A’s All-Star favorite Langeliers says team culture’s on the rise. ‘Starting to show’
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Shea Langeliers led AL catchers with 18 home runs, 15 doubles and 77 hits.
- Langeliers had 715,625 votes in early 2026 All-Star voting, leading AL catchers.
- Nick Kurtz ranked fourth among AL first basemen with 269,658 votes in the update.
In catcher Shea Langeliers’ first three seasons with the Athletics, the team had the minimum one All-Star each time. None were fan-elected.
Last season, shortstop Jacob Wilson helped change that, becoming the A’s first fan-elected All-Star since 2016 during his stellar rookie campaign, while Brent Rooker made it on as a reserve to give the team two All-Stars for the first time since 2021.
Now, early voting for the 2026 All-Star game shows that Langeliers and sophomore phenom Nick Kurtz could make it a trend, with Langeliers in position to make some team history along the way.
“Since I got here in ‘22, we’ve been building each year. As a core group, really coming together,” Langeliers said ahead of Wednesday’s 12-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. “The culture in the clubhouse and the camaraderie as a team, it’s just building off the year before, getting stronger every year, and it’s starting to show.”
Langeliers, 28, has never made an All-Star game, but had 715,625 votes as of the first voting update released by MLB.com Monday, more than 400,000 ahead of the second-place American League backstop.
If Langeliers maintains his lead throughout the voting process, which takes place in two phases, he would earn the starting job, becoming the first Athletic to do so since Terry Steinbach in 1989. Langeliers said it was an honor to be in the same conversation as Steinbach, a three-time All-Star with the A’s and team Hall of Famer.
“It’s something you always dream about as a kid to get to play in the All-Star game,” Langeliers said. “It’s kind of full circle, all the work you put in your whole career, leading you to this point. It’s really cool.”
How good has Langeliers been in 2026?
After a breakout end to 2025 on the hitting side to finish with his first 30-home run season, Langeliers has continued to shine at the plate this season.
In 67 games, Langeliers leads all AL catchers with 18 home runs, 15 doubles and 77 hits. He leads all qualified catchers in each slashline category (batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage) with his .276/.341/.523.
“For Shea to have a comfortable lead is a great recognition of what he’s accomplished at this point in the season,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said ahead of Wednesday’s game. “A big part of our success this season is Shea Langeliers.”
On Wednesday, Langeliers said he is also hoping to get out of what he called a “little rut” over about his last 25 games. In that stretch, Langeliers has continued to provide power, mashing six home runs and five doubles, though he has hit for a much lower .187 average with a .658 on-base plus slugging percentage. He went 0-for-3 with a walk and a run scored as the A’s designated hitter in Wednesday’s loss.
“You’re gonna go through your ups and your downs, but every day, even when you’re not feeling it, just going out there and competing,” Langeliers said of his approach during his recent slow stretch. “It just goes back to every night just trying to find something I can do to help the team win.”
While Langeliers leads AL catchers in most major hitting categories, he will still need to fend off strong seasons from Adley Rutschman of the Baltimore Orioles and Dillon Dingler of the Detroit Tigers, who both have roughly 261,000 vote.
However, Langeliers’ closest competition in votes is Toronto Blue Jays backstop Alejandro Kirk, who has only played in nine games so far this season. Despite limited play time, Kirk has benefited from the strong voting base supporting the Blue Jays, the reigning American League champs, to get to second place with about 300,000 votes as of Monday’s update.
Are other A’s in contention?
One of the most surprising results in Monday’s voting update was Kurtz being in fourth place for AL first basemen, despite having the third-best OPS in the AL at .993 and making a strong MVP case. Kurtz had received 269,658 votes as of the update, more than 300,000 behind first-place Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
The AL first baseman race is arguably one of the most competitive, with second-place vote getter New York Yankees slugger Ben Rice being one of two players to have a higher OPS than Kurtz at 1.003. Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami was in third.
Kotsay on Wednesday said Kurtz has time to regain ground and that the A’s 23-year-old first baseman was “well-deserving” of being an All-Star.
Langeliers made his opinion even more clear.
“I honestly thought it was kind of absurd,” Langeliers said of Kurtz being fourth. “He’s one of the best players in the game, he’s doing things that you know nobody else is doing. So, in my head, regardless, he’s an All-Star.”
Outfielder Carlos Cortes was the only other A’s player to appear on the update, being in 11th place in the AL outfield voting. Unlike other positions, six outfielders will advance to Phase 2 for three spots.
Starting pitcher J.T. Ginn, who holds a 2.91 ERA in 16 appearances, 13 starts this season, is the most likely A’s pitcher to make the cut. Pitcher selections are not decided by fans, but by a players’ ballot and MLB Commissioner’s Office after the fan voting for position-player starters has concluded.
All four of the most likely A’s All-Stars would be making their first-ever appearances, with other stars like Wilson and Rooker having the potential to make games in the future after dealing with injuries and some struggles this season that have kept them out of contention.
Langeliers said he doesn’t think the 36-38 A’s have hit their stride at the same time this season and warned the league what could happen if they do.
“Everybody in here will tell you we’re more capable than what we’ve showed so far,” Langeliers said. “It’s exciting.”
