American League and National League rosters for the 2016 MLB All-Star Game were revealed Tuesday during ESPN's selection show telecast.
Next Tuesday's annual contest at Petco Park in San Diego will feature 34 players per team. A final fan vote will decide one last addition to each side.
Below is an overview of the rosters, excluding the last two still to be voted in:
Voting for the final spot on the AL and NL teams opened Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET and will close on Friday.
It comes as little surprise that big-market, successful teams in the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs are the most represented among the All-Star starters.
The reigning World Series champion Kansas City Royals continued to benefit from an enthusiastic fanbase as well, with two deserving starters for the AL in first baseman Eric Hosmer and catcher Salvador Perez.
En route to his fourth All-Star bid, Perez was the leader in votes in the American League, per the ESPN telecast.
In addition to the sentimental and merited pick of David Ortiz as designated hitter amid his swan song, many of the young, rising Red Sox stars got recognition. Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts and right fielder Mookie Betts are only 23 years old and are in the conversation for the best players in baseball at their positions.
MLB Stat of the Day provided an interesting anecdote about the infield and the catcher for the AL squad:
Ortiz was the first starter announced on ESPN. The 40-year-old is making his 10th All-Star appearance after posting a .339 average with 19 homers and 66 RBI this season.
Baseball Tonight highlighted how Ortiz stacks up in Boston lore in terms of his All-Star history:
NL skipper Terry Collins will be deploying a starting lineup with a majority of Cubs players, including the entire infield. With its young talent, Chicago has an MLB-leading plus-151 run differential and a huge lead atop the NL Central.
ESPN Stats & Info noted the significance of the Cubs' achievement:
MLB.com's Daren Willman weighed in on how far Chicago has come in such a short span:
The Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper is batting only .258 this season, but the reigning NL MVP is nevertheless part of a high-octane outfield along with Yoenis Cespedes and another Cub in Dexter Fowler. The latter is on the disabled list with a hamstring injury and isn't sure if he'll be healthy enough to play in the Midsummer Classic, per Carrie Muskat of MLB.com.
Most interesting about the pitching selections is the AL's strategy to snag more relievers, inspired by Royals manager Ned Yost, who nabbed some arms from his own club—Wade Davis and Kelvin Herrera.
The National League went heavier on top-tier starters in the spirit of Collins' loaded New York Mets staff.
The AL and NL teams will battle to give their league home-field advantage for the World Series. That makes the Midsummer Classic worth tuning in for beyond the sheer talent on display.
This year's All-Star Game is also a showcase of what could be a future dynasty for the Red Sox and Cubs, who have the makings of reigning supreme in Major League Baseball in the coming years.
They are both coming into their own this season, and it could soon be Chicago's turn to extinguish its 108-year championship drought. Boston did so when current Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein was in charge of its personnel.
Now the Red Sox are flourishing in a new era, while Epstein has constructed a burgeoning powerhouse of likely perennial All-Stars in the Windy City.
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