phase 2 of the fan voting — losing to the Rangers’ Jonah Heim — but left no doubt this time by beating Kansas City’s Salvador Perez. Rutschman was the leading vote-getter among catchers in Phase 1 as well.
Rutschman is putting up career-best numbers in SLG (.465) and OPS (.811) and, with 15 home runs already, is on pace to shatter his previous season high of 20. Rutschman was selected as a reserve for last year’s All-Star Game in Seattle, going 0-for-1 after replacing Heim. He also took part in the 2023 Home Run Derby, memorably homering from both sides of the plate, but doesn’t seem likely to join Henderson in this year’s dinger contest.
While Henderson and Rutschman easily won their spots, the other four Orioles who participated in Phase 2 voting all fell short. Jordan Westburg was defeated by José Ramírez of the Guardians, a five-time All-Star. Anthony Santander, one of four outfielders vying for two starting slots with Judge, was outvoted by Yankees’ Juan Soto and Cleveland’s Steven Kwan.
