PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte is unlike any other second baseman in baseball, and his inclusion in the starting lineup for the National League at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game is another testament to that.
Marte missed nearly all of April with a hamstring strain, and he did not hit his first home run of the season until May 8.
The switch-hitter has still managed to club 18 home runs, seven more than any other second baseman in the NL for the entire season. Tampa Bay’s Brandon Lowe leads MLB second basemen with 19 home runs, and he’s played in 21 more games than Marte entering Thursday.
The veteran Diamondback hit eight home runs in May and nine in June, and No. 18 was a game-tying shot in the bottom of the ninth inning on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants.
Marte secured 70% of the vote in Phase 2 of MLB’s All-Star Game fan voting, which pegged him against Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Marte ended up with the most Phase 2 votes of any player, which is quite the exclamation point on this selection considering the missed time and his competition was a Dodgers player (although statistically, he was a no-brainer pick).
“I don’t have words,” Marte said on Thursday. “It’s something incredible. I remember when I was doing rehab and I told (director of sports medicine and performance) Ken Crenshaw, I’m here now, but you’ll see me in the All-Star Game.”
Marte is going to start the All-Star Game for the second year in a row and third time in his career, having also done so in 2019. He’s building up accolades that are pretty rare in franchise history.
KETEL MARTE COMES UP CLUTCH ?
He ties the game in the 9th with a 2-run homer! pic.twitter.com/PBoMEMJF1U
— MLB (@MLB) July 3, 2025
Ketel Marte to start All-Star Game by the numbers
2 in a row
Only two Diamondbacks had started back-to-back All-Star Games before Marte received this nomination. First baseman Paul Goldschmidt did so in 2014-15, as had pitcher Randy Johnson in 2000-01.
Goldschmidt is the only other Diamondbacks player to have started three All-Star Games.
The last National League second baseman who received a fan-voted starting spot in consecutive seasons was Philadelphia’s Chase Utley in 2006-10.
Club of 6
Marte is also becoming the sixth player in franchise history to make the All-Star game three times.
He joins the club with Goldschmidt (six times), Johnson (five times), Luis Gonzalez (five times), Brandon Webb (three times) and Zack Greinke (three times).
Marte broke out at 25 years old in 2019 as one of the premier young talents in the league. Injuries and poor team performances took him out off the national stage to an extent for a couple years, but he re-emerged in the spotlight in 2023, particularly during the postseason when he won NLCS MVP.
He did not make the All-Star Game despite a competitive case in 2023, which was a motivating force as he’s played arguably his best baseball for the past couple years.
After signing a six-year extension with the D-backs this spring, Marte will have ample opportunities to continue climbing the ladder for All-Star Game appearances for the team.
“He’s been a treasure for us here in the Valley,” manager Torey Lovullo told MLB Network radio on Thursday. “Probably gonna be one of the best players I ever manage. … He’s truly a superstar of this game.”
Diamondbacks 2B Ketel Marte reacts to being named an All-Star Game starter after leading the NL in Phase 2 voting. pic.twitter.com/3XwlL8UhIB
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) July 3, 2025
Top 5 player since his return
Marte returned to the Diamondbacks’ lineup on May 2.
Since then, he ranks fifth among major league position players with 2.8 fWAR, trailing only Seattle’s Cal Raleigh, Houston’s Jeremy Peña, New York’s Aaron Judge and L.A.’s Shohei Ohtani.
Only Judge, Raleigh and Ohtani have a higher OPS than Marte’s 1.008 since May 2, during which time Marte ranks fourth in home runs and slugging percentage (.613).
Last year, Marte finished third in the NL MVP race after dominating a stretch during the summer months. In 60 games from June through an injured list placement in August, he hit .333 with an OPS of 1.074. He finished the year with an OPS of .932, and yet his season-long offensive numbers to this point are even better (.999 OPS).
When looking into what’s improved, Marte is walking at a career-high pace (13.5%) and striking out less often (15.8 %) with a lower chase rate, so while his average exit velocity is a bit down (91.2 mph), he’s barreling up a higher percentage of pitches (career-high 16.7%).
For whatever reason, he’s flipped his typical splits, crushing right-handers (1.072 OPS) more than southpaws (.820 OPS), whom he faces a lot more often.
30-home run power
Going all the way back to 1871, only three primary second basemen have collected three seasons of 30 home runs with a .900 OPS or better: Utley, Jeff Kent and Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby.
Marte is on pace to join that exclusive group. He is hitting 0.3 home runs per game played this year — with a home run to fly ball ratio of 25%.
The D-backs have 76 games left. Let’s say he maintains that pace for 70 more games, that would give him 21 more home runs to finish with 39. Let’s say that drops to 0.2 home runs per game. He’d still clear 30 with 32.
Now, change the criteria to 30 home runs and a .930 OPS, and Hornsby is the only second baseman in history with three such seasons. Marte can become the second, even if he takes a slight dip in production over the second half.
Can the Diamondbacks get more than 1 All-Star?
Marte was the club’s lone All-Star player last season in Arlington, as the D-backs have only secured one All-Star in three of the last four Midsummer Classics. They had four players — Corbin Carroll, Zac Gallen, Geraldo Perdomo and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. — make the team in 2023.
The Diamondbacks have other worthy contenders for the team this summer, namely Carroll (.914 OPS, 20 home runs) and Eugenio Suarez (.874 OPS, 26 home runs). Perdomo (.788 OPS) and Merrill Kelly (3.55 ERA) also deserve a look.
Reserves and pitchers will be revealed on Sunday. The All-Star Game is on July 15 at Truist Park.
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