{"id":2740,"date":"2026-06-04T17:07:13","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740"},"modified":"2026-06-04T17:07:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T17:07:13","slug":"as-all-star-voting-starts-which-nationals-might-make-it-to-philadelphia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740","title":{"rendered":"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Nats are hanging around .500. Could this be the year they send more than two players back to the all-star game?<\/strong><\/p>

Read more Boston Fleet hire Francois Methot as coach, citing his track record of player development<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
James Wood, left, and CJ Abrams are the most likely candidates to make the National League All-Star team. (John McDonnell\/For The Washington Post)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

It\u2019s been five years since the Washington Nationals have had more than two representatives at the MLB All-Star Game.<\/p>\n

Could this be the year that changes?<\/p>\n

The Nationals, at 31-32, are off to their best start through 63 games since 2018. They are fueled by expected rising stars such as CJ Abrams and James Wood, but under-the-radar players have also stepped up to support this charge.<\/p>\n

Phase one of MLB all-star voting opened Wednesday and runs through June 25. The two players who receive the most votes at each position (top six for outfielders) advance to phase two of voting, which runs from June 29 to July 2. The winner at each position earns a starting spot at the Midsummer Classic on July 14.<\/p>\n

Position players not selected during the voting process and pitchers can earn a bid through the players\u2019 ballot or be nominated by the Commissioner\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

So who could take the field in Philadelphia for the Nationals next month? Here are their top contenders.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Wood leads all N.L. outfielders with 16 home runs. (Jess Rapfogel\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

James Wood<\/b><\/p>\n

Wood, who made his first All-Star Game last season, has the best chance. His 16 home runs are the most of any outfielder in the National League and eighth most overall. His OBP (.401) and walks (51) also rank first among outfielders, plus he\u2019s in the top six for doubles (15), RBI (39) and slugging percentage (.527).<\/p>

Read more FIFA prohibits fans from bringing refillable water bottles into World Cup stadiums<\/a><\/p>\n

Jordan Walker, Juan Soto, Brandon Marsh and Corbin Carroll are among his competition for the outfield spots.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Abrams is having the best offensive season of his career, but competition is stiff at shortstop. (Terrance Williams\/AP Photo\/Terrance Williams)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

CJ Abrams<\/b><\/p>\n

Abrams, an all-star two years ago, is off to the best start of his career, hitting .288 with a .903 OPS and 12 home runs. Among National League shortstops, he ranks first in on-base percentage (.381), slugging percentage (.522), RBIs (47) and OPS.<\/p>\n

He has a tough battle, with well-established stars such as Trea Turner and Elly De La Cruz in the same category, plus 20-year-old phenom Konnor Griffin. Defensively, Abrams isn\u2019t as strong as the others, but that doesn\u2019t always play into who is selected.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Jacob Young is a long shot, but he’s exhibited more power than ever this season. (Jamie Sabau\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Jacob Young<\/b><\/p>\n

When Nationals Manager Blake Butera pondered whom he\u2019d like to make an all-star case for, Young was one of the players he made sure to emphasize.<\/p>\n

Defensively, he\u2019s a two-time Gold Glove finalist who\u2019s already made stellar plays that make him a contender for that award yet again. Offensively, it\u2019s harder to justify his selection, even as he has showcased more power with eight home runs, tied for 11th among National League outfielders. But some players usually opt out of all-star games, which means Young\u2019s name could be called if enough people ahead of him drop out.<\/p>\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Orlando Ribalta has been a bright spot for the Nationals’ struggling pitching staff. (Nick Wass\/AP Photo\/Nick Wass)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Pitchers<\/b><\/p>\n

The Nationals have the fifth-highest ERA in baseball at 4.71. It\u2019s not likely that any Nationals pitchers will be selected to the All-Star Game, but if they are, Orlando Ribalta (1.65 ERA in 16\u2153 innings) or Brad Lord (2.58 ERA in 38\u2153 innings) would be their top contenders.<\/p>

Read more John Bolton expected to plead guilty in classified documents case<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Nats are hanging around .500. Could this be the year they send more than two players back to the all-star game?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAs all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia? - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia? - Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Nats are hanging around .500. Could this be the year they send more than two players back to the all-star game?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Moving Insider USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-04T17:07:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f85a2aabcdb5a43173328a1649332e24-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"headline\":\"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T17:07:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740\"},\"wordCount\":639,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740\",\"name\":\"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia? - Moving Insider USA\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-04T17:07:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 19: James Wood #29 of the Washington Nationals is doused with water by teammates Andres Chaparro #87, Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. #2 and CJ Abrams #5 after the game against the New York Mets, in which Wood hit an inside the park grand slam home run at Nationals Park on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel\\\/Getty Images)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?p=2740#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Moving Insider USA\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/movinginsiderusa.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia? - Moving Insider USA","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia? - Moving Insider USA","og_description":"The Nats are hanging around .500. Could this be the year they send more than two players back to the all-star game?","og_url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740","og_site_name":"Moving Insider USA","article_published_time":"2026-06-04T17:07:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f85a2aabcdb5a43173328a1649332e24-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"headline":"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia?","datePublished":"2026-06-04T17:07:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740"},"wordCount":639,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740","name":"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia? - Moving Insider USA","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2026-06-04T17:07:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/f489c5f6981d0a25b0b5bf36292e13d8-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 19: James Wood #29 of the Washington Nationals is doused with water by teammates Andres Chaparro #87, Luis Garc\u00eda Jr. #2 and CJ Abrams #5 after the game against the New York Mets, in which Wood hit an inside the park grand slam home run at Nationals Park on May 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel\/Getty Images)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=2740#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"As all-star voting starts, which Nationals might make it to Philadelphia?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/","name":"Moving Insider USA","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/#\/schema\/person\/22d40ab81790f6a361021763bb56ef03","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com"],"url":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}