The Washington Nationals may have stumbled into the All-Star break after getting swept by the New York Yankees, but the club still has something to point to: three All-Stars in a season that has already delivered a few bright spots. And if you zoom out from this year and look at the franchise’s full history, the list of Nationals who have actually started the All-Star Game is a pretty select group.
It begins with Alfonso Soriano, who did it in 2006 during his lone season in Washington. Soriano was in the middle of one of the best individual years the franchise has ever seen, and the best season of his career.
Before the break, he was batting .271 with 25 home runs, 56 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. He would finish with the only 40-40 season in Nationals history.
Bryce Harper takes up a huge chunk of the franchise’s All-Star starting history. He was a starter four times as a National, doing so in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2018. Harper also made the team twice more while in Washington, and this year marks the first time he has started the All-Star Game since joining the Phillies.
The Nationals also had a pair of first-time starters in 2017. Daniel Murphy earned the nod in his second season with the club after putting together a blistering first half. He was hitting .342/.387/.553 with 15 homers, 59 RBIs and a .940 OPS when he got the call, and he went on to be a key piece for a Nationals team that won 97 games.
Ryan Zimmerman joined him that year, and it was the only time Mr. National started an All-Star Game.
After a rough 2016 season that ended up being the worst of his career from a WAR standpoint, Zimmerman bounced back hard. He had career-best marks in both homers and OPS at that point, and entered the break with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs.
Max Scherzer, the greatest pitcher in Nationals history, also landed on the list multiple times. He started the All-Star Game in 2017, 2018 and 2021, and was selected every year he was a National except 2020, when the game was not held because COVID-19 canceled most of the season. His Nationals All-Star appearance came just a couple of weeks before he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the blockbuster deal for Keibert Ruiz.
Now CJ Abrams has joined that group. In 2026, he became the first shortstop in franchise history to start the All-Star Game, and he’ll bat cleanup for the National League tonight. It’s his second career selection overall, and it gives the Nationals another name to add to a short list that has been built by stars.
In Other News...
James Wood Just Gave Nationals Fans Another Reason To Dream
James Woods breakout season picked up another layer of recognition this week, as the Nationals outfielder was named the National League Player of the Week after a blistering six-game stretch. It was the kind of run that keeps changing the conversation around him in Washington, where every big week seems to add to the sense that the club has a centerpiece worth building around.
Wood did his damage by piling up hits, power and traffic on the bases, and the bigger picture is even more eye-catching: he sits near the top of the league in several major offensive categories. For a Nationals team still searching for a clearer direction, that kind of production from a young outfielder is the sort of development fans can hang hope on, even as the season keeps asking for more proof. [Read more 🡒]
Corbin Carroll Shares All-Star Stage With A Truly Special Young Core
Before they were multiple-time MLB All-Stars, CJ Abrams, Corbin Carroll, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Riley Greene and Bobby Witt Jr. were just a talented group of teenagers on the 2018 Team USA U-18 squad, chasing gold together and building the kind of bond that tends to stick. The tournament gave them a common reference point long before any of them reached this stage, and it is easy to see why that summer still comes up when their careers are mentioned now.
The reunion of those former teammates on baseballs biggest midsummer stage adds a little extra texture to the All-Star week conversation, especially for a player like Abrams, who has grown into one of the more recognizable young names in the game. The shared history is the fun part, but it also underscores how rare it is for a youth team to produce this many stars at once, with each of them now carrying a different piece of the same story into the majors. [Read more 🡒]
Luis Garcia Earns Nationals Respect In MLB First Base Top 10
At the All-Star break, Luis Garcia has put himself in a conversation that would have sounded ambitious a few months ago, and the Nationals have reason to take notice. The midseason ranking of MLB first basemen puts a spotlight on players making real noise for their clubs, with names like Ben Rice setting the pace and others such as Jonathan Aranda drawing attention for strong all-around production.
For Washington, Garcias place in that group says as much about his season as it does about the broader shape of the position right now. The second half will decide how long he stays in that company, but even getting mentioned among the games top first basemen is a sign of how far his year has come and how much value he has given the Nationals so far. [Read more 🡒]