Rookie Jacob Wilson is A’s first fan-elected All-Star since 2014 after close vote
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- Rookie Jacob Wilson named A’s first fan-elected All-Star starter since 2014
- Wilson leads AL rookies in RBI, runs and OPS while hitting .339 in 82 games
- All-Star backups and pitchers to be picked by player ballot and MLB officials
A’s rookie Jacob Wilson was named the fan-elected starting shortstop for the American League after accruing 52% of the vote, MLB announced Wednesday.
Wilson won the honor over Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in a phase-two, head-to-head voting contest after they finished as the top two vote-getters in the first phase.
Wilson is the first fan-elected starter for the A’s since Josh Donaldson in 2014 and the franchise’s first starting shortstop since Bert Campaneris in 1974. He is also the first announced All-Star during the A’s three-year stay in West Sacramento before their planned move to Las Vegas in 2028.
He is also the first fan-elected rookie shortstop in MLB history and the second rookie shortstop to start an All-Star game, following Ron Hansen of the Baltimore Orioles in 1960.
The A’s shortstop led at all three voting updates during phase one of the process and held the lead over Witt in phase two’s sole update earlier this week.
Contact-hitting machine
In just 109 games played for his career, 82 this season, AL Rookie of the Year frontrunner Wilson has established himself as one of the premier contact bats in the league.
He is currently second among all qualified players with a .339 batting average and 108 hits, only trailing New York Yankees MVP favorite Aaron Judge. Judge was guaranteed a starting spot on the AL All-Star team after earning the most votes in phase one of voting. Witt finished second to Judge in AL MVP voting last season.
Wilson has also contributed nine home runs and 16 doubles, both third-best among rookies. Wilson leads all rookies in RBI (40), runs (42) and on-base plus slugging (.853).
While both Witt and Houston Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña have contributed significantly more to their teams, per Baseball Reference’s wins above replacement (WAR) stat, Wilson was competitive with both in RBIs and home runs and had a significantly higher average for much of the voting process. Those three stats, along with OPS, were the only ones displayed on the virtual ballots.
Wilson was hitting .360 and held a 2.6 WAR at the time of the first phase one ballot update on June 18 and has cooled off since, which may have led in part to the tighter margin in phase two.
Wilson leads the A’s in WAR with 2.1, per Baseball Reference, while Witt has added 3.8 and Peña contributed 4.5.
Can other A’s still make it?
Now that the starters at each position have been decided by the fans, a player vote will decide backups at each position, followed by the Commissioner’s Office selecting two additional offensive players, which are typically used to make sure each team has at least one All-Star.
A combination of the player’s ballot and Commissioner’s Office will decide all of the pitchers selected to the game.
Other A’s, namely designated hitter Brent Rooker, could be added to the All-Star roster through those means.
Rooker was only 13,000 votes shy of being a phase-two finalist for the AL starting spot, and is currently slashing .271/.347/.484 with a team-high 17 home runs. The DH earned his first All-Star bid in 2023, then was perceived as a snub during his impressive 5.6-WAR 2024 campaign that earned him a Silver Slugger campaign.
The complete All-Star rosters, including pitchers and reserve players, will be announced Sunday, 2 p.m. Pacific, on ESPN.
Will any other A’s see the festivities?
Two Athletics prospects were named to the All-Star Futures Game roster: pitcher Gage Jump and third baseman Tommy White.
Jump is the A’s No. 1 prospect and is the No. 68 prospect in all of MLB. In 14 games between Double-A and High-A this season, Jump is pitching to a 2.09 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings.
White, the A’s No. 3 prospect, is slashing .272/.346/.497 with nine home runs and 16 doubles in 49 games.
The full T-Mobile Home Run Derby lineup has not been announced, with some competitors being unveiled but, so far, no A’s among them.
This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 5:19 PM.
