MLB released the first All-Star voting update Monday, and one thing seems clear: Fans are keenly aware of the best teams. Members of the Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers, the teams with the two best records in the majors, take up seven of nine National League starting spots for the game, which will be played July 14 in Philadelphia.
The Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani leads all players with 1.165 million votes for the NL’s designated hitter spot (fans do not vote for pitchers), and teammates Freddie Freeman (first base), Max Muncy (third base) and Andy Pages (outfield) also lead their positions. The Braves, meanwhile, have catcher Drake Baldwin, second baseman Ozzie Albies and outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., now on the injured list with a hamstring strain, among the starters.
Here are five takeaways from Phase 1 of balloting, which ends June 25 at noon. A second phase, with only finalists, runs from June 29 to July 2, with the rosters announced on July 4. Voting is conducted online.
A colorful AL lineup
The American League leaders include players from seven teams, with only the New York Yankees (outfielder Cody Bellinger and the injured Aaron Judge) and Toronto Blue Jays (first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and second baseman Ernie Clement) holding multiple spots. The Athletics (catcher Shea Langeliers), Tampa Bay Rays (third baseman Junior Caminero), Kansas City Royals (shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.), Los Angeles Angels (outfielder Mike Trout) and Houston Astros (DH Yordan Alvarez) are the other teams with a starter.
AL All-Star voting leaders
Position Player Team Votes
C
Shea Langeliers
Athletics
715,625
1B
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
Blue Jays
603,014
2B
Ernie Clement
Blue Jays
904,702
3B
Junior Caminero
Rays
625,520
SS
Bobby Witt Jr.
Royals
890,575
OF
Aaron Judge
Yankees
977,460
OF
Mike Trout
Angels
926,601
OF
Cody Bellinger
Yankees
533,842
DH
Yordan Alvarez
Astros
1,015,768
Cold Brew
The Milwaukee Brewers are 43-26 with a comfortable lead in the NL Central, but none of the Brewers rank higher than third at any position in All-Star voting. First baseman Jake Bauers (fourth place) and second baseman Brice Turang (third place) have never been All-Stars, but both have a higher OPS than the leaders at their positions.
NL All-Star voting leaders
PositionPlayer Team Votes
C
Drake Baldwin
Braves
972,813
1B
Freddie Freeman
Dodgers
870,606
2B
Ozzie Albies
Braves
517,147
3B
Max Muncy
Dodgers
941,218
SS
CJ Abrams
Nationals
579,796
OF
Andy Pages
Dodgers
800,496
OF
Ronald Acuña Jr.
Braves
693,472
OF
Brandon Marsh
Phillies
668,191
DH
Shohei Ohtani
Dodgers
1,165,133
Marsh is the man
The last time the Philadelphia Phillies hosted the All-Star Game, in 1996, reliever Ricky Bottalico was their only representative. Now they’re on track to have a starter, but it’s not one of their usual headliners. Brandon Marsh — whose shoulder-length hair and lush beard have always been All-Star worthy — is batting .322 and follows Pages and Acuña among NL outfielders. With 668,191 votes, Marsh is in a close race with Atlanta’s Michael Harris II, who has 635,473.
WAR, what is it good for?
The Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong leads MLB in position player wins above replacement with 4.0, according to Baseball Reference. But Crow-Armstrong, who started for the NL last summer, ranks just 14th in voting among NL outfielders. Also trailing in the NL outfield race are the players who rank second and third to Ohtani in OPS: The Washington Nationals’ James Wood (seventh) and the New York Mets’ Juan Soto (ninth).
Invisible Red Sox
Remember when the Boston Red Sox knew how to slug? Those days are gone. Only one team, the Rays, had fewer homers than the Red Sox going into Monday’s games, and fans aren’t clamoring to see the Olde Towne Team in Philly. Big-market Boston has just one player among the top 10 at his position: First baseman Willson Contreras, who ranks sixth.
