Vote tightens across All-Star ballot leaderboards

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Cody Bellinger has put together one of the best two-and-a-half month starts to a season in recent memory, and now he’s in line to add another feather to his cap by the midsummer break.

The latest update of the 2019 Google MLB All-Star Ballot released Monday sees the Dodgers’ star as baseball’s overall leading vote-getter with 2,184,251 votes, followed closely by fellow National League MVP candidate Christian Yelich at 2,065,382. Meanwhile, with the top three vote-getters at each position -- or top nine in the outfield -- advancing to the next round of voting for next month's All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, the Astros, Braves and Cubs are all in position to send seven players through to the Starters Election, which will take place over a 28-hour period starting at noon ET on June 26.

This update -- the last one before the Primary Round polls close Friday at 4 p.m. ET -- also saw several hotly contested positions see new potential finalists: the Indians' Carlos Santana (AL 1B), Houston's Robinson Chirinos (AL C), the Brewers' Yasmani Grandal (NL C), the Braves' Josh Donaldson (NL 3B) and Nick Markakis (NL OF). There are also six races where the difference between making the Starters Election and not advancing is only about 55,000 votes.

Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, the pair of superstars who dominated the offseason headlines, remain outside Starters Election contention -- though Harper is knocking right on the door of that top-nine cutoff in the outfield.

Here's a position-by-position breakdown of the second balloting returns for each league:

AL CATCHERS
1) Gary Sanchez, Yankees -- 1,357,340
2) James McCann, White Sox -- 580,394
3) Robinson Chirinos, Astros -- 487,868
4) Jason Castro, Twins -- 444,533
5) Christian Vazquez, Red Sox -- 302,686
6) Jonathan Lucroy, Angels -- 268,710
7) Roberto Perez, Indians -- 176,976
8) Josh Phegley, Athletics -- 151,679
9) Mike Zunino, Rays -- 128,345
10) Martin Maldonado, Royals -- 113,525

NL CATCHERS
1) Willson Contreras, Cubs -- 1,555,490
2) Brian McCann, Braves -- 725,484
3) Yasmani Grandal, Brewers -- 513,412
4) J.T. Realmuto, Phillies -- 438,390
5) Yadier Molina, Cardinals -- 375,690
6) Austin Barnes, Dodgers -- 344,745
7) Tony Wolters, Rockies -- 204,641
8) Wilson Ramos, Mets -- 167,879
9) Buster Posey, Giants -- 146,905
10) Yan Gomes, Nationals -- 101,584

Both catcher slots are straight runaways, with Contreras and Sanchez’s leads representing the second- and third-largest margins at any position in either league. The two backstops have combined for 33 homers, and each of them sport an OPS well north of .900. But one of the AL’s more intriguing races lie behind the plate, where Chirinos has passed former Astro Castro since the first ballot update and now holds a roughly 43,000-vote lead for that crucial third spot. Since the last update, Grandal leapfrogged both Realmuto and Molina for a potential spot in the Starters Election.

