- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,199,142
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
The wait is almost over, as Philadelphia is set to host the 96th edition of the MLB All-Star game on Tuesday. July 14th. It will be the fifth time the City of Brotherly Love has played host to the event and the first time since 1996 when the game was held at Veteran’s Stadium. The actual All-Star Game serves as a wrap-up to an almost weeks’ worth of festivities celebrating baseball. First, let’s break down the schedule for All-Star weekend before we dive into how the Phillies themselves will factor into everything taking place.
What’s the schedule?
Friday, July 10th: HBCU Swingman Classic presented by USA Baseball
This game that features the best Division-1 college athletes from Historically Black Colleges and Universities will be the first to take place at Citizens Bank Park this weekend. It will begin at 7 pm and will be broadcast live on MLB.com and MLB Network.
Saturday, July 11th-Tuesday, July 14th: Capital One All-Star Village
This is a four-day event that will be held at the Pennsylvania Convention Center where fans can come together and celebrate baseball with legends meet-and-greets, interactive exhibits, contests, and samplings of ballpark concessions.
Saturday, July 11th: 2026 MLB Draft
Also at the PA Convention Center, the first few rounds of the MLB Draft will take place starting at 1 pm and will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock.
Sunday, July 12th: All-Star Sunday featuring the MLB All-Star Futures Game and the MLBx All-Star 3-on-3
Sunday will prove to be a busy day, as the Futures Game featuring the top prospects from across the minor leagues will kick off the day at noon at Citizens Bank Park. then following the conclusion of that game, the new 3-on-3 baseball competition will begin, featuring Phillies legends Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino, and Ryan Howard, AUSL All-Stars, and other Philadelphia athletes from past and present including DeVonta Smith and Terell Owens.
Monday, July 13th: Home Run Derby
The first of the two marquee All-Star events will take place Monday night, as eight sluggers from around baseball will look to capture the title of derby champion as the rules shift back to the old swing-based format with no clock. The derby will begin at 8pm and will be the first to be broadcast live on Netflix.
Tuesday, July 14th: 96th MLB All-Star Game
Finally, the All-Star game itself will conclude the celebration as the NL looks to repeat as winners over the AL after last season’s thrilling swing-off in extra innings to decide a winner. The All-Stars will arrive to Independence Mall at 2pm for the red carpet before the game begins at 8pm at Citizens Bank Park
Who are the Phillies’ All-Stars?
The hometown team will be well represented this year, as the Phillies will be sending six of their players to represent them on their own field.
Brandon Marsh
Marsh has been arguably the Phillies’ most consistent hitter on the season, as he has taken the leap from solid platoon player into everyday All-Star. His meteoric rise dates back to last season after he returned from injury following a brutal month of April where he hit .095 across 16 games. Since returning from a rehab assignment on May 3rd of last year, Marsh has a batting line of .304/.350/.489 in 198 games entering Thursday. This season, he is hitting .305 and is sixth in batting average for the National League. He’s been rewarded for his consistently excellent performance with his first career All-Star selection, receiving enough votes to where he will be in the outfield in the NL’s starting lineup when they take the field.
Jhoan Duran
Speaking of first time All-Stars, Marsh will be joined in that regard by his teammate Jhoan Duran. The Phillies closer has been an anchor in an otherwise shaky bullpen this season with a 1.47 ERA and 22 saves, including 16 straight saves to begin his season. Duran seems a lock to appear in the game at some point, as MLB will no doubt want to feature his electrifying entrance out of the bullpen to a national audience.
Cristopher Sánchez
Sánchez was one of the biggest snubs from the All-Star roster last season, and now he’s a candidate to start the game for the NL on his home mound. The lefty already set the Major League record for the longest scoreless streak ever by a left-handed pitcher back in May when he tossed 50.2 consecutive scoreless innings. It will be the second career All-Star nod for Sánchez with his first coming in 2024.
Jesús Luzardo
Luzardo was a bit of a surprise when he was named as a replacement for Jacob Misiorowski, but he also isn’t entirely undeserving of his first All-Star nod. His traditional numbers may not seem flashy, as Luzardo was 7-4 with a 3.75 ERA at the time he was named to the roster. But if you dig deeper, Luzardo has been better than those numbers may suggest. His 2.9 fWAR has him third behind Sánchez and Misiorowski for the highest among while his 28.6% strikeout rate is seventh best.
