By Scott Barancik, Editor
Balloting for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game began this week. beginning with fan voting for starting position players and designated hitters. Will any of the five Jewish players on the ballot—CF Harrison Bader (Giants), 3B Alex Bregman (Cubs), UT Zack Gelof (Athletics), 1B Spencer Horwitz (Pirates), and DH Joc Pederson (Rangers)—make the first cut?
In all likelihood, no. A little more than a third of the way through the regular season, Jewish hitters collectively are not at their best, and none sits at the very top of his position’s depth chart. Pittsburgh’s Horwitz, who is having a breakout year, ranks high in several statistical categories and has a modest chance of being named the N.L.’s back-up first baseman. But it would help if he had gaudier power stats—and a big-city fan base like New York or Chicago to stuff the ballot box.
As for pitchers, the Yankees’ Fried has a shot at making the A.L.’s bullpen. Hopefully he will come off the injured list soon—ideally in time to toss a couple more scoreless starts before voting on pitchers begins.
Of course, for all its hype, the All-Star Game is just one game shoehorned into the latter half of a seven-month season. So let’s take a closer look at what really matters: the other 162.
Let’s play ball!
(Note: Statistics cited below are current through games played June 2, 2026)
Spencer Horwitz (Pirates)
1B Spencer Horwitz (Pirates) is enjoying the best season of his four-year MLB career. Through June 2, the Maryland native was hitting .291—ranking first among NL first basemen with more than 200 plate appearances—with seven HRs (including a “Horwitz howitzer”), 26 RBIs, .390 OBP (sixth among all NL hitters), and 1.15 walk-to-strikeout ratio (third in the NL). One other stat to kvell about: Horwitz is one of only two MLB hitters this season with a strikeout rate below 12% and a walk rate above 13%. The only other player in that elite club is Guardians left fielder Steven Kwan, who is hitting just .209
As JBN reader Ethel H. points out, Horwitz is exceptionally accurate when swinging at pitches thrown within the strike zone. The 28-year-old makes contact 94.4% of the time, ranking him fourth in all of Major League Baseball
Horwitz’s ascent—his OPS rose from .744 in March/April to .966 in May—has not gone unnoticed. Although he spent most of the season in the lower part of Pittsburgh’s batting order, the Pirates elevated him to the leadoff spot on May 24
Of the six Jewish hitters in MLB so far this season, Horwitz has the highest wRC+ and highest fWAR. The wRC+ stat measures a hitter’s overall run production, while fWAR is a combined measure of a player’s hitting, baserunning, and fielding performance
Joc Pederson (Rangers)
Another Jewish hitter on a tear: DH Joc Pederson (Rangers) hit .333 (10-for-30) over his last eight games, with five HRs, 10 RBIs, and .429 OBP. The 13-year veteran’s plate discipline is vastly improved. His 15.7% walk rate is the best since 2015, his first full season in the majors, and his 20.8% strikeout rate is the second-lowest of his career
The highlights? They include Pederson’s 3-for-4, two-HR performance in a 4-3 loss to rival Houston on May 27, and a 3-for-4 outing on June 2, when he stroked two doubles and a go-ahead, ninth-inning single in a 7-4 win over St. Louis
Max Fried (Yankees)
Talk about streaky. LHP Max Fried (Yankees) began the 2026 season with two scoreless starts, gave up three to five earned runs in each of his next three starts, delivered two more scoreless starts, and then gave up three to five earned runs in his following three outings. Is it the curse of the bobblehead? Those three most recent starts took place after New York gave away Fried bobbleheads on May 2. During his last start—a 7-0 defeat at the hands of Baltimore on May 13—Fried suffered a bone bruise to his left elbow that landed him on the 15-day injured list. The good news is that he won’t need Tommy John surgery and reportedly is “responding pretty well” to treatment
One thing Fried has been consistent about is defense. Since debuting in 2017, the four-time Gold Glove Award winner has been a beast with the leather. His 200 assists since 2017 rank second among all MLB pitchers, and his 36 pickoffs rank first
Zack Gelof (Athletics)
Utility man Zack Gelof (Athletics), who spent the first two weeks of the season lighting up minor-league pitchers, got off to a slow start after Oakland called him up. The 26-year-old Delaware native hit .229 (8-for-35) in April, producing just two extra-base hits, four RBIs, a .593 OPS, and not a single walk. May was much better. Gelof hit .269 (28-for-104) with five HRs, 15 RBIs, and a .783 OPS
Here is something you might not have noticed about Zack Gelof (Athletics) this season: he’s no longer a pure second baseman. After playing every inning of his first three MLB seasons at second base, this season he has made 26 starts at third base, 15 in center field, six at second base, and two in right field. The switch to a utility role began when Oakland acquired Jeff McNeil and installed him at second. Injuries to teammates then opened up opportunities in center and at third, where Gelof has displayed solid defense
Injured List
Three Jewish major leaguers were on the injured list as of June 2: RHP Dean Kremer (Orioles), CF Harrison Bader (Giants), and LHP Max Fried (Yankees). Kremer hasn’t pitched since April 18, thanks to a right quad strain. Bader, who hit two grand slams in a single week last month, landed on the injured list May 30 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. Fried has been sidelined since mid-May with a bruised left elbow
All-Time Roster Update: Nate Berkenstock
For more than 30 years, Jewish baseball historians have included Nate Berkenstock in their list of Jewish pro baseball players. Roughly 40 years old when he played a single game for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1871, Berkenstock—who was born in 1831 or 1832—is perhaps best known as the earliest-born player in major league history. But an obituary recently discovered by MLB historian John Thorn has cast doubt on his classification as Jewish by identifying him as a “member of the Reformed Church.” Further research by Jewish Baseball News indicates he was more than just a member. An item about Berkenstock in Historical Notes Relating to the Pennsylvania Reformed Church noted he sang in the choir of the First Church of Philadelphia and had been president of its board of corporation for “a quarter of a century” when he died in 1900.
In light of this new information, Jewish Baseball News has removed Berkenstock from its all-time roster.
— Da End —
