Alums Rice, Schlittler Named 2026 MLB All-Stars

MLB.com: How 2 Boston-area stars became first-time All-Stars for Yankees

ROCKLAND, Mass. 一 They may be wearing New York Yankees pinstripes, but two of New England's native sons and the Futures League's most prominent recent alumni are making history this week.

Yankees first baseman Ben Rice (Worcester '19-'20) and starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (Nashua '19) became the first pair of Futures League alumni to earn Major League Baseball (MLB) All-Star Game selections in the same season. The Midsummer Classic takes place on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. 

The Futures League's Most Valuable Player in 2020, Rice was also selected to compete in his first-ever MLB Home Run Derby on Monday night. However, the Cohasset native and former Dartmouth College star was no stranger to being a Derby participant prior to this competition, having swung the Worcester Bravehearts to multiple "extra innings" tie-breaking Home Run Derby wins during his Futures League career.

In his third major league season, Rice is hitting a career-best .279 with a .971 OPS, 29 home runs, 68 RBI and 64 runs scored. He leads all of MLB in go-ahead RBI after hitting a two-run triple in the eighth inning of Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals, while ranking second in slugging percentage (.599) and third in homers, RBI, OPS and total bases entering the All-Star break.

Ben Rice in the #HRDerby? Nothing new to us.

During his #FuturesLeague MVP-winning 2020 season, Rice put on a show in multiple "extra-inning" Home Run Derby tiebreaker performances for #WooBall��.

Now, he'll compete in his first MLB Derby on Monday night. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/aJ8sy5NOsu

— The Futures League (@FuturesLeague) July 10, 2026

Schlittler has been simply dominant since making his MLB debut just last July. This season, the Walpole native and Northeastern University product has won nine of his first 20 starts, ranks second in MLB with a 2.05 ERA and fourth with 137 strikeouts in 118.2 innings. Opponents have hit a mere .200 and posted a 0.94 WHIP against the right-hander, who posted a 13-strikeout game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 19.

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