FT Leadoff

Baseball’s brightest stars shined during Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

Paul Skenes kicked off the Midsummer Classic with a scoreless first inning after he got Aaron Judge to ground out on the first pitch of the at-bat.

Of course, Shohei Ohtani got the scoring started with a three-run bomb in the third inning. It was his first-ever All-Star Game homer.

After knotting the score at three in the bottom half, the AL took a two-run lead thanks to Jarren Duran, who took home MVP honors for his game-deciding swing.

With the 5-3 win, the AL has grabbed 10 of the last 11 All-Star Games. Additionally, Bruce Bochy became just the second manager in MLB history to win an All-Star Game in both leagues.

This year’s Home Run Derby was full of surprises.

Perhaps the biggest shocker was that two-time champion Pete Alonso only hit 12 homers in the first round.

The star of the show was Teoscar Hernández, who knocked out Alec Bohm in the semifinals in a swing-off. Teo then beat hometown kid Bobby Witt Jr. in the finals after Witt’s final swing fell just a few feet short of forcing more OT Derby action.

Watch - Tyler Glasnow hilariously recaps what it was like to be in Teoscar Hernández’s corner during the Derby.

You’re up, trade deadline.

With a mix of pending veteran free agents and controllable stars, the Chicago White Sox are destined to be the biggest sellers at the deadline.

Not only has Paul DeJong had a serviceable season, but Tommy Pham seems to get dealt around this time every year. The Southsiders can also dangle more desirable pieces, such as Luis Robert Jr., Garrett Crochet, and Erick Fedde.

As for the AL East, the division’s top two will surely be hunting for some reinforcements come July 30.

The division-leading Orioles have been rumored to be “aiming as high as they can,” while the Yankees are expected to be in the market for an infield bat and possibly a swing-and-miss arm in the bullpen, according to FT Senior Insider Ken Rosenthal.

As for the rest of the league, several expected buyers are locked into tight wild card battles.

Watch - FT Senior Insider joined us live in Texas to preview some of the possible chaos attached to this year’s trade deadline.

Watch - Tyler Glasnow joined us live in Texas to talk about his All-Star experience, what it was like watching Teoscar Hernández in the Home Run Derby, and having Shohei Ohtani as his teammate.

Watch - Chris Sale joined us live in Texas to discuss the clean slate the Braves have offered him and how to prevent arm injuries.

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