SEATTLE — Major League Baseball announced Wednesday that Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh has been selected as the starting catcher for the American League in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game.

This marks the first career All-Star selection for the 28-year-old, who edged out Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk in Phase 2—also known as “The Final Round”—of fan voting.

Raleigh is having a breakout season, leading MLB with 33 home runs and 71 RBIs in just 84 games. He’s currently batting .272 (85-for-312) with 60 runs, 16 doubles, 33 homers, 71 RBIs, 53 walks, and 9 stolen bases.

His .383 on-base percentage, .641 slugging percentage, and 1.024 OPS all rank among the league’s best.

Cal getting selected to start the All-Star Game is such a great and well-deserved honor for him,” said Mariners manager Dan Wilson. “Cal embodies exactly what a team player is, someone who makes everyone around him better. His [Cal’s] ability to hit home runs has been incredible, and it’s also been his ability to get on base, his amazing work behind the plate with our pitching staff, and his willingness to always go the extra mile for his teammates.

RELATED: Mariners catcher and MLB homer leader Cal Raleigh to participate in Home Run Derby

It was also announced last week that Raleigh will be competing in the Home Run Derby. The derby will be held on July 14, the night before the All-Star Game, at Truist Park in Atlanta.

It’s the first derby appearance for Raleigh, also known as the Big Dumper. This season, Raleigh became the first catcher and first switch-hitter to reach 30 homers before the All-Star break.

“I’m excited to represent the Mariners and our fanbase,” Raleigh said in a statement. “It will be extra special for me getting to do it in Atlanta, where I spent a lot of time playing baseball as a kid.”

No catcher has ever won the Home Run Derby, which began in 1985.

Raleigh becomes the eighth Seattle player to compete in the derby, joining Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Edgar Martinez along with Jay Buhner, Alex Rodriguez, Bret Boone, Robinson Canó, and current teammate Julio Rodríguez. Griffey won the event in 1994, 1998, and 1999, and in 1993, he became the only player to hit the B&O Warehouse at Camden Yards on the fly.

Cal is one home run away from matching his career-high 34 home runs, set during the 2024 season,” wrote MLB. “The Mariners backstop has led his position in homers in 3 consecutive seasons (2022-24) and is on pace to become the first player to lead catchers in homers in 4 consecutive seasons since Hall of Famer Mike Piazza. Raleigh, who has 126 career home runs which are the most by a catcher in franchise history, is 2 homers away from tying Piazza for most through a catcher’s first 5 seasons.

The full American and National League All-Star Game rosters for the 95th MLB All-Star Game at Truist Park will be announced on July 6.