Our annual first snapshot of MLB All-Star rosters is in the books, with 67 newly-minted names in place for 64 spots for the 2024 All-Star Game in Arlington.
The discrepancy stems from the fact that we already know that three initial selections (Fernando Tatis Jr., Mookie Betts and Zack Wheeler, all in the NL) won't appear in next week's game at Globe Life Field because of injuries and other extenuating circumstances. As ever, the gap between recognized All-Stars and those who will actually be in the game will only grow from here as more roster substitutions come to pass.
Before we launch into a few notes and takeaways on the selections, allow me to once again stipulate that it's not easy to put together these rosters. To remind myself of this, I go through the exercise, picking two 32-team squads using the same parameters in play for the real rosters. All in all, the selection process worked pretty well. Invariably there are deserving players who have been left out, for now, but those overlooked may yet receive good news in the days to come. At the bottom line, 49 of my selections made the official list of 67, up from 45 last year.
With so much agreement, the disparities tend to fall more under the umbrella of quibbles than controversy, but we're here to nitpick. Let's get to it.