AL FIRST BASE

1) Luke Voit, Yankees -- 696,164

2) C.J. Cron, Twins -- 586,303

3) Carlos Santana, Indians -- 560,836

4) Jose Abreu, White Sox -- 517,473

5) Yuli Gurriel, Astros -- 433,692

6) Albert Pujols, Angels -- 384,322

7) Miguel Cabrera, Tigers -- 362,659

8) Edwin Encarnacion, Mariners -- 205,040

9) Mitch Moreland, Red Sox -- 193,609

10) Ji-Man Choi, Rays -- 168,723

NL FIRST BASE

1) Josh Bell, Pirates -- 1,106,186

2) Freddie Freeman, Braves -- 1,022,535

3) Anthony Rizzo, Cubs -- 948,047

4) Max Muncy, Dodgers -- 446,704

5) Pete Alonso, Mets -- 319,256

6) Rhys Hoskins, Phillies -- 249,341

7) Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals -- 234,176

8) Jesus Aguilar, Brewers -- 188,332

9) Eric Hosmer, Padres -- 149,749

10) Daniel Murphy, Rockies -- 112,317

Bell’s breakout has been one of the best stories of the first half, but Freeman has closed the gap at first base after gaining more than 130,000 votes on the Pirates star since the first update. Each of them look assured to make the top three, but there’s a shakeup in the AL, where Santana passed Abreu and now has a chance to play in front of his home fans in Cleveland. With roughly 43,000 votes separating Santana and Abreu, that race for third place could come down to the wire.

AL SECOND BASE
1) Tommy La Stella, Angels -- 1,020,912
2) Jose Altuve, Astros -- 923,117
3) DJ LeMahieu, Yankees -- 739,074
4) Jonathan Schoop, Twins -- 362,504
5) Whit Merrifield, Royals -- 247,903
6) Brandon Lowe, Rays -- 237,277
7) Michael Chavis, Red Sox -- 236,526
8) Jason Kipnis, Indians -- 137,724
9) Dee Gordon, Mariners -- 119,799
10) Yolmer Sanchez, White Sox-- 110,786

NL SECOND BASE
1) Ozzie Albies, Braves -- 1,011,132
2) Mike Moustakas, Brewers -- 966,391
3) Ketel Marte, D-backs -- 554,524
4) Enrique Hernandez, Dodgers -- 455,704
5) Cesar Hernandez, Phillies -- 424,379
6) Daniel Descalso, Cubs -- 410,122
7) Robinson Cano, Mets -- 179,750
8) Kolten Wong, Cardinals -- 163,237
9) Brian Dozier, Nationals -- 156,129
10) Ryan McMahon, Rockies -- 109,692

Altuve’s four-year starting streak at second base for the AL continues to be in jeopardy thanks to La Stella’s incredible breakout season. The Halos’ second baseman has already hit 50% more homers this year than he did over the first five seasons of his career. The injured Altuve (left hamstring strain) has not taken the field for Houston since May 10. Moustakas continues to give Albies a good push atop the NL standings in his first qualifying season at second base.

AL THIRD BASE
1) Alex Bregman, Astros -- 1,322,935
2) Gio Urshela, Yankees -- 502,614
3) Hunter Dozier, Royals -- 424,028
4) Rafael Devers, Red Sox -- 335,635
5) Marwin Gonzalez, Twins -- 290,264
6) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays -- 269,492
7) Matt Chapman, Athletics -- 267,590
8) Yoan Moncada, White Sox -- 262,416
9) David Fletcher, Angels -- 192,712
10) Jose Ramirez, Indians -- 136,766

NL THIRD BASE
1) Nolan Arenado, Rockies -- 1,475,825
2) Kris Bryant, Cubs -- 850,758
3) Josh Donaldson, Braves -- 550,947
4) Justin Turner, Dodgers -- 512,237
5) Anthony Rendon, Nationals -- 378,761
6) Manny Machado, Padres -- 207,354
7) Eduardo Escobar, D-backs -- 185,561
8) Travis Shaw, Brewers -- 148,322
9) Maikel Franco, Phillies -- 138,948
10) Matt Carpenter, Cardinals -- 132,248

Donaldson hopped past Turner for the third and final hot corner spot in the NL, but the gap between those two remains one of the smallest of any top-three battle across both leagues. Meanwhile, Bregman’s roughly 820,000-vote lead over Urshela is the largest at any position in either league, another marker of the Astros third baseman’s rising star in the game. Arenado has widened his lead over Bryant by nearly 250,000 votes since the first ballot update.

