Dillon Dingler, according to advanced analytics, has been the best catcher in Major League Baseball in 2026.
Dingler needs a whole lot of help from Tigers fans, however, if he’s going to start for the American League in the next month’s All-Star Game. Dingler is running fourth among AL catchers in the first phase of fan voting, according to a voting update released this week by MLB.
According to the voting update, Dingler has just over 250,000, close to second place (Toronto’s Alejandro Kirk) and third place (Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman), but he’s more than 400,000 votes behind the AL’s vote leader (Oakland’s Shea Langeliers).
Dingler, according to FanGraphs, has a WAR of 3.2, which factors in offense and defense, and is the top WAR among AL catchers by a significant margin. Langeliers is second, at 2.4. Dingler’s WAR ranks sixth in baseball among all position players in MLB, regardless of position.
In 65 games this season, Dingler already has set a career high in home runs (16), and he has 50 RBIs, just seven behind his career high of 57, set last year over 126 games. He has an .868 OPS. He also remains an elite defender. He won his first Gold Glove in 2025, and appears on his way to another, especially now that he’s added another tool to his arsenal, as he’s among the best catchers when it comes to successful challenges in the new ABS system.
Tigers rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle also is lagging in the voting at his position, with a little over 250,000 votes, somewhat close to second place (Toronto’s Andres Gimenez) but more than 600,000 votes behind the leader among AL shortstops (Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr.).
McGonigle has a 3.0 WAR according to Fangraphs, eighth in baseball. He does trail Witt (4.0), who’s MLB’s leader in WAR among position players, according to FanGraphs. McGonigle has an .811 OPS.
The only other Tiger making a strong push in AL All-Star voting is left fielder Riley Greene, who is running fifth among AL outfielders.
This first phase of All-Star fan voting runs through June 25. The top vote-getter in each league in the first phase automatically starts the All-Star Game, and the top two at each position (and the top six outfielders) advance to the second phase of fan voting, which begins June 29.
The All-Star Game is Tuesday, July 14, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.
Dingler is trying to become the first Tigers catcher to start an All-Star Game since Alex Avila in 2011. McGonigle is trying to become the first Tigers shortstop to start an All-Star Game since Dick McAuliffe in 1966.
The Tigers had six All-Stars in 2025, including four starters (Greene, Javier Báez, Gleyber Torres and Tarik Skubal). The Tigers were among the best teams in baseball for most of the first half in 2025. They’ve slumped in 2026, at times recently sporting the worst record in MLB. They entered Tuesday night at 30-42.
Here’s the latest All-Star voting:
AL catcher All-Star voting
AL shortstop All-Star voting
AL outfielder All-Star voting
Fans can cast All-Star ballots daily, at MLB.com.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: These two Tigers deserve much better than current All-Star vote totals
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tony Paul, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
