Most Likeliest First-Year All-Stars in 2020

In 2019, many players took a step forward and established themselves as potential future MLB All-Stars. The league is filled with so much young talent nowadays that some of the league’s most exciting players have yet to be selected to the mid-summer classic. For this list, 2019 awards, Triple-Crown stats, advanced metrics, and StatCast (and in some cases 2018 accolades as well) are used to make the case for each player. This list is in no specific order and highlights some of 2019’s best performers who are ready to take their game to the next level as All-Stars in 2020.

*Player charts key: Age as of Opening Day 2020, 2019 = Overall production in 2019, Future = most likely highest grade in a future season

RHP Jack Flaherty, STL

FACTS TO KNOW:

Pitched to a 0.91 ERA over his last 15 starts (best in MLB)
0.968 WHIP in 2019 led the National League
Finished 4th in NL Cy Young voting for the 2019 season
Finished 5th in NL ROY voting for the 2018 season
Playoffs: 2.77 ERA in 2 GS vs. ATL (NLDS); 9.00 ERA in 1 GS vs. WAS (NLCS)

OF Jorge Soler, KCR

FACTS TO KNOW:

Led the American League in home runs (48) last season
First Royals player in history to hit 40+ HR in a season
One of the five players to play all 162 games in 2019
His .569 SLG was the fifth best in the AL
Finished in the league’s top two percent with a 16.9 Barrel %

SS Marcus Semien, OAK

FACTS TO KNOW:

Finished third in the 2019 AL MVP race
Improved from -8 DRS in 2015 to 26 DRS between 2018 and 2019 (10th best in MLB)
Since the start of 2018, his 11.4 fWAR ranks seventh among AL hitters
K% has improved from 22.4% in 2016 to 13.4% in 2019
Played all 162 games last season

LHP Eduardo Rodriguez, BOS

FACTS TO KNOW:

Limited hitters to just an 85.7 mph Exit Velocity in 2019
His 34 starts were tied for most in all of the major leagues
Finished sixth in the 2019 AL Cy Young voting
Pitched to a 2.94 ERA in the second half (4th best in the AL)
Struck out 213 batters in 203.1 IP (9th best in the AL)

1B Matt Olson, OAK

FACTS TO KNOW:

Reigning 2x Gold Glove winner at first base (2018 and 2019)
Led all major league first basemen with 18 DRS
His 89 HRs since 2017 are the second most in the AL among 1B
Led all AL first baseman with a .545 SLG in 2019
Ranks in the top two percent with a 50.3 Hard Hit %

RHP Seth Lugo, NYM

FACTS TO KNOW:

Possesses the league’s best curveball spin rate (3285 rpm)
Since 2018, Lugo has a 2.68 ERA and a 0.998 WHIP in 181.1 IP
His 2.3 fWAR ranked 3rd best in the NL among qualified relievers
Lugo limited hitters to a minisule .560 OPS in 2019
July 2019 NL Reliever of the Month

SS Tim Anderson, CHW

FACTS TO KNOW:

Won the AL Batting title last season by hitting .335
.508 SLG in 2019 was 6th among AL Shortstops
130 wRC+ ranked 4th among MLB Shorstops
Led all shortstops with a .399 BABIP
Won the April 2019 Player of the Month award

RHP Tyler Glasnow, TBR

FACTS TO KNOW:

Glasnow’s .222 wOBA allowed ranks in the league’s top 1%
1.78 ERA was lowest among major league starters (min. 60 IP)
0.890 WHIP was second lowest among major league starters (min. 60 IP)
Had a career high 33 K% (11.27 K/9)
April 2019 AL Pitcher of the Month
Missed time from May-September in 2019 (forearm strain)

C Mitch Garver, MIN

FACTS TO KNOW:

.630 SLG ranked first among major league catchers (min. 250 PA)
3.9 fWAR was third best among all catchers
Eighth best wRC+ (155) among all major league hitters (min. 250 PA)
50% Hard Hit rate in 2019 (top 3% percent of league)
Won the 2019 AL Silver Slugger at Catcher

3B Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR

FACTS TO KNOW:

Hit .325/.391/.535 with seven home runs in 174 PA last August
His 91 home runs in the HR Derby broke the record for most in a single derby
Won the AL Player of the Week twice in 2019 (May 19th, Aug. 4th)
Ranked as the no.1 prospect by Baseball America before the 2019 season
Father Vladimir Guerrero Sr. is a 1st ballot Hall of Famer in the class of 2018

Honorable Mention

SS Fernando Tatis Jr., SDP: .590 SLG was highest among NL shortstops (min. 250 PA)
LHP Matthew Boyd, DET: Fifth highest K/9 in the AL (min. 150 IP)
3B Yoan Moncada, CHW: OPS of .915 was sixth highest among all major league 3B
RHP Zack Wheeler, PHI: Pitched to a 2.83 ERA in 76.1 IP over his last 12 starts in 2019
OF Max Kepler, MIN: Finished fourth among AL outfielders in fWAR (4.4) and HR (36)