Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts unveiled the National League starting lineup for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game Monday afternoon. The NL lineup has five first-time All Stars, which features two players from the Cincinnati Reds and Pittsburgh Pirates. The NL will give the ball to Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer, who is making his 8th All-Star Game appearance. This season, the 36-year-old has a 7-4 record, 2.66 ERA, along with 134 strikeouts in 98 innings pitched.
National League
1. Fernando Tatis Jr., San Diego Padres, SS
El Niño is making his first-ever appearance in the MLB All-Star Game and is living up to what he did last season for the Padres. Tatis Jr. is firmly in the NL MVP race this season. He’s slugging .286/.364/.656 with a league-leading 28 HRs and 60 RBI. Tatis also has an NL-best 20 stolen bases, which is a career-high. The 22-year-old has been a lot of fun to watch this season, and should be in many more All-Star Games in the future.
2. Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers, DH
Muncy will be making his second appearance in the MLB All-Star Game. Outside of veteran third baseman Justin Turner, the power-hitting infielder has been LA’s second-best player at the plate. The 30-year-old is slugging .270 with 19 HRs and 52 RBI this season.
3. Nolan Arenado, St. Louis Cardinals, 3B
Arenado is making his return to Coors Field with his first All-Star appearance as a Cardinal. The dynamic third baseman was traded this offseason from the Colorado Rockies to the Cardinals. The 30-year-old is making his sixth All-Star Game appearance and has not skipped a beat with his new team. The gold glove third baseman is slugging .265 with 17 HRs and 56 RBI.
4. Freddie Freeman, Atlanta Braves, 1B
After starting off the regular season slow, Freddie Freeman has picked it up over the last two months for the Braves. In June, the veteran first baseman slashed .306/.377/.491 with 5 HRs and 15 RBI. Freeman then followed that up through the first 10 games in July, hitting 2 HRs, 8 RBI with a slash line of .368/.478/.605.
5. Nick Castellanos, Cincinnati Reds, RF
Castellanos is one of the many first-time All-Stars this year’s mid-summer’s classic. The 29-year-old is having a career-year at the plate for the Reds. He’s slugging a career-best .331 with 18 HRs and 59 RBI. The veteran outfielder currently leads the NL in doubles with 28.
6. Jesse Winker, Cincinnati Reds, LF
Winker joins his teammate in Castellanos as first-time All-Stars representing the Reds. This season, Winker has formed a powerful 1-2 punch in Cincinnati’s batting order in 2021. The 27-year-old is also having a career-year, smashing 19 HRs and 50 RBI, while hitting .301 at the plate.
7. J.T. Realmuto, Philadelphia Phillies, C
Realmuto went from being the second catcher on the NL roster to now starting in the All-Star Game after Buster Posey withdrew due to injury. The star catcher is making his third appearance in the MLB All-Star Game and second with the Phillies. This season, the 30-year-old is only hitting .268 with 8 HRs and 34 RBI, which might be below his standards. But Realmuto’s peers think otherwise as the one of the best catchers in the game.
8. Bryan Reynolds, Pittsburgh Pirates, CF
Reynolds has been a tremendous offensive player for the Pirates this season. The 26-year-old from Baltimore is crushing it at the plate, slugging .302/.387/.519 with 16 HRs and 51 RBI. The last time Reynolds hit 16 home runs in a season was his rookie year in 2019. That same season he finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting.
9. Adam Frazier, Pittsburgh Pirates, 2B
This might be one of the last times we see Frazier in a Pirates’ uni as he’s been mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the trade deadline. The 29-year-old second baseman is slugging .330/.397/.463 with 4 HRs and 29 RBI in 89 games this season. The last time Frazier hit at least .300 was back in 2016, where he ended the season with a .301 batting average.