Hunter Goodman returns to the All-Star Game, stacking another marquee season in Denver

Hunter Goodman will play in the 2026 MLB All-Star Game for the second consecutive summer. The Rockies catcher was selected as a National League reserve, an honor that comes on the heels of another stretch where his power production has stood out even in a league built to hit.

The announcement places Goodman behind National League starter Drake Baldwin of the Braves on the catcher depth chart for the midsummer classic. For Colorado, it is another reminder that the club’s individual offensive bright spots can still reach the sport’s biggest stage, even when the season is not going the way a team hopes in the standings.

Goodman’s case has been built largely on the home run output. Heading into Saturday’s action, he was tied for the second-best total in the majors at 27 home runs. In Rockies franchise context, those 27 long balls were tied with Hall of Famer Larry Walker for the most ever by a Rockies hitter through the team’s first 89 games of a season.

The month-to-month surge has been a key part of the story. According to MLB coverage leading into the roster reveal, Goodman hit 13 home runs in June, which was the most by any player in the majors and also tied him to an exclusive Colorado single-month history that, in earlier seasons, had reached at least that mark only once before.

There has also been a particular emphasis on where the damage is being done. Goodman’s home runs include 18 on the road, a distribution that MLB noted helps answer the long-running debate about whether altitude or home conditions soften the impact of Rockies power. The road total was described as tied for ninth most in club history over a season.

The timing of the selection also raised the natural question of whether Goodman could take part in the T-Mobile Home Run Derby. MLB reported that the field for the derby had not been announced as of Saturday, but Goodman had been practicing at Coors Field with his father, Robert Goodman, pitching to him.

If Goodman is named to the derby, it would give the catcher a broader platform beyond the All-Star Game itself. Either way, his role as a reserve means he will be among the league’s top hitters during a week that often reshapes how teams view matchups heading toward the second half, and it gives Colorado another elite representative at the sport’s centerpiece event.