MLB standings ordered by number of players who made the All-Star Team

The All-Star Break feels like the halfway point of the MLB season, but in reality, most teams have played about 60 percent of their games already. There's still plenty of time for teams to get hot and make a playoff push, especially with how crowded the Wild Card races are in each league. Still, we have a pretty good idea of which teams are the ones to beat, and which ones don't have what it takes to still be playing into October.

The All-Star Game is a chance for baseball to show off its best and brightest players, and it's always interesting to see which teams send the most representatives. Surprisingly, the most well-represented teams don't always have the best records, and likewise, some good teams are always overlooked when it comes to the Midsummer Classic. That's why we thought it would be enlightening to see what the standings would look like if we only looked at how many All-Stars each team sent to Texas this year.

Does an abundance of star power go hand-in-hand with being at the top of the league? Or does having a deeper, more well-rounded team translate better to the standings? Let's find out. In the case of a tie, we'll use each team's actual record as the tiebreaker.

MLB standings ordered by number of players who made the All-Star Team

AL East

Not much changes in the AL East, where the Orioles and their abundance of young talent leads the way both in the real standings and in number of All-Stars. Gunnar Henderson is putting up MVP-quality numbers at the top of the Baltimore lineup, while Adley Rutschman and Corbin Burnes join him as All-Star starters.

Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg don't have the same name recognition, but they earned their spots with superb first halves. The Yankees have slipped after a hot start to the year, though that's through no fault of Aaron Judge or Juan Soto, both of whom will start in the AL outfield. The Red Sox have gotten hot to pull to within 3.5 games of the Yankees for second place in the division, with Rafael Devers and Jarren Duran leading the way. The Rays have taken a big step back after winning 99 games a year ago, but Isaac Paredes has continued to establish himself as a premier talent at third base.

The Blue Jays have been one of baseball's biggest disappointments, so it's no surprise that only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will be representing them in Texas.

AL Central

Few people could have predicted that the best record in the American League at the All-Star Break would belong to the Guardians, but Cleveland has been paced by star power all year. Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor have combined for 45 home runs, Steven Kwan leads the majors with a .352 average, and Emmanuel Clase has been arguably the best closer in the league.

This division is unusually competitive, though, as the Royals, led by young superstar Bobby Witt Jr., Cy Young hopeful Seth Lugo, and former World Series MVP Salvador Perez, and the Twins, who are getting a resurgent season from Carlos Correa, are nipping at their heels. Even the Tigers, with their breakthrough year from Riley Greene and a dominant season on the mound from Tarik Skubal, are lurking, while the dreadful White Sox are sending only fireballing starter Garrett Crochet, who likely will move on to greener pastures before the trade deadline.

AL West

The AL West's All-Star breakdown is about what one would expect. The Mariners will send one less player than the Astros and Rangers despite being in first place, but that can be blamed on a surprisingly pedestrian year from Julio Rodriguez.

Logan Gilbert gets the nod as the best pitcher from Seattle's deep rotation, while the Astros and Rangers are represented by most of the usual suspects: Yordan Alvarez, Jose Altuve, and Kyle Tucker for Houston, and Corey Seager, Marcus Semien, and Kirby Yates (making his first All-Star appearance since he represented the Padres in 2019) for the Rangers.

The Angels and A's have a lone selection each, which makes sense given the forgettable year each team has been having. Tyler Anderson has been outstanding in his first season with the Halos, while Mason Miller is making the first of what will likely be many All-Star teams, though whether he remains a member of the A's or gets traded for a bounty from a contending team is yet to be determined.

NL East

The Phillies have the best record in the majors, and their fans got out the vote, as they also lead the majors with eight All-Stars, which is tied for the most by a single team all-time. Where to begin? Their rotation has been the best in baseball, hence the presence of Zack Wheeler, Ranger Suarez, and Cristopher Sanchez, but they've crushed the ball, too, which is why Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Trea Turner all earned starting spots.

The Braves have been slightly disappointing relative to their recent lofty standards (understandable given the loss of both Ronald Acuna Jr. and Spencer Strider for the season), but they've been buoyed by bounce-back years from Chris Sale, Marcell Ozuna, and Reynaldo Lopez.

CJ Abrams of the Nationals is a rising star that should be making the first of many All-Star appearances, while the Mets are relegated to sending the same number of players as the lowly Marlins after Francisco Lindor and Brandon Nimmo were snubbed. Pete Alonso makes his fourth appearance for New York, while reliever Tanner Scott, a much-discussed name in recent trade rumors, gets the call for the Marlins.

NL Central

No division has the kind of parity that the NL Central does, and that's reflected in its All-Star selections. The Brewers have been the class of the division all season, but it's been a group effort to get Milwaukee 13 games above .500. Christian Yelich and William Contreras earned well-deserved starting spots on the NL team, but the story of the All-Star game is Pirates rookie flamethrower Paul Skenes, who will start for the National League after recording 89 strikeouts in just 11 starts since being called up in May. Skenes won't be the only Pirate on the roster, as Bryan Reynolds is having a tremendous season, too.

The Reds have a phenom of their own in Elly De La Cruz, and he'll be joined by Hunter Greene, one of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the game. The Cardinals currently own the second Wild Card spot, but they're only sending closer Ryan Helsley to the game, while Shota Imanaga, despite appearing mortal after a historic first two months, will be the lone Cub on the squad.

NL West

As anticipated, the star-fueled Dodgers are once again the class of the NL West. L.A. has an embarrasment of riches, as the presence of Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, Tyler Glasnow, and Will Smith proves. Oh, and they also have Teoscar Hernandez, who won the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

The Padres are seven games back in the standings, but they'll send only one fewer All-Star than the Dodgers. Jurickson Profar has had a career-best year in his first season in San Diego, while Jackson Merrill has looked like one of the game's best rookies. Fernando Tatis is putting up big numbers again, and Luis Arraez has looked like the heir apparent to Padre legend Tony Gwynn since coming over in a trade from the Marlins.

Heliot Ramos has become a breakout star this year for the Giants, and he'll be accompanied by the perennially-underrated Logan Webb. The Diamondbacks have scuffled after their shocking World Series appearance last year, but don't blame Ketel Marte, who has been fantastic. The less said about the abysmal Rockies the better, but Ryan McMahon has been a light in the Colorado darkness with a .272 average and 14 homers.