Every MLB Player Making Their All-Star Debut in 2025

The MLB 2025 All-Star rosters were officially released on Sunday ahead of the game on Tuesday, July 15.

While there are plenty of players who will be returning to the All-Star Game after receiving multiple bids in their careers, there are many players who will be making their All-Star debuts this summer. There's been quite a few standout stars in MLB this season already, like Cal Raleigh and Pete Crow-Armstrong to name two examples. And, they will now get to show off their talents on a national stage.

In total, 18 MLB stars were named to their first All-Star Game this year. Here's a breakdown of all those players, including which ones are rookies this season.

American League First-Time All-Stars

Player

Team

Position

Cal Raleigh

Seattle Mariners

Starting Catcher

Ryan O’Hearn

Baltimore Orioles

Starting Designated Hitter

Jacob Wilson

Athletics

Starting Shortstop

Jeremy Peña

Houston Astros

Reserve Infielder

Jonathan Aranda

Tampa Bay Rays

Reserve Infielder

Shane Smith

Chicago White Sox

Starting Pitcher

Hunter Brown

Houston Astros

Starting Pitcher

Bryan Woo

Seattle Mariners

Starting Pitcher

National League First-Time All-Stars

Player

Team

Position

Pete Crow-Armstrong

Chicago Cubs

Starting Outfielder

Brendan Donovan

St. Louis Cardinals

Reserve Outfielder

James Wood

Washington Nationals

Reserve Outfielder

Kyle Stowers

Miami Marlins

Reserve Outfielder

Hunter Goodman

Colorado Rockies

Reserve Catcher

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Los Angeles Dodgers

Starting Pitcher

Matthew Boyd

Chicago Cubs

Starting Pitcher

Mackenzie Gore

Washington Nationals

Starting Pitcher

Jason Adam

San Diego Padres

Relief Pitcher

Randy Rodríguez

San Francisco Giants

Relief Pitcher

Rookies Named to All-Star Game

There's only two rookies who were named to the All-Star rosters this year: Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson and Chicago White Sox pitcher Shane Smith.

Wilson was called up right after the All-Star break last summer, so this is his first full season with the team. He is the first fan-elected rookie shortstop to earn the All-Star starting bid in MLB history—pretty impressive. In 84 games so far this season, he's averaging .335/.377/.468 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs.

Smith's pitched in 17 games this season, posting a 3-7 record in that span. He's etched a 4.20 ERA over 83.2 innings pitched. He's thrown 76 strikes and given up 74 hits.

Alexsandro sets out key condition to join West Ham after early January transfer talks

West Ham chiefs are already working to try and save Nuno Espírito Santo when the January window opens for business, with Brazil international defender Alexsandro now a key winter target.

According to recent reports, and amid the Hammers’ dire start to 2025/2026, David Sullivan, Karren Brady and the board are ready to back Nuno to the hilt with new additions mid-season.

Sky Sports reported last week that Nuno has got confirmation funds will be available to spend in January, and West Ham are actively targeting a new defender, midfielder and forward.

Much has been made of their glaring need for a new striker, with Real Madrid sensation Endrick rumoured to be on West Ham’s January shortlist as the east Londoners ponder a loan deal.

However, long-term injuries to Konstantinos Mavropanos and Ollie Scarles have left West Ham desperately short at the back too.

West Ham’s results in the Premier League so far

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

Mavropanos is expected to be out for up to six weeks after picking up a hamstring injury against Brentford, while Scarles was forced to undergo surgery on his collarbone and could be missing until 2026 (ExWHUemployee).

If West Ham’s desire for a star new defender to shore up their leaky backline wasn’t already there, it definitely is now.

So far, West Ham have conceded more goals than any other side in the Premier League, and it is crystal clear that Nuno needs to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

Bearing this in mind, Nuno has now got his eyes on Alexsandro.

The 26-year-old has been a mainstay for Lille and his impressive performances in France even attracted attention from Premier League title frontrunners Arsenal in the summer.

Before Mikel Arteta’s side eventually signed Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera as their central defensive additions, credible South American news outlet UOL reported that Arsenal held initial talks over Alexsandro, which eventually went nowhere.

This is good news for West Ham, as Nuno is believed to be extremely keen.

Alexsandro makes key demand to join West Ham in January

According to Hammers News, the Irons boss wants him in the first week of January after identifying Alexsandro as the club’s priority defender signing this winter.

A deal is described by one transfer source as having a “good” chance of happening, and early talks have already been held over the centre-back’s potential arrival.

However, Alexsandro has apparently set out a key condition to join West Ham.

It is believed the Ligue 1 star wants “assurances” that there will be a route out of the London Stadium if West Ham enter the doomsday scenario of relegation, so it appears he’s looking for a safety net before committing.

