Top A’s rookie holds a lead in early All-Star voting. Will he keep it?
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A's rookie Jacob Wilson leads AL shortstops in All-Star voting with 562,000 votes.
- Wilson tops AL rookie hitters in average, OPS and key offensive categories in 2025.
- Brent Rooker and Tyler Soderstrom also garnered notable All-Star vote totals.
A’s rookie sensation Jacob Wilson led all American League shortstops in All-Star game voting with just over 562,000 votes, as of the first update from Major League Baseball on Wednesday.
If Wilson holds his narrow lead of fewer than 50,000 votes over Royals star Bobby Witt Jr., he would become the first Athletic to be a fan-elected starter since Josh Donaldson in 2014 and the team’s first starting shortstop since Bert Campaneris in 1974.
Wilson will likely be the team’s first All-Star since their temporary move to West Sacramento, with 2025 being the first in a three-year stint after leaving Oakland before their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028.
“For Jacob to be in that category right now where he’s at, it’s a pretty great accomplishment,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay told MLB.com. “We’re still a little ways out from running through this finish line. But for a player on the A’s to have that type of national attention, it says a lot about his year.”
Offensive powerhouse
With a .360 batting average on 98 hits, Wilson is second in MLB only behind the New York Yankees’ MVP favorite Aaron Judge.
The A’s shortstop leads qualifying rookies in nearly every offensive stat: runs (39), doubles (15), RBIs (38), OBP (.399), SLG (.504) and OPS (.903). Despite not being known for the long ball, the runaway favorite for AL Rookie of the Year is also second among rookies with eight home runs this season.
While Wilson walks much less often than many of the game’s other top hitters (15 entering Wednesday), he also strikes out much less (18).
Other contenders
Witt Jr., last year’s AL MVP runner-up and preseason favorite to start at shortstop in the All-Star game, leads Wilson in total production according to wins above replacement (WAR) at 3.4. Witt Jr. leads the league in doubles with 24 and is fourth in stolen bases with 21 while slashing .282/.339/.482.
Wilson, who has the A’s highest WAR by nearly a full point at 2.6, leads his closest competitor significantly in batting average and OPS while the pair are nearly tied in home runs and RBI. Those four stats are the only ones shown on the digital All-Star ballot.
The Houston Astros’ Jeremy Pena, against whom the A’s will face off Wednesday for the series win after splitting the first two games in West Sacramento, is a distant third with around 340,000 votes. Peña currently leads both Wilson and Witt Jr. in WAR with 4.2, but his .848 OPS and similar power numbers.
Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, who is slashing .270/.313/.424, was the only other AL shortstop to eclipse 300,000 votes in the first phase of voting.
Two more A’s in contention
Two other Athletics earned enough votes to be mentioned in the update: designated hitter Brent Rooker and outfielder Tyler Soderstrom.
Rooker received the seventh-most votes in the DH category with roughly 165,000 — about half that of the Baltimore Orioles’ Ryan O’Hearn who leads the pack.
The DH was the A’s only All-Star selection in 2023 and won a Silver Slugger award in his breakout 2024 campaign where he amassed 5.6 WAR. This season, Rooker leads the team in home runs with 15 and is slashing .276/.351/.490.
Soderstrom is fourteenth in the realm of outfielders with 218,000 votes. The Top 6 vote earners all received more than 400,000.
The 23-year-old leads the A’s in RBI with 45 and is just one shy of the team lead in long balls with 14. He is currently hitting .250 with a .787 OPS.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 12:15 PM.
