Five Phillies Named to 2026 MLB All-Star Game, with Brandon Marsh Being Named Starting Outfielder

The 2026 MLB All-Star Game is set to take place in Philadelphia in just 10 days, and the hometown club, the Philadelphia Phillies, will have five players that will be joining the National League team for the Midsummer Classic

The MLB announced Saturday evening that Brandon Marsh, Bryce Harper, Cristopher Sanchez, Jhoan Duran, and Kyle Schwarber have all been selected as All-Stars for the National League. The five All-Stars are tied for the most of any team in the MLB with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves.

The 2026 All-Star Game location was announced way back in April of 2019, back when Harper was just two weeks into his 13-year, $330 million contract that he signed a month and a half prior. Philadelphia was chosen as the game’s host due to the summer of 2026 being the semiquincentennial, or the 250th birthday of America, celebrating the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776.

This will be the fourth time that the Phillies will host an All-Star Game, with this game being the first to take place at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia previously hosted the game at Veterans Stadium in 1996 during the summer of the 220th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, and again in 1976, 50 years ago, during the summer of the Bicentennial. They hosted the game for the first time in 1952 at Shibe Park. In 1943, the Midsummer Classic was also at Shibe Park, but hosted by the Philadelphia Athletics.

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For the Phillies, this will be the first time as All-Stars for two players: Marsh and Duran. For Marsh, he’s had an outstanding 2026 after struggling to find his footing through his first four seasons in the league.

This season, Marsh is batting .315 with 15 homers and 46 RBIs. His .315 average has placed him tied for sixth best in baseball, and he needs just one more home run to tie his career-high in the stat. On top of not only making the All-Star team, but Marsh was also named as a starting outfielder for the National League after receiving the most amount of votes out of any outfielder in the entire league. As of now, he is the only Phillie starting, but that could change depending on opt-outs and who gets named the starting pitcher for the game.

As for Duran, this only felt like a matter of time before he made an All-Star team, as he’s been one of, if not the, current best closing pitchers in all of baseball over the past few years. Duran was acquired by the Phillies back at last year’s trade deadline and has blossomed in his first full year as a Phillie.

In 2026, Duran has saved 21 of 22 games, tossing 29.2 innings across 31 games. He currently holds a 1-3 record and 1.52 ERA, which is third best in baseball for closing pitchers who have thrown at least 25 innings this year. He was just named June’s Reliever of the Month, posting nine saves with a 1.64 ERA on 18 strikeouts, a walk, and a 0.91 WHIP.

Then there are the three returning All-Stars in Harper, Sanchez, and Schwarber.

For Harper, it’s his ninth career All-Star selection, and his third time being chosen as a Phillie, with the other two being in 2022 and 2024. He was the “legend pick,” which is handpicked every year by MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. Harper missed out on being the starting first baseman, not reaching the second stage of voting after finishing in third behind Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman. This will be the first All-Star Game as a Phillie where he won’t be in the starting lineup, as in ’22 he was the starting DH, and in ’24 he started at first base.

Schwarber is back as an All-Star for the fourth time in his career, and the second year in a row. Schwarber is the reigning All-Star Game MVP as he won the award after hitting three home runs during the tie-breaking swing-off during last year’s event, helping the National League pull out the victory.

Schwarber won’t be starting once again this year, despite leading all of baseball with 30 home runs, as Dodgers DH and starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani earned the most votes during the first stage of voting, automatically making him the starting DH over Schwarber.

This is Sanchez’s second selection to the All-Star Game, after being snubbed out of last year’s game. The left-hander was not given a spot last season due to not being able to pitch in the game, as he had made a start just two days before the game. Since he would not offer his services to the National League team, the MLB did not grant him an All-Star selection, despite being one of the best starting pitchers last season.

After going through all of the hoopla last season, Sanchez has now officially made his second All-Star team, after posting a 10-3 record with a 2.00 ERA and 136 strikeouts over a league-most 117 innings. Sanchez made headlines this year, taking a scoreless innings streak through 50.2 innings earlier this season, the most a pitcher had tossed since Orel Hershiser‘s 59 consecutive innings streak in 1988.

Due to fellow All-Star Jacob Misiorowski being scheduled to start just two days before the All-Star Game is set to take place, Sanchez seems like the top pick for National League manager Dave Roberts to pick as his starting pitcher, which would be Sanchez’s first All-Star Game start.

Here are the full starters for both teams:

• National League
  • C: Drake Baldwin, ATL
  • 1B: Freddie Freeman, LAD
  • 2B: Ozzie Albies, ATL
  • SS: CJ Abrams, WAS
  • 3B: Max Muncy, LAD
  • OF: Juan Soto, NYM
  • OF: Andy Pages, LAD
  • OF: Brandon Marsh, PHI
  • DH: Shohei Ohtani, LAD
• American League
  • C: Shea Langeliers, ATH
  • 1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR
  • 2B: Ernie Clement, TOR
  • SS: Bobby Witt Jr., KC
  • 3B: Junior Caminero, TB
  • OF: Mike Trout, LAA
  • OF: Byron Buxton, MIN
  • OF: Aaron Judge, NYY
  • DH: Yordan Alvarez, HOU

The Midsummer Classic is set to take place on Tuesday, July 14, at Citizens Bank Park and broadcast on FOX at 8:00 p.m.

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