When in the course of human events we're presented with the run-up to the All-Star Game, we're honor-bound to put forth ideas on how to improve, change, or obliterate said All-Star Game. Since no one asked what he thought, this scribe is here to do just that. 

The All-Star Game has become a bit of a bloated affair -- ballot-stuffing by rank homerists is encouraged, rosters are too large, substitutions are thus too frequent -- and the whole thing is undertaken with an understandable sense of apathy on the part of the players. To be sure, it's an exhibition (and it blessedly no longer determines home-field advantage in the World Series), so it's ultimately harmless no matter how unwieldy it becomes. Besides, the souped-up Home Run Derby format is there for those with nowhere left to turn. All that said, why not add some intrigue to a signature even that seems a little stale these days? 

Since its inception, the All-Star Game has highlighted the rivalry between leagues. Over time, though, the borders between the National and American Leagues have become a bit nebulous. Bud Selig merged the AL and NL offices under the umbrella of the commissioner. Then came interleague play, which sapped the All-Star Game of some of its unconventional appeal. Soon enough, we'll probably see uniform use (or, less likely, non-use) of the DH in both leagues. The distinctions that once defined the two leagues have been whittled away to the point that highlighting what remains feels like a contrivance. So let's carve out a new space, shall we?

This idea borrows a bit from the old Chicago Charities College All-Star Game in football. For more than four decades, a team of college football seniors would take on the NFL champion. As you would expect, the NFL entrants pretty well dominated the series with a record of 31-9-2 against the collegians. Even so, the novelty of it made it a popular event, and there's always going to something natively compelling about the underdog-"overdog" dynamic. 

So how do we transport such a dynamic to MLB? Let the All-Star Game now go permanently by its other name, the Midsummer Classic, and let it pit prospects and rookies against veterans. The dividing lines are simple: 

  • Any player in the minor leagues, signed from the June draft of that same year, or in the majors as a rookie or as a player who exhausted his rookie status in the year in question plays for Team Prospects & Rookies.
  • Any player who exhausted his rookie status in a prior year plays for Team Veterans. 
  • To highlight the dividing line, this year Gleyber Torres of the Yankees (lost rookie status in 2018) would be eligible for Team Prospects & Rookies, but Ozzie Albies of the Braves (exceeded rookie limits in 2017) would be eligible for Team Veterans. 

So what kind of lineups might such a format yield in 2018? Well ... 

Team Veterans

Pos.Player

C

J.T. Realmuto, Marlins

1B

Freddie Freeman, Braves

2B

Jose Altuve, Astros

3B

Jose Ramirez, Indians

SS

Francisco Lindor, Indians

OF

Mike Trout, Angels

OF

Mookie Betts, Red Sox

OF

Aaron Judge, Yankees

DH

J.D. Martinez, Red Sox

SP Max Scherzer, Nationals


Yes, these choices will be disputed no doubt, but this gives you the flavor of things. Stick Nolan Arenado, Andrelton Simmons, Javier Baez, Alex Bregman, Paul Goldschmidt, Yadier Molina, Albies and others on the bench. Flesh out the staff with hurlers like Chris Sale, Luis Severino, Justin Verlander, Jacob deGrom, Edwin Diaz, Craig Kimbrel, and so on. You get the idea. Across the way, maybe you get something like this ... 

Team Prospects & Rookies

Pos.Player

C

Max Stassi, Astros

1B

Jake Bauers, Rays

2B

Gleyber Torres, Yankees

3B

Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays (if healthy)

SS

Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres

OF

Juan Soto, Nationls

OF

Ronald Acuna, Braves

OF

Eloy Jimenez, White Sox

DH

Shohei Ohtani, Angels

SP

Shane Bieber, Indians


With this one, it's got to be a mix of performance and long-term ceiling. That's how you get the players people want to see on the Prospects & Rookies roster. With that in mind, yeah, you could argue for Francisco Mejia over Stassi at catcher, and you could argue for a number of arms over Shane Bieber as the starting pitcher. 

Position players who would also likely make the roster include Brendan Rogers of the Rockies, Miguel Andujar of the Yankees, Austin Meadows of the Pirates, Harrison Bader of the Cardinals, Peter Alonso of the Mets, Kyle Tucker of the Astros, Jo Adell of the Angels, Bo Bichette of the Blue Jays, and others (Nick Senzel of the Reds would be a no-brainer if he hadn't suffered a season-ending injury). Roster-worthy arms would include Jordan Hicks and Jack Flaherty of the Cardinals, Forrest Whitley of the Astros, Michael Kopech of the White Sox, Seranthony Dominguez of the Phillies, Walker Buehler of the Dodgers, Kyle Wright of the Braves, and, yes, others. Let's for sure stick top overall pick Casey Mize of the Tigers on there. 

The Futures' Game is for many the highlight of All-Star week, and this arrangement would render that even obsolete. However, giving prospects (and rookies) this wider stage would give them even more deserved attention. On the veterans side, I'm not naive enough to suggest you're going to see a renewed sense of purpose when it comes to playing an exhibition game, but the idea of losing to a team of rooks and farmhands would likely inspire more effort than would the idea of losing to peers playing with a similar lack of vigor. 

Obviously, the veterans would be heavily favored each time out. However, baseball has a lot of structural parity, and prospects these days -- thanks to advances in training and development -- are reaching the majors close to peak form than they ever have before. These prospects and rookies are also necessarily very good baseball players. This format might be more competitive than you'd think. Again, though, there's also the charm of that whole underdog thing. Throw in some teammate-versus-teammate subplots and the possibility that a player who shines for the Rookies & Prospects will later do so for the Veterans, and you've got some new life breathed into the event. Also: Yes, MLB should pay the prospects who agree to participate. 

The other consequence of this for MLB players is that being an All-Star once again truly means something. Right now, we're talking about two rosters of 32 players each, which -- high-level mathematics forthcoming -- comes to 64. This format would at least halve the number of major-league All-Stars and it would do so without arbitrary regard for which league they play in. This -- to the greatest extent possible -- would feature the very best players. Whether the selection process remains the same is up to MLB. 

Mostly, though, the idea of seeing today's best players suit against tomorrow's best players with generational pride on the line would be the major makeover that the All-Star Game Midsummer Classic truly needs. 

Or not. Just spitballin', people.