Miguel Vargas’ breakout has White Sox fans dreaming of an All-Star third-base return

The American League starting lineup for the first-ever MLB All-Star Game in 1933 included Chicago White Sox third baseman Jimmy Dykes. Nearly a century later, Dykes still stands as the only White Sox player at the hot corner to start the Midsummer Classic, a drought the franchise has not been able to end through the modern voting era. This season, Miguel Vargas has given the White Sox a real, measurable chance to change that history, with Major League Baseball’s current Phase 1 All-Star voting underway and Vargas building a case as the American League’s starting third baseman.

As of June 8, Vargas, now 26, leads among primary American League third basemen in several traditional offensive categories that translate directly to the fan-facing conversation around All-Star starters. He has 15 home runs, 41 RBIs, 47 runs and 43 walks. Advanced value metrics are similarly strong, with an.859 OPS and marks of 2.4 bWAR and 2.3 fWAR positioning him near the top of the position group.

The All-Star discussion is not happening in a vacuum. The White Sox, long considered an afterthought in the American League playoff picture, sit at 34-31 and are “in the postseason conversation,” a phrase that matters because voters tend to reward production that also shows up in competitive context. Manager and player recognition aside, Vargas’ role at third base is increasingly central to Chicago’s turnaround, especially because his breakout has come after a difficult stretch that included a slow start after being acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Vargas’ ascent has been built on both patience and adjustments. After the Dodgers traded him to Chicago in July 2024, he struggled immediately, hitting.104/.217/.170 over 42 games. The following season, he entered play on April 23, 2025 with a career line of.170/.268/.298, a reminder of just how thin his margin had been early in his time with the Sox. The rebound arrived later, and by 2025’s final stretch he posted 16 home runs with a.769 OPS over his last 116 games, leading the organization to keep letting him play through swing changes and plate-discipline improvements.

In 2026, the White Sox’ bet looks more like a process than a one-season hot streak. MLB’s evaluation of Vargas points to harder, more efficient contact, including how often his batted balls land in the “launch-angle sweet-spot” (8-32 degrees) and also qualify as “hard-hit” (95+ mph). The team’s report notes that only two hitters have more batted balls than Vargas that meet both criteria this season, and that 22 of his 26 extra-base hits have come on that type of contact, including 12 of his 15 home runs. He has also gained bat speed, posting the largest year-over-year increase among qualifying hitters from 2025 to 2026, plus steady strikeout control with a 17.4% rate in the current season.

If Vargas is not elected as a starter, he still has a path to the All-Star roster. The White Sox story frames him as having a “good chance” to become the first White Sox third baseman to make the All-Star team in 18 years, with Joe Crede making that appearance in 2008. Voters are currently in Phase 1, which opened June 3 at noon ET and runs through June 25 at noon ET. Phase 2 begins at noon ET on June 29 and continues until noon ET on July 2, and the 2026 All-Star Game itself is set for 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 14, at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. What to watch next is whether Vargas’ production stays at the top of the third-base leaderboard through the Phase 1 end date, when the leading vote-getters move into the next stage of the process.