3 Astros who could become first-time All-Stars in 2025

For years now, the Houston Astros have sported one of the deepest and most dangerous rosters in the league. The club has been in the midst of what many call a dynasty for the better part of a decade now. In fact, the Astros have finished first or second in the AL West in every year since 2015 )outside of a 2016 season in which they finished third).

Armed with one of the most imposing cores in the game revolving around Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, Framber Valdez, Josh Hader, and many more — the Astros' roster is absolutely packed with annual All-Star candidates.

Yet, there are still a handful of star-caliber players on this team that actually have yet to make an All-Star Game. Being a part of the Astros automatically guarantees you'll get a considerable amount of votes from fans, but there are three players who have yet to make it to the Midsummer Classic that have better chances than their peers to finally make the cut.

3 Astros players who could become first-time All-Stars in 2025

Bryan Abreu, Astros reliever

Down in Houston, Abreu has been quietly carving up the opposition for over half a decade now. He debuted with the Astros back in 2019 but didn't get his first full season of reps under his belt until 2021. It took a little while, but once he took his game to the next level in 2022, he never looked back.

Across the past three years, Abreu has posted a combined 2.31 ERA in 205 appearances. He's as stingy as it gets when it comes to allowing batters to reach base or hit the ball over the fence, and he's emerged as one of the game's top relief-pitching strikeout artists. In fact, dating back to 2022, only eight relievers have struck out batters more frequently than Abreu has.

What's most surprising about Abreu's performance is that he has yet to earn his first All-Star nod. Let's put it this way: anytime a reliever can strike out 100 or more batters in any given year, they deserve a spot in the All-Star Game. Abreu has done it in each of the past two seasons, so it's time for some respect to be put on his name.

Yainer Diaz, Astros catcher

Diaz may chase pitches more than nearly everyone else in the game, and his low walk rate may be enough to drive a fan insane, but there's no doubting that he's emerging as one of the most talented backstops in baseball.

Once the Astros finally (finally!) decided to move on from Martin Maldonado and give Diaz unrestricted access to the everyday catcher role, he blossomed. Last year, in his first full season as the club's primary catcher, Diaz hit 16 home runs with 84 RBI, a .299 average, .766 OPS and 118 OPS+. His 2.8 fWAR was good for sixth in baseball and third in the American League alone.

It's not often that you come across a catcher with an offensive profile as well-rounded as Diaz. Again, he swings and misses quite a bit at bad pitches, but the fact that he came one point away from hitting .300 last year while finishing in the 2nd percentile in chase rate is pretty jarring. The dude can straight-up mash, and it's going to be interesting seeing how he does in year two of the full-time catcher experiment.

Christian Walker, Astros first baseman

It's a bit surprising that neither Abreu or Diaz have made an All-Star Game before, but it's downright disrespectful that Walker never has. The 10-year veteran, who will be 33 on Opening Day, has done nothing but rake over the past few years, and it doesn't hurt that he plays Gold Glove defense at first base, too.

Walker is currently riding a streak of three straight years with an OPS north of .800 while hitting 25 or more home runs in each campaign. He's a true two-way threat and will represent the best first baseman the Astros have had in many, many years in 2025.

As is the case with virtually every single other position on the diamond, Walker is going to face stiff competition in his quest for that first All-Star Game. Yet, he's shown over the years that he's durable, he can hit for a ton of pop and can pick it with the best of them at first base. As previously mentioned, playing on the Astros puts a bigger spotlight on you by default, so maybe getting him out of Arizona and shifting him to Houston will finally get him the recognition he has deserved for years.

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