2025 MLB: Five surprise All-Star Candidates 50+ Games Into the 2025 Regular Season
by Tyler Doty
A Third of the Way Through
50+ games is a large enough sample to start reading into. Pitchers have made nine or 10 starts if they have been healthy all year, and everyday hitters have made over 120 plate appearances.
It’s only two or three weeks until voting opens for the 2025 All-Star Game. Each team will be represented in Atlanta in a couple of months, and many players are all but guaranteed of a spot in the Midsummer Classic.
For others, their candidacy could be more surprising. Here are five players in the All-Star mix in the second half of May:
Matthew Liberatore
Sporting a 2.92 ERA and a 2.90 xERA, Matthew Liberatore has quietly been one of the best pitchers in the National League so far this season. The southpaw entered this season with an 85 ERA+ across 182.1 big-league innings.
A six-pitch repertoire has kept hitters off balance. Getting hitters to chase at an elite rate, Liberatore has also registered by far the lowest walk rate of his career at 3.8%.
Improved location has made Liberatore into an almost elite pitcher. His pitching+ of 105 is a considerable increase on the past three seasons, keep that in mind for your baseball picks. While he’s unlikely to sustain a Cy Young-contending level, Liberatore has a great shot at being an All-Star for the first time in his career.
Tyler Soderstrom
Tyler Soderstrom has already hit more homers in 2025 than he did in 2024. After a .744 OPS across 213 plate appearances last season, the Athletics first baseman didn’t enter the year as a likely All-Star.
It’s been a spectacular start to the year, including a hard-hit rate in the 91st percentile and a 126 OPS+. A period of adjustment may be on the horizon as teams increase the number of offspeed pitches they throw at the A’s slugger.
In Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Spencer Torkelson, Soderstrom has some strong competition in the American League, but he might end up with the strongest All-Star case of any Athletic.
Trent Grisham
Acquired by the New York Yankees in the Juan Soto trade in December 2023, Trent Grisham had a 91 OPS+ across 76 games last season. After playing 39 games in 2025, Grisham has a 168 OPS+ and sits among the league leaders with 12 home runs.
Always possessing great plate discipline, the former San Diego Padre has managed to cut down his strikeout rate while retaining his career-best mark for hard contact. He’s in the 94th percentile in barrel rate.
Mike Trout is injured; Kyle Tucker and Soto are in the NL. Grisham would be an All-Star lock if voting took place today.
Javier Báez
It looked like Javier Báez’s All-Star days were long gone. Báez had a 71 OPS+ and was only worth 2.1 bWAR across his first three years as a Detroit Tiger. He has a 129 OPS+ so far in 2025 and has already matched last season’s home run tally.
His xwOBA is still only in the 33rd percentile, yet it’s his best mark since the 2021 season. The switch to center field has served him well, with his glove playing at an elite level in the massive Comerica Park outfield.
Detroit has several other likely All-Stars. Báez is probably only a fringe contender, so he might miss out due to other teams needing to get a player onto the AL roster.
Eugenio Suárez
A .381 xwOBA is the best of Eugenio Suárez’s career. He hadn’t been above .355 since 2018. Previously selected to the midseason showpiece seven years ago, Suárez looks to be having a late-career resurgence on the Arizona Diamondbacks.
His strikeout rate is the lowest it’s been since his last All-Star campaign. His barrel rate is in the 94th percentile and a long way clear of his next best mark for a full season.
Matt Chapman, Manny Machado, and Austin Riley provide strong competition for Suárez. With the play of Corbin Carroll, it’s not like the decision-makers will be scrambling around to find a D-backs All-Star.
Still, Suárez has already built a solid case to make the team.
