The 2023 MLB All-Star Game is right around the corner, and Chicago will be well-represented, with one member of the White Sox and three Cubs heading to Seattle.
The White Sox will send outfielder Luis Robert Jr. to the game, as he’s having arguably the best season of his career, having already reached his career high in home runs at 24.
The Cubs’ contingent will be led by a pair of starting pitchers, with Justin Steele getting his first selection to the game and Marcus Stroman getting his second.
Shortstop Dansby Swanson is also an All-Star for the second consecutive season.
The team last had three All-Stars in 2019, when Willson Contreras and Javier Báez were both named as starters in the National League. Kris Bryant was a reserve in the game, striking out in his lone plate appearance.
Here are your 2023 Chicago All-Stars.
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Luis Robert Jr., White Sox
Robert has bene a player with unlimited potential and a tsunami of hype, and though he’s shown flashes in the past, he’s putting together an MVP-caliber season for the White Sox in 2023.
In 83 games, Robert has 24 home runs, a career high, and 46 RBI’s. He is slashing .276/.337/.575, and has been without question the best offensive player on a team that has struggled at times to score runs.
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Robert currently has a Wins Above Replacement of 3.8 this season, according to Fangraphs, the second-best number in the American League and the second-best among position players in all of baseball, trailing Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuña in those categories, respectively.
Justin Steele, Cubs
Throughout the season, Steele has been battling back and forth with Stroman for the best ERA in the National League, and at this point he has the advantage, with a 2.43 mark in 15 starts. He also is the proud owner of a 9-2 record and a 1.03 WHIP.
Steele also has a 2.6 WAR on the season, according to Fangraphs, a mark that puts him third among National League pitchers.
Marcus Stroman, Cubs
Stroman has been having one of the best seasons of any pitcher in baseball, and though he has scuffled a bit in his last two starts, his numbers are still very impressive.
He has a 9-6 record in 18 starts for the Cubs, with a 2.76 ERA and 92 strikeouts in 107.2 innings. He has a career-best 1.09 WHIP and has been a steadying influence for the Cubs as they’ve gone through some rough stretches during the campaign.
He’s done all of this while facing questions about his future in Chicago, having an opt-out clause in his contract at the end of the season.
Dansby Swanson, Cubs
Swanson came into the season as one of the most-hyped players in baseball after signing a seven-year contract with the Cubs, and though he hasn’t quite hit for the power he did for the last two seasons in Atlanta, he has still made a big impact on the team’s lineup.
In 80 games, Swanson has 35 RBI’s and a .256 batting average, but he also has a .343 on-base percentage and has been one of the game’s best defensive players.
It is that glove that has helped him to a 2.8 WAR on the season, landing him in the top-10 in the National League in that category among position players.
