MLB Barometer: Assessing the Fantasy All-Stars

The midsummer classic is nearly upon us and the All-Star rosters are set, so it seems appropriate to consider who the fantasy all-stars have been through the first half of the season. We'll use the Earned Auction Calculator as our guide, laying out the top-earning players at each position in both the National and American Leagues. Those rosters will then be broken down into different categories, with the goal of giving some individualized analysis for most of the listed players.

One interesting generic observation is that the National League has been far superior in delivering fantasy value. There are only three position players from the AL who have out-earned their National League counterparts. On the pitching side, only one of the eight pitchers from the AL has out-earned his corresponding position in the NL. In total, the players in the AL have earned $408 in value, as compared to $505 in the NL.

Proving 2025 Samples Were no Fluke

Nick Kurtz

Kurtz was one of the more divisive picks inside the top 30 of preseason ADP. The reason for optimism was obvious on the surface of Kurtz's success as a rookie. His elevated strikeout rate and lack of track record were the reasons for skepticism. The former remains an issue, as Kurtz is striking out at a 31.6 percent clip, even higher than last season. Kurtz has managed to survive that thanks to his excellent quality of contact and plate discipline. More specifically, he has a remarkable .405 on-base percentage, 18.3 percent barrel rate and 94.1 mph average exit velocity. Kurtz hasn't maintained his pace from his rookie season, but he's the highest-earning first baseman in the league and looks to be on track to be an early-round pick for years to come.

Ben Rice

Rice's skills profile was impressive entering 2026, but his appeal among fantasy managers was particularly high because of his eligibility at catcher. As anticipated, he almost certainly won't have catcher eligibility next year, but the bet for the current campaign is paying off. He ranks second in earned auction value at first base and has been the most productive catcher among both leagues by an impressive $7.

While his outlook for next year is dinged by the loss of his catcher eligibility, Rice is also showing that he's capable of being a strong contributor at first as well. Only Kurtz has outearned him at the position, and Rice has exhibited his elite skills across another 377 plate appearances.

Jacob Misiorowski

It may seem silly now, but entering the season, there were legitimate reasons to doubt Misiorowski. The control problems that existed as he rose through the Milwaukee system followed him to the big leagues. Additionally, after starting well, he also posted a 5.36 ERA and 1.46 WHIP following the All-Star break. He's responded this year by halving his walk rate and striking out just shy of 40 percent of the batters he's faced. Misiorowski is the most valuable pitcher by earned auction value, and he's outpaced the next closest pitcher (Cam Schlittler) by $14.  He's also the most valuable overall player by $7.

Chase Burns

Entering the year, concerns about Burns primarily came due to injury. He missed most of August and the beginning of September with a flexor strain and then never completed more than 2.0 innings before the close of the regular season. The Reds then seemingly handled him carefully in the spring, not guaranteeing him a spot in the rotation until the final couple of weeks of spring training.

Fast forward a few months, and Burns has handled an impressive workload. Of his 18 starts, he's completed at least 6.0 innings 10 times. Some of his otherworldly stats from last season have predictably worsened, but he still has a 19.6 K-BB percentage. His last handful of starts have been poor (16:8 K:BB, 10 ER across 16.0 IP in his last three starts), which is a bit concerning given the workload concerns already outlined, but he deserves the benefit of the doubt given the way the first half of the season went.

Cam Schlittler

Schlittler had the largest sample of this trio in 2025, so there was a bit more confidence in what fantasy managers could expect. However, he's made tweaks to his arsenal to throw variations of his fastball almost exclusively, and the end result is that he's managed to induce more ground balls through increasing his sinker usage without giving up strikeout upside.

Check out where all the players on your fantasy baseball team fit into RotoWire's MLB Cheat Sheet!

Please Stay/Get Healthy

Byron Buxton
Yordan Alvarez

Both Alvarez and Buxton have displayed what they can do when they are on the field, and both have been relatively healthy this season. Buxton is currently sidelined with a hip injury, though the hope is that he will be activated immediately after the All-Star break. Alvarez has been the fourth most-valuable hitter and the fifth most valuable overall player to this point.

