Jacob deGrom is an All-Star ace again after several injury-filled seasons. This is his fifth All-Star nod, his first for the Texas Rangers and in the American League. DeGrom says it’s a little bit of validation after coming back from his second Tommy John surgery. The lanky right-hander is 9-2 with a 2.29 ERA this season in 18 starts, twice as many as he had combined the past two seasons after joining the Rangers. It is already the most starts for deGrom since 2019, when he won his second National League Cy Young Award in a row while pitching for the New York Mets.