Houston Astros lead the way with six AL All-Star selectons

Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and four of their Houston Astros teammates will lead the American League squad at the All-Star Game in Cleveland on July 9.

Major League Baseball unveiled full rosters for the midsummer showcase Sunday, and the Astros top all big league clubs with six players. No other AL club has more than three.

Alex Bregman, George Springer and Michael Brantley will be in the starting lineup for the AL, and Verlander, Cole and Ryan Pressly are on the pitching staff. It will be the first trip to Cleveland for those Astros since Game 3 of last year’s AL Division Series, when Houston won 11-3 to complete a sweep.

The Dodgers, Brewers and Rockies lead the NL with four players each. The Los Angeles contingent includes Cody Bellinger, Clayton Kershaw, HyunJin Ryu and Walker Buehler, plenty of familiar faces for Manager Dave Roberts.

Milwaukee will be represented by Christian Yelich, Mike Moustakas, Yasmani Grandal and Josh Hader. It’s the second appearance for Hader, who came under fire when racist and homophobic tweets resurfaced on his account during last year’s game. Hader apologized for the tweets, which he sent as a teenager.

Braves teammates Ronald Acuna Jr. and Mike Soroka will be this year’s youngest players at 21. The Braves said it’s the first time two players under 22 from the same team made the All-Star team.

And the NL team includes just three hitters in their 30s: Moustakas and Grandal are 30, and Charlie Blackmon will turn 33 today. Depending on who serves as DH, the NL could have the youngest starting lineup in All-Star Game history.

The Yankees have the AL’s best record but boast just three All-Stars: Gary Sanchez, DJ LeMahieu and Aroldis Chapman.