Pair of Padres Named All-Star Game Starters

Maren Angus-Coombs | Jul 3, 2024

Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports

The starters for the 2024 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard have been unveiled and the San Diego Padres have two outfielders heading to Arlington.

Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr. join a list of 11 Padres outfielders to be named an All-Star and became the first Padres outfielders since Tony Gwynn to win a fan election. Profar will be the first Padres outfielder since 1998 to actually start in the game, as Tatis is sidelined until at least early August with a stress reaction in his right femur.

This is Profar's first All-Star selection. He is just the ninth player to have made his major league debut after 1933 and spent 11 seasons in the majors before being named a starter in their first All-Star game.

JURICKSON PROFAR IS A STARTING OUTFIELDER FOR THE 2024 NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR TEAM! pic.twitter.com/l6KQRh8zS6

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) July 3, 2024

Ironically, he heads back to where his big league career began. He spent his first five seasons with the Texas Rangers.

“It’s very cool,” he said told a group of reporters including Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune after the vote was revealed. “I don’t know what to say.”

Profar has been one of the best players, not just for the Padres but in the league this season. He ranks third in the National League with a .311 batting average and second with a .404 on-base percentage.

“It means a lot,” he said of the All-Star selection. “A lot. The work I always put in, not giving up, always believing I’m this player and I don’t care what anybody says. That’s why I kept working. I’m rich. I could just do whatever. I could be living on an island. But I kept working. … It’s paying off.”