Fort Worth, Texas - Major League Baseball’s annual All-Star Week concluded on Tuesday night with the American League recapturing the crown over the National League in the All-Star Game by a score of 5-3, the AL’s 10th win in the last 11 games. This year’s weeklong celebration of baseball, beginning on Friday, July 12th, showcased the future of baseball with the HBCU Swingman Classic and the All-Star Futures Game, the present faces of the sport in the All-Star Game and the Home Run Derby, and welcomed a new generation of talent through the MLB Draft. Represented at every level was USA Baseball, with 58 alumni making appearances either in an All-Star Week event or hearing their names called during the first round of the MLB Draft on July 14th. A total of 20 alumni represented the stars and stripes during the All-Star Game, while 17 were tabbed to Futures Game teams and another 17 were welcomed to the League in the first round of the draft.

HBCU Swingman Classic

The festivities began on the 12th with the HBCU Swingman Classic, which highlights collegiate players currently playing at Historically Black Colleges & Universities, or HBCUs. Selected via a committee featuring MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. along with MLB and MLBPA representatives and scouts, 50 players had the chance to showcase their talents on the All-Star stage.

Four USA Baseball alumni were tabbed to participate in this year’s Swingman Classic, led by three players just a few weeks removed from the 2024 Collegiate National Team. Alabama State’s Jamal George, Bethune-Cookman’s Pablo Torres, and Southern’s KJ White were all members of the first ever CNT Summer League Tour, which was the first time each of the three players had donned the stars and stripes. Louis Rodriguez, also from Alabama State, has represented the U.S. three times as a member of the 2016 12U National Team, 2015 15U National Team, and 2021 18U National Team.

Rodriguez and Torres both saw action on the mound for the National League squad on Friday, with Rodriguez earning the starting nod. The gold medalist with the 2015 15U National Team put on a clinic in his 2.0 innings of work, recording four strikeouts to just one hit. Torres hurled 0.2 innings in relief, making the most of his time in the spotlight by fanning both of the hitters he faced.

George and White both batted for the American League, playing key roles in the AL’s eventual 5-4 win. Finishing 2-for-4, George picked up his first hit on a single in the bottom of the fifth inning as he rounded the bases to score, while White added a sac fly as the AL took a 4-1 lead with three runs in the frame. George added what proved to be the game-winning run in the sixth inning, lining an RBI double into left.

All-Star Futures Game

On the 13th, the All-Star Futures Game highlighted even more bright young talent, this time players already within the MLB pipeline. Thirteen USA Baseball alumni were present as the National League Futures squad earned a 6-1 win over the American League Futures side, with alums such as Aidan Miller (PHI) and Brady House (WAS) debuting at the 12U National Team level and others such as Rhett Lowder (CIN), Kyle Teel (BOS), and Tre’ Morgan (TB) having represented the 2022 Collegiate National Team.

A three-time alum with gold medals at the 15U and 18U international levels, Miller and 2021 18U National Team alum Druw Jones (ARI) both delivered home RBIs in the NL’s winning effort. Jones’ teammate in 2021 and two-time alum Termarr Johnson (PIT) finished 1-for-2 with a run, as did 2022 18U gold medalist Bryce Eldridge (SF).

On the mound for the victors, 2021 CNT alum Brandon Sproat (NYM) hurled the two hardest pitches during a perfect inning of work, a pair of fastballs that touched 99.2 mph. Lowder allowed a hit during his inning on the bump, but was one of three pitchers on the night to notch a pair of strikeouts.

Teel and another 2022 18U gold medalist, Max Clark (DET), tallied hits for the AL. Teel had one of the best nights of any player, finishing 2-for-2 and as the only player to smack a pair of hits for multiple bases with both hits going for doubles.

Home Run Derby

Three USA Baseball alums were a part of the fireworks show that was the 2024 Home Run Derby, with an alum competing in every round as the field navigated a new format for one of All-Star week’s most exciting competitions. Beginning with a field of eight that narrowed down into semifinal matchups, the night began with two-time Derby champ and 2023 World Baseball Classic alum Pete Alonso (NYM) falling just short in the opening round. While Alonso missed out on the chance to earn his third title, debut participants Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) and Alec Bohm (PHI) lit up the first round with 20 and 21 homers, respectively, to book spots in the semifinals.

Witt Jr. opened his night slowly, but cranked long balls on six of his last nine attempts and added another four in bonus time to reach 20 in his debut round. The Royals infielder and two-time USA Baseball alum averaged a distance of 409 feet on his homers, with the longest traveling 442 feet.

2019 Professional National Team alum Alec Bohm endured a similar slow start, but emerged on even more of a tear than Witt Jr. to book his place in the semifinals. Bohm went deep on 10 of his final 12 pitches and added another in bonus time, riding his scorching second half to tie for the most long balls in the round with 21. His longest blast was 445 feet, with an overall average of 407 feet.

