TAMPA — The Tampa Bay Rays have as many as seven legitimate All-Star candidates heading into the final weeks of fan balloting, a reflection of a roster producing at elite levels on both sides of the ball.
“I think I could probably rattle off five guys off the top of my head,” starter Drew Rasmussen said. “I think right now we’ve got about five guys – maybe even six, actually, now that I’m thinking about it – that are definitely deserving to be there.”
Phase 1 of All-Star voting runs until noon ET on June 25, with the top two players at each position and top six outfielders per league advancing to the finals for a starting spot. Rosters for the Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia will be set roughly a month from now.
Designated hitter Yandy Díaz leads the charge among position players. The 2023 All-Star entered the team’s off day second in the American League with a .313 average and a .916 OPS that ranked fifth in the AL. Díaz is tied for the team lead with 22 extra-base hits and 112 total bases. Third baseman Junior Caminero, 22, has built on his breakout 2025 campaign — when he hit 45 home runs and drove in 110 RBIs as a first-time All-Star — by raising his average to .278 and his on-base percentage to .377 while nearly matching his 36 walks with just 39 strikeouts. He has 14 home runs. First baseman Jonathan Aranda has driven in 43 runs and is slashing .275/.381/.474 after a strong May that put him in the AL Player of the Month conversation.
The pitching staff may be even deeper. Right-hander Nick Martinez, who turns 36 in the coming weeks and has never been an All-Star, owns a 2.29 ERA in 70 2/3 innings with a team-high 2.4 WAR, according to Baseball-Reference. He rattled off 11 straight outings allowing two or fewer runs before a subpar start this week. Left-hander Shane McClanahan, who missed the previous 2 1/2 seasons due to Tommy John surgery and a nerve issue in his triceps, has posted a 2.45 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 53 strikeouts in 55 innings over 11 starts — a remarkably smooth return for a pitcher who started the AL All-Star Game in 2022.
Reliever Bryan Baker has been among the American League’s best out of the bullpen, recording a 2.13 ERA with 29 strikeouts and 16 saves in 27 appearances. Tampa Bay has sent only one reliever to the All-Star Game since 2017 — Andrew Kittredge as a late replacement in 2021. Rasmussen himself carries a 3.36 ERA with 55 strikeouts and just 12 walks in 59 innings over 11 starts, following up his All-Star selection last summer when he pitched a perfect inning.
Fans can vote daily through the June 25 deadline, with Phase 2 finalists announced shortly after.