{"id":125845,"date":"2026-07-14T16:39:54","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=125845"},"modified":"2026-07-14T16:39:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T20:39:54","slug":"red-sox-all-stars-ranked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/07\/14\/red-sox-all-stars-ranked\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking Red Sox All Stars Invited to 2026 Midsummer Classic"},"content":{"rendered":"

The All-Star Game is set for tonight in Philly, with representation from players of every single Major League Baseball team. Some teams have multiple players joining their league\u2019s squad, including the four Boston Red Sox All Stars. Whether they were invited off the bat or selected due to others opting out or injury replacements, three representing Boston will play tonight, most likely. Here they are, ranked based on their first-half performance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Writer\u2019s Note: As of three PM on Tuesday, <\/span><\/i>Sonny Gray<\/span><\/i><\/a> is not an All-Star. There is a spot on the roster due to <\/span><\/i>Cam Schlittler<\/span><\/i><\/a> being unable to participate, but American League manager <\/span><\/i>John Schneider<\/span><\/i><\/a> hasn\u2019t spoken on who would take that spot, if it\u2019s filled at all.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Ranking the 2026 Red Sox All Stars\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

4. <\/b> Ranger Suarez\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/h2>\n

Suarez is this low because even though he was selected as an All-Star pitcher from the start, he suffered an injury on July fifth and was subsequently placed on the injured list last Thursday. The former Phillies pitcher was<\/span> signed by the Red Sox<\/span><\/a> this offseason and <\/span>had a decent debut<\/span><\/a>, but due to injuries, there was reason to err on the side of caution. But so far, he\u2019s maintained success in this stacked rotation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Boston
Jul 5, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) throws in the first inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a0In 17 starts, he has a 4-3 record with an ERA of 3.15. Those are decent numbers, but he also holds opponents to a .232 OBA, as well as striking out 25.8% of batters. Pretty good numbers for a guy who was projected as the fourth-best pitcher in the rotation to start the season. Now, due to injuries all over, the role he\u2019s taken has shifted around, last seen as the second guy, backing up Gray the day after his start. But he has also gone down, so time will tell where he stands in the second half.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

3.<\/b> Aroldis Chapman\u00a0<\/b><\/a><\/h2>\n

Now, this might be a little low for the guy who some may see as the best closer in baseball. And while he is very good for a guy in his age-38 season, it\u2019s not quite the dominance he reached last season when he won AL Reliever of the Year. But for a closer, he\u2019s still good.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

First off, the Red Sox weren\u2019t in the spot they are now earlier on, so the fewer close games they played, the more rest Chapman got. That lessens his impact for sure. Secondly, the game against the Colorado Rockies definitely inflated his ERA, giving up three of his seven earned runs in that game.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Other than that game, he\u2019s been pretty good. In the season thus far, he\u2019s gotten 16 saves with a 2.20 ERA. He\u2019s got 36 K\u2019s in 28 \u2154 innings, holding hitters to a .213 OBA. His Red Sox future is up in the air currently, as he\u2019s one of the most sought-after pitchers at the deadline, but if he stays, he\u2019ll surely be a name to watch as the Red Sox try to make their way into the postseason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. <\/b> Ceddanne Rafaela <\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/h2>\n

The improvements on the offensive side of the ball for Ceddanne Rafaela make a good case for him to be number one on this list. His batting average has jumped .32 from last season thus far, from .249 to .281. He\u2019s got 96 hits so far this season, hopefully on pace to break his 136 from his 2025 campaign. The power is still there, with half (eight)\u00a0 of the \u201825 total (16) coming in the first half.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, the talk around Rafaela can\u2019t leave his glove unnoticed. The reigning AL Gold Glover in center field has a .996 fielding percentage (against a .990 league average for center fielders). He also has 16 DRS, the third most in all of baseball (behind <\/span>Andy Pages<\/span><\/a> and Rafaela\u2019s teammate, <\/span>Wilyer Abreu<\/span><\/a>). Rafaela\u2019s glove was always there; the Red Sox just needed his bat to fully come around, and with far fewer strikeouts than he\u2019s had in past years, it seems that the guy who replaced <\/span>Aaron Judge<\/span><\/a> in the All-Star Game has become one of Boston\u2019s best players.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

1. <\/b> Willson Contreras<\/b><\/a><\/h2>\n

Going into the season, the Red Sox needed two things. A full-time first baseman and a power bat. They struggled with both last year. With<\/span> Triston Casas<\/span><\/a> still <\/span>injured from last year<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and the <\/span>power department lacking <\/span><\/a>as opposed to years past, Contreras has been a very welcome addition to the team. Taking over for <\/span>Vladimir Guerrero Jr<\/span><\/a>\u2019s absence, the recent Home Run Derby contestant hit .285 and slugged 20 home runs in the first half, only four shy of his career high in a season.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Boston
Jul 7, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras (40) hits a two-run double against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Defensively, he may be in contention for a Gold Glove at first, putting up a fielding percentage of .996. He\u2019s also been at the center of attention (like it or not) in July for Boston, between his suspension and the selection. Along with Chapman, being one of the key veterans, he will be a <\/span>huge <\/span><\/i>part of this second half for the team if they lean into contention.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Red Sox have plenty of names showing out at the All-Star Game. The same stars that impacted the first half could be the ones that help down the stretch. But that\u2019ll have to wait for the second half. The All-Star Game is tonight at 8 PM Eastern Time in Philadelphia.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The All-Star Game is set for tonight in Philly, with representation from players of every single Major League Baseball team. Some teams have multiple players joining their league\u2019s squad, including the four Boston Red Sox All Stars. Whether they were invited off the bat or selected due to others opting out or injury replacements, three […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5767,"featured_media":125848,"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":[4,1071,35],"tags":[501,28464,209,29128,29670,3009,650,2021,1478,28456],"class_list":["post-125845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-redsox","category-mlb","category-news","tag-aaron-judge","tag-andy-pages","tag-aroldis-chapman","tag-cam-schlittler","tag-ceddane-rafaela","tag-ranger-suarez","tag-sonny-gray","tag-triston-casas","tag-willson-contreras","tag-wilyer-abreu"],"modified_by":"Augustus Oswald, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125845","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\/5767"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125845"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":125851,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125845\/revisions\/125851"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}