Welcome to The Pregame Lineup, a weekday newsletter that gets you up to speed on everything you need to know for today’s games, while catching you up on fun and interesting stories you might have missed. Thanks for being here.

Manager Mark DeRosa must really feel like a kid in a candy shop.

As he works with the longtime MLB executive Michael Hill to put together Team USA’s entrance in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, they’ve already received commitments from the game’s premier power hitter, Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who will serve as the squad’s captain, and generational starting-pitching phenom Paul Skenes.

On Thursday, DeRosa and Hill added yet another elite superstar to anchor their infield: Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. One of the great all-around talents in the game, Witt is coming off a historic season in which he finished as the runner-up to Judge for the AL MVP Award after posting a 30-30 season, winning the AL batting title and being named his league’s Silver Slugger and Gold Glove Award winners at the game’s most important defensive position.

Unlike Judge and Skenes, Witt has already appeared in a Classic. As a 22-year-old in 2023, he had just two at-bats off the bench, but he gained tremendous experience while being surrounded by many of the game’s top stars.

DeRosa approached Witt during Spring Training to see if the Royals star wanted to play for Team USA again next year. “100%,” Witt responded, but he had just one question: “I’m starting, right?"

“Yeah, I think it’s time you took the next step," DeRosa said.

DeRosa and Co. came up just short against Japan last time out in a championship game that came down to an unforgettable showdown between then-Angels teammates Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. With Judge, Skenes and Witt already on board for next spring, the U.S. is looking like it could be well on its way to putting together one of the greatest international teams ever assembled, with a second World Baseball Classic title in its sights.

“It’s an honor,” Witt said on MLB Central. “It’s something I’ve kind of dreamed about my whole entire life. Just being a part of that team a couple of years ago, it was amazing. So now, bring home the gold.”

-- Ed Eagle

Knowledge is power. And tonight, we will know which two players have guaranteed themselves a starting lineup spot for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

We will also know which players are the finalists to join them as Midsummer Classic starters. 

The results of Phase 1 All-Star Game voting, which ended at noon today, will be unveiled tonight on MLB Network at 6 p.m. ET. That’s when we will know the top two vote-getters at each position (and the top six outfielders) in each league. The top vote-getter in each league will automatically be a part of his league’s starting lineup for the All-Star Game on July 15 inside Atlanta’s Truist Park. The other top vote-getters will advance to Phase 2 of the voting.

If an outfielder is his league’s leading vote-getter, only the next four outfield finalists will move on to Phase 2 to determine who starts at the two remaining spots. And considering what we saw in Monday’s balloting update, we should expect only two spots to be available in the American League since Yankees star Aaron Judge held a wide margin -- about 800,000 votes more than the Mariners’ Cal Raleigh -- in the race for leading vote-getter in the AL.

Shohei Ohtani was more than 400,000 votes in front of Dodgers teammate Will Smith as the most voted player in the NL, so the DH spot for the Senior Circuit squad looks to be all but sewn up as well.

But there were a handful of very close races to watch, too. So much could have changed in the span of four days.

We'll see how the voting shook out tonight. Then get ready to vote some more as Phase 2 -- when the finalists at each position go head-to-head -- begins on Monday at noon ET.

-- Brian Murphy 

You just can't hit the Jakes. 

Jacob deGrom, Jacob Misiorowski (more on him in a second) and Jacob Lopez all delivered scoreless starts yesterday. And in case you were wondering: Yes, that makes June 25, 2025, a historic day for Jakes. 

The two-time Cy Young Award winner deGrom took a no-hitter into the eighth inning for the Rangers against the Orioles. Misiorowski, the Brewers' electric rookie flamethrower, outdueled Paul Skenes over five scoreless frames. And Lopez led the A's to a win over the MLB-best Tigers with seven shutout innings of his own.  

It was the first time in MLB history that three pitchers named Jacob all pitched scoreless starts on the same day, according to the folks over at OptaSTATS.

Oh, and for good measure, one day earlier a fellow Jacob in the Rangers' rotation, Jacob Latz, carried a no-hitter through six innings.

That's the fun fact of the day you didn't know you needed. 

-- David Adler

If you needed yet another reason to like Misiorowski, the Brewers wunderkind, the New Balance Ohtani 1 cleats he wore for his duel with Skenes on Wednesday were customized to raise awareness for Parkinson’s Disease, which his dad has battled for years.

“It’s close to my heart,” Misiorowski told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy. “So the more you can get out there about it, maybe it helps some people down the line. Maybe I can get people to donate to [Parkinson’s research]. It’s taken a lot from my dad, but we still get to enjoy the moments with him, so that’s awesome.”

Given the enhanced spotlight on his matchup with Skenes, Misiorowski thought it was a perfect time to break out the cleats, which feature his dad’s initials and a red tulip, a positive symbol for those battling Parkinson’s. As his profile continues to grow -- when you throw potentially the nastiest stuff in the sport, that’s bound to happen -- it will only continue to bring attention to a very worthwhile cause.

(Note: If fans would like to contribute in honor of Misiorowski and his father, he suggested the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.)

-- Bryan Horowitz

The heat wave that's gripped New York -- and most of the country -- will soon be behind us, with the game-time temperature hovering in the 70s, but Juan Soto and Ronald Acuña Jr. hope their bats don't cool.

The Mets finally earned their first win in six contests against the Braves last night, with Soto leading the way with two homers that moved him past Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx for the most multihomer games in MLB history by a player before turning 27.

Acuña, who is the first player to commit to the T-Mobile Home Run Derby in Atlanta next month, has mashed a couple of homers in six games against the Mets, amassing a 1.182 OPS in June.

It's the only night game on the slate, so tune in to the MLB Network Showcase game at 7:10 p.m. ET. It's also available for all you streamers out there on MLB.TV.

Welcome to Spinball, where baseball meets spin the wheel. You’ll have nine spins to put together your roster of four hitters and one pitcher. See how your team stacks up among the leaderboards at the end of each week! Play free >>

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