Cal Raleigh has been a hero in Seattle for years, and now the entire baseball world is catching on to how awesome he is. Leading MLB in home runs and RBI help with popularity, I suppose. As we head into August, Raleigh is the obvious choice to represent the Seattle Mariners in the MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta. This would be his first ever ASG selection, despite finishing No. 12 in AL MVP voting last season on the back of a 34 home run, 100 RBI season.
Cal Raleigh on track to be American League staring catcher at MLB All-Star Game
Raleigh isn't just on track to make the All-Star Game next month, he's the frontrunner to start behind the plate for the American League — where he'd likely be catching for Tigers pitcher Tarik Skubal. Every team gets a representative, and Raleigh has been far and away the Mariners' best player this season. His 4.4 WAR is fourth-best in baseball behind Aaron Judge, Jeremy Peña and Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Seemingly every home run record is in danger with the way Big Dumper is decimating baseballs. Maybe not Barry Bonds' 73 homers in 2001, which is still silly. But Ken Griffey Jr's team record 56 homers is in Cal's sights, and he doesn't even need to stay on his current pace to reach that mark.
Cal Raleigh commits to Home Run Derby
At the very least, we'll see Cal Raleigh mashing homers at All Star Week... in the Home Run Derby, which he committed to recently. This will be Cal's first derby — he's going to smash his career-best home run mark this year, but he's hit over 100 home runs the past three seasons combined, so his power surge isn't fully unexpected.
Mariners pitching might not produce an All-Star in 2025
Somewhat stunningly, the Mariners have been pretty average on the bump in 2025 after a historically good 2024 season. Logan Gilbert, George Kirby and Bryce Miller have all spent time on the IL, while Luis Castillo had regressed a bit. Bryan Woo (3.12 ERA, 0.95 WHIP) might snag an All-Star spot, but it definitely won't be as the AL starter.
Seattle's most popular player, Julio Rodríguez, could get a spot on the AL bench (he's No. 12 in baseball with 3.6 WAR) despite his hitting numbers being mostly average.
But in the end, it's Cal all the way. Seattle's most consistent defender is also its best hitter, and the AL MVP candidate should represent Seattle well in the All-Star Game and derby.