Breakouts

Otto Lopez

Home runs and barrel rate are often the most cited stats for a breakout, and Lopez hasn't really checked either box so far this season. However, he's always made consistent contact, and he's made subtle improvements to the quality of that contact by improving his hard-hit rate, fast swing rate, and squared-up and blast contact.

Even if his BABIP is unsustainable (.373), Lopez has a .299 xBA, which is in the 97th percentile of the league. Lopez is also among the league leaders in runs scored, which should continue, as he's established himself as a fixture in the top third of the lineup. He's always been both aggressive and efficient on the basepaths, meaning he's an elite contributor in three categories while also contributing solidly in the remaining two.  

Sal Stewart

Stewart looked to be a breakout star in April, which has buoyed him to a $25 earned auction value. While he hasn't been able to replicate his nine home runs in April, Stewart has been a consistent source of power by going yard at least three times in every month this season.

This is also a good place to discuss the overall state of third base. There are two third basemen in the National League to have accrued more than $15 in value, and Caminero is the lowest top earner of any position.

Foster Griffin

Griffin is the latest example of a pitcher revitalizing their career after playing overseas in Korea. There are certainly questions about the sustainability of that success, but he's been one of the biggest surprises among starting pitchers this season. Griffin has earned the fifth-most value ($24) among starters to this point.

While it's difficult to predict whether the results will continue, the explanation for Griffin's ability to get to his point is pretty clear. Despite giving up 1.39 HR/9, Griffin has generally been effective at avoiding major mistakes. Of his 19 home runs, 11 have been solo, he's maintained a 5.8 percent walk rate and he's allowed an average exit velocity of 87.4 mph.

Parker Messick

Messick is something of a rich man's version of Griffin, but he does have weaknesses. Like Messick, he isn't overpowering but also limits hard contact. To the second point, he also limits barrels at a far better rate than Foster, which has helped him maintain an elite 0.76 HR/9. The problem is that he has an elevated walk rate, so if his ability to limit hard contact worsens, Messick could run into trouble. As things currently stand, Messick has earned $17 and is the fifth-best pitcher in the American League by earned auction value.

Is It Sustainable?

Luis Garcia

First base is a weak position in the National League, but it's still been an impressive season for Garcia. His quality of contact has improved in a significant way from last year to this year thanks to increasing average bat speed as well as his fast swing rate. Garcia's hard hit rate, barrel rate, average exit velocity and max exit velocity have all improved.

While that improvement is impressive, it doesn't address the two biggest drawbacks of Garcia's profile. The first is his high groundball rate, which hasn't changed. What has changed is Garcia's ability to optimize the fly balls he does hit, as he's delivered a 17.4 percent pulled air rate. The issue that does remain is that he very rarely faces lefties. CJ Abrams and James Wood rightfully get a lot of credit for the Nationals' surprisingly strong season, but Garcia also deserves to be mentioned.

Drew Rasmussen

Rasmussen has gone a long way to answering this question with his last couple of starts, allowing 11 earned runs across his last 7.1 innings. The primary reason for optimism is that the Rays believe in Rasmussen. He faced only 64 batters for a third time through the order in 2025, but that number has already jumped to 75 this year.

Rasmussen's skills have largely remained the same relative to past seasons, which means he is a quality pitcher but not a dominant one. His presence on this list is primarily due to the down season for American League starters.  

Closers

The four closers on this list illustrate both the reward and danger of investing in closers. The two National League closers were among the top drafted this spring, while the two American League representatives were available on waivers.  

Miller has managed to pay off his preseason price, even given the aggressiveness of drafters. He currently ranks 10th among the entire player pool with his $29 earned. Duran hasn't been as good, but he ranks sixth in earned value among all relievers, and he ranks inside the top five in the league with 23 saves. 

Varland looks to be the breakout star of the position group. He paces behind some of the other top contributors in saves, but his 67 strikeouts rank second among relievers, behind only Miller. Varland also has elite ratios and was widely available on waivers to begin the season.