Miguel Vargas’ – Phase 1 voting for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game is underway, and Miguel Vargas is making a strong case as the American League’s starting third baseman. The White Sox have lived through an eye-catching All-Star drought at third base—nearly 90 years for an All-Sta
On a day when the ballots for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game are only just starting to move, the White Sox have a reason to look at the hot corner with genuine belief.
Phase 1 of the balloting for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game is now underway. and Miguel Vargas has a strong case to be the AL’s starting third baseman. Among primary third basemen this season, he leads outright in home runs (15), RBIs (41), runs scored (47) and walks (43). He also sits near the top in OPS (.859), bWAR (2.4) and fWAR (2.3).
It’s not just a stat line that’s drawing attention—though those totals would be enough to stop a season conversation in its tracks. The White Sox were not expected to contend quickly after losing more than 100 games in each of the past three years. yet they currently sit at 34-31. While Munetaka Murakami has received credit for the turnaround. Vargas’ breakout is another major reason the club is right in the postseason conversation.
Vargas has also learned how to come back from the kind of lows that can harden a career—or end it. Two years ago. he was trying to carve out a role with a Dodgers club that signed him as a teenager out of his native Cuba in 2017. Los Angeles was months away from winning it all, but Vargas never got a chance to hoist the trophy. He was traded to the White Sox that July.
The trade did not immediately fix the hard part. After the move, Vargas didn’t fare well, slashing .104/.217/.170 over 42 games. His struggles continued into the start of last season. By the time he entered play on April 23, 2025, his career line was .170/.268/.298 over 193 games.
The swing back toward competence and production started to show, and the White Sox stuck with him at third base. The reward came late and in a way that feels like it could only happen after enough patience to survive the worst chapters. Over his final 116 games, Vargas hit 16 homers and posted a .769 OPS.
The plate discipline has been there for Vargas all along, with a career chase rate of 21.2%. The problem early on was simpler and harsher: he didn’t produce enough quality contact—or enough contact overall—to be consistently productive.
That began to change in 2025, and he’s taken it further in 2026. Only two hitters have recorded more batted balls this season that were both hard-hit (95+ mph exit velocity) and in the launch-angle sweet-spot range of 8-32 degrees. Those hitters are Yordan Alvarez (622) and Bobby Witt Jr. (583). Vargas has 524-T alongside Freddie Freeman (504-T), José Ramírez (504-T), and Dillon Dingler (50).
In plain terms, it means he’s been producing hard-hit line drives and fly balls—exactly the kind of contact that tends to translate into the slugging that earns All-Star consideration.
He’s also improved how he gets to that contact. Vargas has recorded the largest year-over-year increase in average bat speed of any qualifying hitter from 2025 to 2026. going from nearly 2 mph below the MLB average to 2 mph above it. The numbers tell the story: Vargas jumped from 70.6 mph to 74.0 mph, a +3.4 mph increase.
That top list looks like this: 1. Miguel Vargas: +3.4 mph (70.6 mph to 74.0 mph); 2. Cam Smith: +2.6 mph; 3. JJ Bleday: +2.4 mph; 4. Mark Vientos: +2.0 mph; 5. Pete Crow-Armstrong: +2.0 mph.
And for a hitter, swinging harder can come with a cost—more strikeouts, more free passes for the defense. Vargas has avoided that tradeoff so far. He improved his strikeout rate from 24.1% in 2024 to 17.6% last season, then held steady at 17.4% in 2026. He’s also chasing less than ever, at 19.3%, and walking as much as he ever has, at 15.2%.
Put it all together. and Vargas has positioned himself to possibly end the South Siders’ unbelievable All-Star drought at the hot corner. Nearly a century ago. the American League’s starting lineup at the first-ever All-Star Game in 1933 featured all-time greats such as Babe Ruth. Lou Gehrig and Charlie Gehringer. Also in that lineup, starting at third base and batting sixth, was Jimmy Dykes of the White Sox.
Nearly a century later, Dykes remains the only White Sox third baseman to start the All-Star Game. But Vargas has a chance to change that in 2026.
Even if he doesn’t get elected to start, Vargas still has a strong chance to become the first White Sox third baseman to make the All-Star team in 18 years—Joe Crede in 2008 was the last. That would also make Vargas the seventh White Sox player overall to reach the All-Star team.
For the White Sox, the stakes aren’t only ceremonial. More importantly. Vargas is starting to look like the type of cornerstone player who could be in the All-Star conversation for years to come—exactly the kind of stability a franchise rebuilding from more than 100 losses in each of the past three years has been chasing.
Miguel Vargas 2026 MLB All-Star Game White Sox American League starting third baseman Jimmy Dykes Munetaka Murakami bat speed OPS home runs RBIs walks
White Sox All-Star?? I thought they were just tanking forever lol.
I don’t even understand these “Phase 1 voting” things. Like does that mean fans pick him already or is it just some preseason thing? Also Vargas has 15 homers already so yeah he should be in.
Wait, so is this saying Vargas is basically guaranteed to start at third? Cause I saw the OPS and bWAR numbers and my brain just went “superstar” but then it says White Sox drought for almost 90 years like… third base hasn’t mattered since the 1930s??
I mean good for him but all these stats always get me. OPS .859 doesn’t sound like “starting” to me, sounds kinda average? And 34-31 is only like barely above .500, so I’m confused how they’re already in the postseason conversation. Also didn’t he used to be with the Dodgers? feels like players move around so much now.