While Alexsandro has been excellent for Lille overall, as evident by the Gunners’ reported interest earlier this year, he has real disciplinary issues.

Last season, the player was handed a seismic 13 bookings in all competitions, picking up three yellow card suspensions in the French top flight alone.

Nuno would need to try and work this out of Alexsandro’s game if the defender moves to Rush Green at the start of next year, but according to ESPN, he could be available for just £26 million.

West Ham have also held talks to sign two more players from the same club

Kamboj: 'As a fast bowler, your challenge is to always look to create opportunities'

The Haryana quick talks about idolising Glenn McGrath, bowling Travis Head off a no-ball, and learning what it takes to bowl on flat pitches

Shashank Kishore18-Sep-2024Anshul Kamboj wasn’t even born when Haryana won their first (and only) Ranji Trophy crown in 1990-91. And he didn’t know until his debut in 2022 what it took to succeed in first-class cricket. Two years on, Kamboj has built on a superb 2023-24 season, in which he was Haryana’s leading wicket-taker during a victorious Vijay Hazare campaign.Last week, Kamboj, 23, picked up an eight-wicket haul for India C in the 2024-25 Duleep Trophy. On a surface where his side racked up 525, Kamboj, who describes himself as a hit-the-deck bowler, ran through India B after their openers Abhimanyu Easwaran and N Jagadeesan put on 129.Test batter Sarfaraz Khan, Musheer Khan and T20 star Rinku Singh were among those Kamboj dismissed. His 8 for 69 in 27.5 overs are currently the second-best figures by a fast bowler in Duleep Trophy history. Three batters were bowled, and two – the Khan brothers – lbw.Related

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“On a pitch where there wasn’t much help, my job was simple: attack the stumps to bring bowled and lbw into play,” Kamboj tells ESPNcricinfo.”You can’t overcomplicate things. It’s easy as a fast bowler to say, ‘there’s no help in this pitch, what can we do.’ As a fast bowler, your challenge is to always look to create opportunities. That’s what I’m learning to do.”Kamboj loves watching videos of Glenn McGrath. But the time he spent watching him bowl on YouTube has been matched on the field by trying to emulate McGrath’s virtues.”He was known to keep hitting the deck with the perfect seam,” Kamboj says. “That’s what I’ve grown up learning to do. Pace is one aspect, but if you can be accurate and hit the perfect seam, you can make the ball talk.”Kamboj comes from boxing heartland, Karnal in Haryana, and began playing on open fields. It wasn’t until he was 14 that he began to take the game seriously. And in less than a decade, Kamboj hasn’t just progressed to his state team but has also broken into the IPL.”The turning point was in 2019,” he says. “I had just played for India Under-19. That was when I discovered what it takes to be a professional. While I could play just one series [for India Under-19], it was an eye-opener in terms of the areas I needed to improve – the fitness, the skill aspect, conditioning, everything.”

“The two IPL games gave me a lot of learnings on what it takes to play at this level. Nothing prepares you for it. When you’re in the middle, the experience and lessons you learn by playing – you can’t get it anywhere.”Anshul Kamboj

Kamboj has played a lot of his cricket in Lahli, renowned to be a swing bowler’s paradise. But it’s here he learnt two things about fast bowling. “The importance of not getting carried away when everything is going your way, and the need to vary lengths as per the surface,” he says promptly.Earlier this year, Kamboj earned his maiden IPL contract when Mumbai Indians signed him at the auction. Having waited right until the end of the season for his opportunity, Kamboj had a memorable initiation.”I’ve replayed that a fair few times in my head,” he laughs when asked of his IPL debut.After being slapped for six off his second delivery, Kamboj flattened Travis Head’s off stump three balls later, only to find out he had overstepped. Head would dispatch him to the boundary off the next two deliveries.”It was heartbreaking, I felt so bad. Everyone tried to calm me down quickly and told me to forget about it. How could I? You dream of playing in this tournament and when your first wicket is off a no-ball, it’s a terrible feeling.”There was more frustration in store when Head was dropped off his bowling in his second over. But agony turned into ecstasy two balls later, when he clean bowled Mayank Agarwal – “with a hit-the-deck delivery” – for his maiden IPL wicket.”The two IPL games gave me a lot of learnings on what it takes to play at this level. Nothing prepares you for it. When you’re in the middle, the experience and lessons you learn by playing – you can’t get it anywhere.”It’s almost always assumed a young player talks up his India ambitions when asked of the road ahead, but Kamboj is different.”We’ve won the Vijay Hazare, the Ranji Trophy is the next big goal,” he says. “We’ve won the title only once. I want to help us win another Ranji crown. And if I can keep improving from every game, it’ll go a long way in this journey towards contributing to Haryana’s success.”

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