Kyle Schwarber
The only thing keeping Schwarber from being a starter in the game like Marsh is that he unfortunately plays the same position (DH) as Shohei Ohtani. Nevertheless, the current MLB home run leader will make his third All-Star appearance with the Phillies and fourth overall. Fresh off of a new five year, $150M extension signed with the Phillies in free agency, Schwarber has continued to cement himself as one of if not the best power hitters in the game, as he is on pace for a second straight season with 50+ home runs. Don’t forget, he was also named All-Star Game MVP last season when he won the first ever swing-off to decide the result of an All-Star Game.
Bryce Harper
The face of the Phillies franchise will make his third All-Star appearance as a Phillie and his ninth overall after being added to the roster with the commissioner’s “legend” pick. However, Harper had a strong case to make the team on his own merit despite finishing third in the voting among NL first baseman, as his .880 OPS entering play on Thursday is tied for the second best among all NL first basemen and his 20 home runs is also second. In any case, Harper will look to live up to his “Showman” reputation once again at All-Star week in his home ballpark like he did when he won the 2018 Home Run Derby at Nationals Park.
Will the Phillies have anyone in the Home Run Derby?
Speaking of the Derby, Harper made it official on Wednesday night with an Instagram post that he will take part in this year’s Home Run Derby. He had previously stated that he was unsure due to his father possibly not being able to throw to him as he did back in 2018 and the different format that will be instituted this year, Schwarber meanwhile has not announced anything as of this writing but recently stated that he is open to it if he was healthy and had already made the All-Star team. With both of those conditions met, it seems likely that he will declare his participation in the coming days. Schwarber last participated back in 2022 where he lost in a swing-off to Albert Pujols in the first round.
Outside of the Phillies, we know for sure at least five other participants as of this writing. They will be Junior Caminero of the Rays, Ben Rice of the Yankees, Willson Contreras of the Red Sox, Jac Caglianone of the Royals, and Jordan Walker of the Cardinals.
Will the Phillies have any prospects in the Futures Game?
In fact, they’ll have two, as Gage Wood of the Reading Fightin’ Phils and Wen-Hui Pan of the Jersey Shore Blue Claws will represent the Phillies organization at the Futures Game. Wood was the Phillies first round pick (26th) in the 2025 draft, and the former Arkansas Razorback who threw a 19-strikeout no-hitter in the College World Series has continued to thrive in his professional career. Coming into the season as the Phillies #5 prospect and 69th prospect overall according to Baseball America, the right hander started the year at Class-A Clearwater but quickly made the jump to Double-A Reading after posting a 3.42 ERA in eight starts with 40 strikeouts in 26.1 innings.
Pan meanwhile was an international prospect signing by the Phillies out of Taiwan in 2023 as a 20-year-old. The 6’3, 220-pound right hander who profiles as a reliever excelled at Low-A Clearwater in his first real taste of professional ball and ended the year with a promotion to High-A Jersey Shore. The ensuing year was not as kind to Pan, as injuries limited him to just 29.1 total innings in 2024 before ultimately undergoing Tommy John surgery in November that cost him all of 2025. But he has rebounded in 2026, working his way to Double-A after rehabbing with Clearwater and Jersey Shore.
In addition to those two players, the Phillies will also be represented in both dugouts, as former Phillies greats and World Series champions Shane Victorino and Larry Bowa have been selected as managers for the Futures Game.
What will the Phillies do in the draft?
This year the Phillies first selection will be 36th overall, as they will incur a 10-pick penalty from their original spot (26th) for exceeding the second Competitive Balance Tax Threshold.
They had a bit of an unorthodox method in last year’s draft, as they selected pitchers with their first eight picks and 14 of their 20 selections overall. It’s a safe bet that they may lean heavier onto the hitting side this year, but really, they should have no preferences. Drafting for need in MLB is foolhardy with the timelines for prospects, but it would be especially foolish from a Phillies standpoint to draft anything other than best player available.
Baseball America has ranked the Phillies with the second worst farm system in their latest updated rankings, placing them 29th with Wood (69th) and the injured Aidan Miller (80th) as their highest Top 100 prospects. Philadelphia is almost barren of anything resembling high end talent and frankly will have a hard time swinging any trades of substance at this year’s deadline. They need a talent influx and cannot afford to be picky in which side of the ball that talent plays on.
Our own Dan Cormican has been profiling some options for the Phillies in the draft, and you can read those previews here.
Continue reading...