Adding 14 long balls in the semifinals as the No. 1 seed, Bohm would be felled 2-1 in a swing-off to Teoscar Hernandez, who had gone deep in two of his last three attempts. Meanwhile, Witt clubbed a semifinal-high 17 bombs as the No. 3 seed to knock off Jose Ramirez, putting him a win away from a debut Derby crown. In the final showdown, Witt would fall just short as he was outlasted by Hernandez, 14-13.

Four more USA Baseball alumni put on a clinic in the High School Home Run Derby, first on the morning of the 13th and then in the final held with the big-league event on the night of the 15th. 2019 12U alum Josiah Hartshorn would finish as the runner-up after cranking a combined 23 homers in the first two rounds, one of just two players to reach double-figures in both rounds.

A trio of 2022 15U National Team gold medalists also went head-to-head in the field of eight. Ethan Holliday finished with 20 combined blasts in the first two rounds, good for third-most, followed by Brady Ebel’s 14 and Sebastian Norman’s 12.

All-Star Game

Twenty USA Baseball alumni were present on this year’s All-Star Game rosters, with 11 tabbed to the starting rosters and another nine as reserves. Almost all saw action in Tuesday’s showcase of some of the brightest stars in baseball across both rosters, with 12 playing for the National League and another eight on the side of the American League.

Three-time alum Paul Skenes’ (PIT) meteoric rise as a rookie this season landed him the starting spot on the mound for the NL, and against the best hitters in the league he put together a hitless inning of work to lead off the night. Fellow three-time alum Hunter Greene (CIN) also tossed an inning for the NL.

At the plate, Phillies teammates Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Bohm continued to rake as they have for Philadelphia all season. Harper, a three-time alum, slashed a double in the first inning while both Bohm and Turner, another three-time alum, singled. 2014 Collegiate National Team alum Bryan Reynolds (PIT) and 2023 World Baseball Classic alum Will Smith (LAD) also delivered hits for the NL, both on singles as well.

Tanner Houck (BOS) was the third three-time USA Baseball alum to see action on the mound as he went an inning for the AL, and it was another alum who delivered the biggest play of the night. Houck’s teammate Jarren Duran, an alum of the 2021 Olympic squad, was named the MVP of the All-Star game thanks to his game-winning, two-RBI homer in the fifth inning that traveled 413 feet into right center.

MLB Draft

Beginning on July 14th with 37 selections in the first round, the 2024 MLB Draft welcomed players into the league who will one day go on to represent the league first as rising stars and then one day as All-Stars during this week in the future. Since 1972, USA Baseball has seen 586 players hear their names called in the first round; 17 alumni received the call on Sunday night, including 10 of the first 12 selections.

2024 Golden Spikes Award winner Charlie Condon was the first alum off the board, taken third overall by the Colorado Rockies. Nick Kurtz made 12U National Team history the next pick, as the Oakland Athletics made him the highest-drafted member ever from a 12U side at No. 4. Hagen Smith would round out the top five, selected by the Chicago White Sox.

Condon and Smith were the first two of what would be seven 2023 Collegiate National Team members taken in the first 12 picks. Jac Caglianone (KC), JJ Wetherholt (STL), and Christian Moore (LAA) were all selected in that order from No. 6 to No. 8, while Seaver King (WAS) and Braden Montgomery (BOS) were selected 10th and 12th, respectively.

Two USA Baseball alums were selected from the high school ranks in the top 12, first with Konnor Griffin (PIT) at ninth overall and then with Bryce Rainer (DET) at No. 11. Another, PJ Morlando (MIA), would be drafted at 16th overall. Slade Caldwell was the fourth and final alum to hear his name called out of high school, as the 29th pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Four more members of the 2023 CNT heard their names called over the course of the night, with Trey Yesavage (TOR) and Kaelen Culpepper (MIN) being selected back-to-back at Nos. 20 and 21, in respective order. Malcolm Moore (TEX) was taken 30th overall, and Griff O’Ferrall (BAL) made it 11 draftees from the 2023 Collegiate squad after he was picked with a compensatory selection at No. 32.

A combined 58 players who had come through the USA Baseball pipeline were drafted in the opening 10 rounds, coming from various national teams and development programs. Twenty-two players from the 2023 CNT were selected, including 19 of them in the first 118 picks.

Nine players selected in the first 201 picks were alumni of the 18U National Team, the second-most of any level following the CNT. Six draftees had represented the U.S. at the 15U level, while four players, led by Kurtz and Rainer, had made their USA Baseball debuts on the 12U stage.

For a more in-depth breakdown of how the first round of the draft played out for the seventeen USA Baseball alumni who were drafted, click this link.