Kyle Tucker deserves to start the All-Star Game, but fan voting may deny him that

By all accounts, Kyle Tucker has performed as advertised.

The slugger kicked off his career with the Chicago Cubs with a torrid start to the season, at one point being seen as a front-runner for the National League MVP award before later being overtaken by his teammate in Pete Crow-Armstrong. In a short span, Tucker has already established himself as a cornerstone on a Cubs team desperate for their first playoff berth since 2020.

Tucker has been one of the league’s best outfielders, and deserves to take his place in right field to start the MLB All-Star Game on July 15.

Except, as things currently stand, he will not, thanks to the ridiculousness of fan voting.  

Tucker entered the waning hours of Phase 1 of voting in prime position to start the game, but now sees himself on the outside looking in, being overtaken by both Teoscar Hernández and Ronald Acuña Jr.

Acuña starting the All-Star Game would certainly make sense. For starters, he plays for the Atlanta Braves, who will be hosting this year’s rendition of the Midsummer Classic. He is also batting an absurd .369 on the season to go along with an OPS+ of 216, making his starting nod feel deserved.

Things start to get fishy when you look at Hernández’s stats. Hernández hasn’t had a bad season by any means, but trails Tucker in nearly every single offensive category, only besting him in RBI. While Hernández has been worth 1.7 bWAR in 2025, Tucker has been worth exactly double that at 3.4, making the current outfield rankings baffling to Cubs fans.

Where it all seems to come together is when you realize what team Hernández plays for. Hernández is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, a team with the biggest fanbase in the country and arguably the world, translating to more available votes for the veteran.

Fan voting for All-Star Games across all sports is a flawed method, as fans often vote for their favorite players instead of the most deserving players (see the infamous John Scott case at the 2016 NHL All-Star Game).

Of course, I see the irony in that statement. In 2016, the Cubs had their entire infield (minus catcher) start the All-Star Game in San Diego. While Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo finished first and fourth respectively in NL MVP voting that year and deserved the nod, Addison Russell and Ben Zobrist received their spots largely on the backs of Cubs fans.

All-Star Games are meant to be a fun way for fans to see their favorite players compete against each other making fan voting a necessity. On the other hand, players are often evaluated on their number of All-Star selections when establishing Hall of Fame criteria. Is it fair to hold him back because he didn’t garner enough votes in a particular year?

All in all, fans deserve input in selections for the All-Star game, and revoking that would be unfair to them. At the same time, it has become evident that the fan holds too much power in today’s voting scheme and should be reconsidered in future years.