The 2025 MLB All-Star Game is on Tuesday night in Atlanta. Below, I break down my prediction and pick for the game.
Paul Skenes will be starting for the NL, and Tarik Skubal will take the mound for the AL.
NL vs. AL prediction, preview
Paul Skenes is starting the All-Star Game for the National League in his second All-Star Game appearance. Skenes was just the fifth rookie to be named the starter of an All-Star Game in 2024 and is now starting for the second straight year. Skenes threw one scoreless inning last season. After Skenes, there are some great pitchers available to the National League such as 11-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw to first-timers like MacKenzie Gore and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. They also have great closers like Robert Suarez and Edwin Diaz available for them. Dodgers’ boss Dave Roberts is managing the National League All-Star team, which something he has a lot of experience with. That should give the National League a good boost when it comes to managing the pitching staff.
Tarik Skubal is also making his second consecutive All-Star Game appearance after his breakout season in 2024, where he went on to win the AL Cy Young award. This season, Skubal has earned the right to start the game for the American League. He threw one scoreless inning in his outing last season. After Skubal, the American League has great options like Garrett Crochet and Jacob deGrom. To close out the game, they have their two most experienced All-Stars, six-time selection Josh Hader and eight-time selection Aroldis Chapman. Yankees boss Aaron Boone will be managing the American League All-Star team.
NL vs. AL pick, best bet
There is a lot of firepower in both lineups. Home Run Derby winner Cal Raleigh and reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge highlight the American League team, while reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, first-time All-Star Pete Crow-Armstrong and Freddie Freeman lead the National League team. The National League All-Star team is the most experienced of the two units. The NL starting lineup has 42 All-Star Game appearances between them, while the American League lineup has just 30 combined All-Star Game appearances.
While Judge and Raleigh have been the two most dangerous power hitters in baseball this season, the National League starting lineup has more depth. Ohtani and Will Smith rank third and fourth in the MLB in OPS, and Cubs outfielders Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong have been incredible. All the way down the lineup, there are dangerous bats, with last year’s National League MVP runner-up, Francisco Lindor, batting eighth.
Last year, Jarren Duran was the unlikely hero for the American League, breaking the 3-3 tie with a two-run home run. While every player in each lineup is capable of changing the game with one swing of the bat, the National League has a little more firepower. Even off the bench, they have Eugenio Suarez and Kyle Schwarber, who rank fourth and fifth in the MLB in home runs. As well as James Wood and Pete Alonso, who both rank in the top ten in the MLB in OPS this season. That is why my best bet for this game is the National League Moneyline.
