{"id":101875,"date":"2025-06-10T20:17:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:17:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=101875"},"modified":"2025-06-10T20:17:00","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T00:17:00","slug":"2025-mlb-all-star-picks-first-base-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/06\/10\/2025-mlb-all-star-picks-first-base-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 MLB All-Star Frontrunners: First Base Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best time in all of sports has officially arrived: the summer of baseball. What does that mean exactly? Every other league takes a backseat while Major League Baseball drives through the warm months as the only professional sport with competitive games. And with that comes one of the game\u2019s most beloved traditions: the MLB All-Star Game.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each year, fans vote for who they think deserves to start\u2014and often, that includes names from their favorite teams or simply the biggest stars in the sport. But as we\u2019ve seen in years past, fan voting can be\u2026 complicated. Just ask 2021 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/h\/harpebr03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bryce Harper<\/a>, who posted a .282 average with 15 homers and a .899 OPS by midseason and still didn\u2019t make the cut.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this series, we\u2019ll go position by position, breaking down the players most deserving of MLB All-Star nods\u2014along with a few dark horse names who might sneak in if the stars align. Next up we have the position of first base.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>MLB All-Star Frontrunners: First Base<\/h2>\n<h3><b>National League<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><b>NL Starter: Pete Alonso<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first base competition in the National League has been a true back-and-forth battle. If you asked two weeks ago, New York Mets slugger <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/alonspe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pete Alonso<\/a> might\u2019ve been behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/freemfr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Freddie Freeman<\/a> for the starting spot. After one of the strongest weeks in the entire league, he\u2019s taken the lead.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alonso spent the past week batting .400, while launching five home runs (three of them against Freeman\u2019s Los Angeles Dodgers) and driving in 14 runs. And that\u2019s not just a hot stretch\u2014he\u2019s been producing all year. He\u2019s batting .301 with a league-high 57 RBI and 17 home runs.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">?\u200d\u2744\ufe0f?<\/p>\n<p>Congrats to Pete Alonso on being named the National League Player of the Week! ? <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mVh2WPNSiL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/mVh2WPNSiL<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 New York Mets (@Mets) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mets\/status\/1932173608056685011?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Alonso is a lock to make his fourth straight MLB All-Star Game, but the big question: will this be the year he finally earns his first-ever start?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Backup: Freddie Freeman<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This race is closer than people think. Freeman actually has Alonso beat in several key categories, especially batting average, where he ranks third in the NL at .351, a full 50 points higher than Pete.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Freddie was a big question mark entering 2025. With multiple injuries lingering from last season, the 35-year-old missed the team&#8217;s opening series in Japan due to the ankle injury he suffered back in September. That same ankle flared up again after a slip in the shower, forcing him to miss two more weeks in April. At that point, he was batting just .250\u2014a slow start by his standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But since returning? Freeman\u2019s batting .412 and showing everyone why he\u2019s still one of the best hitters in baseball.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is shaping up to be a heavyweight battle: two of the league\u2019s biggest stars, both more than deserving. No matter who gets the nod, the NL is in great hands at first base.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>American League<\/b><\/h3>\n<h4><b>AL Starter: Jonathan Aranda<\/b><\/h4>\n<h4><b><\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are really three guys in the American League with resum\u00e9s strong enough to earn a starting nod in Atlanta. But <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/arandjo01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jonathan Aranda<\/a> is the most deserving.<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Tampa Bay Rays have something special in their 27-year-old first baseman. The former No. 6 prospect back in 2023 has stepped up in a significant way this season, leading AL first basemen in just about every major offensive category\u2014including a .323 average and .409 on-base percentage.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">SEND JONATHAN ARANDA TO THE ALL-STAR GAME<\/p>\n<p>HE\u2019S TOO CLUTCH<\/p>\n<p><a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tNnMZJqiLy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/tNnMZJqiLy<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Rays The Roof (@RaysTheRoofTB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RaysTheRoofTB\/status\/1932246191820939603?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Will Aranda actually get voted in? That\u2019s hard to say. His biggest competition is New York Yankees first baseman <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/g\/goldspa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Goldschmidt<\/a>, who plays in a massive market and will absolutely rack up fan votes. This is exactly why this series exists\u2014to shine a light on guys like Aranda who might not get the national love they deserve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Backup: Paul Goldschmidt<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did anyone see this coming? Goldschmidt has been on a tear this season, but in a completely different way than we\u2019re used to. The former MVP has taken a more contact-heavy approach at the plate, and it\u2019s working.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 37-year-old is batting .312 with 74 hits, the second-most among all AL first basemen. Just a few weeks ago, he looked like the clear frontrunner for the starting job. But since June started? He\u2019s been ice-cold, hitting just .111 through seven games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goldy still has a legit shot at the All-Star Game\u2014and probably will make it\u2014but with how Aranda\u2019s been swinging it, the starting spot shouldn&#8217;t be his.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Dark Horse: Spencer Torkelson<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2025\/05\/29\/tigers-best-team-mlb-last-100-games\/\" target=\"_self\">best teams in baseball<\/a> right now? The Detroit Tigers. And a big part of that success has been <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/t\/torkesp01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-06-10_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Spencer Torkelson<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just a few months ago, there were rumors the Tigers were shopping him around the league, seeing what kind of return they could get. But Torkelson came out of the gates swinging, proving he belongs in Detroit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He\u2019s not your typical high-average guy like Aranda or Goldschmidt, but he brings what a first baseman traditionally should: power. So far, he\u2019s got 15 home runs, 45 RBIs, and leads all AL first basemen in slugging at .500.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Torkelson absolutely has a case. But as the subhead says, he\u2019s a true dark horse in the running.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The best time in all of sports has officially arrived: the summer of baseball. What does that mean exactly? Every other league takes a backseat while Major League Baseball drives through the warm months as the only professional sport with competitive games. And with that comes one of the game\u2019s most beloved traditions: the MLB [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5548,"featured_media":101920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,22,6],"tags":[68,206,6248,69,208,2402,3682],"class_list":["post-101875","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-mets","category-rays","tag-baseball","tag-freddie-freeman","tag-jonathan-aranda","tag-mlb","tag-paul-goldschmidt","tag-pete-alonso","tag-spencer-torkelson"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101875","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101875"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101921,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101875\/revisions\/101921"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}