Los Angeles Angels superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani were the lead vote-getters in each of their categories, and have been named starters for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in Los Angeles. As two of the league’s best players, the Halos have two unsurprising representatives in the Midsummer Classic.
Both Trout and Ohtani have been excellent this season, and are well-deserving of the starting nod. Trout — despite several long hitless stretches this season — still holds a .271 batting average and .982 OPS. These numbers are not quite on par with his career averages, but is an All-Star season nonetheless.
This is Trout’s 10th All-Star selection out of 10 possible seasons. He missed out on a selection during his rookie year, in which he played 40 games, and 2020 when there was no All-Star Game.
Ohtani, meanwhile, is starting his second consecutive All-Star Game at the designated hitter position after being voted in by a very slim margin — 52-48 — over Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez. At the plate this season, Ohtani has taken a slight step back from 2021, but has still been effective.
He is batting .262 with an .848 OPS, to go along with 19 home runs, 15 doubles, 54 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. He’s been an elite hitter in clutch situations too, posting an insane 1.177 OPS with runners in scoring position this season.
It’s still unclear whether or not he’ll be a starter as a pitcher as well, although a selection appears to be a guarantee given where he’s at in the leaderboards. His 2.44 ERA would rank ninth in all of baseball among qualified pitchers, and his 0.988 WHIP would rank eighth.
With the game taking place in Los Angeles, it’s possible that Ohtani could once again be the starting pitcher and designated hitter as MLB makes strides to draw attention to their league’s biggest and brightest stars.
The All-Star Game will be hosted at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California on July 19.
Here are the full list of starters:
American League Starters
C – Alejandro Kirk, Toronto Blue Jays
1B – Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Toronto Blue Jays
2B – Jose Altuve, Houston Astros
3B – Rafael Devers, Boston Red Sox
SS – Tim Anderson, Chicago White Sox
RF – Aaron Judge, New York Yankees
CF – Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels
LF – Giancarlo Stanton, New York Yankees
DH – Shohei Ohtani, Los Angeles Angels
National League Starters
C – Willson Contreras, Chicago Cubs
1B – Paul Goldschmidt, St. Louis Cardinals
2B – Jazz Chisholm Jr, Miami Marlins
3B – Manny Machado, San Diego Padres
SS – Trea Turner, Los Angeles Dodgers
RF – Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers
CF – Ronald Acuna Jr., Atlanta Braves
LF – Joc Pederson, San Francisco Giants
DH – Bryce Harper, Philadelphia Phillies
