The Mid-Summer Classic rosters were released this past weekend, and the Tigers will be sending four stars to Philadelphia: shortstop Kevin McGonigle, catcher Dillon Dingler, outfielder Riley Greene and pitcher Justin Verlander. This is the third year in a row that the Tigers have sent multiple players to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

First-time All-Star Kevin McGonigle burst onto the scene this season as he became the third youngest player in 100 years to have four or more hits on Opening Day and just the 21st player to record four or more hits in their debut. Since that stellar performance on Opening Day, he has continued his reign of terror against opposing pitchers. McGonigle, as of July 10, has a 4.9 bWAR, which is metric used to estimate the number of wins a player adds to their team compared to a hypothetical readily available replacement-level player. This number ranks first among all rookies and fourth in the entire major leagues. From a more standard stats aspect, McGonigle comes in with a .287 AVG and a .398 OBP, which ranks sixth in all of MLB and first among rookies. Patience at the age of 21 is almost unheard of to the level of McGonigle, as he is the only qualified rookie with more walks than strikeouts and one of only seven qualified players across the league to hold that statistic. After an incredible first half of the season, McGonigle became the second-youngest Tiger All-Star ever, with the youngest being none other than Mr. Tiger himself, Al Kaline.

Another first-time All-Star will be making his way to the City of Brotherly Love for the All-Star Game. In his second full season in the majors, Dillon Dingler has fully broken out with 19 home runs, which ranks third among catchers, and 60 RBIs, which ranks first among catchers. The 27-year-old has solidified his spot as one of the top catchers in the league as he holds a 3.9 FanGraphs WAR (FanGraphs version of bWAR), which ranks tied for fifth in the entire MLB. Out of all qualified catchers, Dingler entered play on July 10 with the second-best slugging percentage at .516. The 2025 Gold Glover has continued his domination and looks to become the fourth Tigers catcher to win back-to-back Gold Gloves and the first catcher selected to the All-Start Game since Alex Avila in 2011.

For the third Tiger headed to Philadelphia, outfielder Riley Greene will be making his third All-Star Game appearance. As of July 10, he entered play with a .289 AVG, to go along with 13 HR and 46 RBI. Greene has played in all but one game for the Tigers this season, starting 83 games in left field and eight at DH. After launching 36 balls out of the yard last season, Greene has seen his home run number drop. On the flip side, not only has he already reached the same number of walks as he had last season, but he is also on pace for career highs in games played, hits, doubles, average, on base percentage, and on-base plus slugging percentage. With his third All-Star Game selection, Greene becomes the first Tiger since Miguel Cabrera to be selected to the Mid-Summer Classic three times in a row.

It’s been a wild ride for 43-year-old Justin Verlander. He's played on four teams during his 21-year career, including 14 amazing seasons in the Motor City. On July 8, Verlander announced this would be the end of the ride and one last playoff push with Detroit. On the same day, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that Verlander would be the “Legend” pick for the American League. The future Hall of Famer is currently on the 60-IL working his way back, and will be unavailable to pitch in the game, although he will still be in attendance and honored for his illustrious career. This will be the 10th All-Star nod for the pitcher and his 7th for the Tigers.

Although the Tigers enter play on July 10 with a record of 43-50, the ball club will still be well represented in Philadelphia. As the Tigers head into a pivotal stretch before and after the All-Star Game, they’ll hope their trio of stars, backed by a healthy pitching staff, can turn their season around. 

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