AL SHORTSTOP
1) Jorge Polanco, Twins -- 818,082
2) Carlos Correa, Astros -- 656,995
3) Gleyber Torres, Yankees -- 565,728
4) Tim Anderson, White Sox -- 510,337
5) Francisco Lindor, Indians -- 460,952
6) Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox -- 410,134
7) Andrelton Simmons, Angels -- 274,181
8) Elvis Andrus, Rangers -- 166,275
9) Adalberto Mondesi, Royals -- 148,843
10) Willy Adames, Rays - 126,583

NL SHORTSTOP
1) Javier Baez, Cubs -- 1,672,062
2) Dansby Swanson, Braves -- 764,663
3) Corey Seager, Dodgers -- 494,546
4) Trevor Story, Rockies -- 457,159
5) Jean Segura, Phillies -- 286,287
6) Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres -- 246,374
7) Orlando Arcia, Brewers -- 233,953
8) Paul DeJong, Cardinals -- 195,357
9) Trea Turner, Nationals -- 150,392
10) Jose Iglesias, Reds -- 134,143

Lindor still needs some help from the Cleveland faithful if they want to see him suit up at Progressive Field as a starter, but time remains for the superstar to close the gap. Seager’s placement on the injury list could also help Story close his roughly 37,000-vote deficit for the third and final spot.

AL OUTFIELD
1) Mike Trout, Angels -- 1,904,273
2) George Springer, Astros -- 1,495,817
3) Michael Brantley, Astros -- 924,173
4) Austin Meadows, Rays -- 887,946
5) Mookie Betts, Red Sox -- 777,642
6) Eddie Rosario, Twins -- 687,515
7) Aaron Judge, Yankees -- 577,640
8) Joey Gallo, Rangers -- 537,934
9) Josh Reddick, Astros -- 511,903
10) Max Kepler, Twins -- 435,789
11) Byron Buxton, Twins -- 418,287
12) Brett Gardner, Yankees -- 259,179
13) Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox -- 258,476
14) Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox -- 234,302
15) Tommy Pham, Rays -- 223,250
16) Aaron Hicks, Yankees -- 221,578
17) Trey Mancini, Orioles -- 206,620
18) Shin-Soo Choo, Rangers -- 194,328
19) Kole Calhoun, Angels -- 168,971
20) Kevin Kiermaier, Rays -- 158,609

NL OUTFIELD
1) Cody Bellinger, Dodgers -- 2,184,251
2) Christian Yelich, Brewers -- 2,065,382
3) Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves -- 1,229,200
4) Albert Almora Jr., Cubs -- 645,291
5) Jason Heyward, Cubs -- 614,823
6) Nick Markakis, Braves -- 614,358
7) Joc Pederson, Dodgers -- 598,909
8) Kyle Schwarber, Cubs -- 585,997
9) Charlie Blackmon, Rockies -- 530,342
10) Bryce Harper, Phillies -- 498,100
11) Alex Verdugo, Dodgers -- 437,115
12) Ender Inciarte, Braves -- 332,134
13) Juan Soto, Nationals -- 302,375
14) Lorenzo Cain, Brewers -- 282,069
15) Marcell Ozuna, Cardinals -- 275,590
16) Melky Cabrera, Pirates -- 252,384
17) Scott Kingery, Phillies -- 233,131
18) Andrew McCutchen, Phillies -- 224,871
19) Ryan Braun, Brewers -- 221,172
20) Jeff McNeil, Mets -- 205,542

Harper is roughly 32,000 votes shy of Blackmon for that ninth and final outfield spot in the NL, marking the closest battle across the Majors for any Starters Election spot. Meanwhile, Markakis has surged up to sixth in the Senior Circuit to boot the rookie Verdugo outside the top nine. The MVP race between Bellinger and Yelich has been one of the storylines of the first-half, and they’re fittingly the Majors’ top two vote-getters.

In the AL, Brantley has jumped past Meadows for the No. 3 spot, and the Astros currently boast three potential starters within the league’s top nine. Trout remains the AL’s leading vote-getter, with Springer holding strong behind him despite being out of action since May 24.

DESIGNATED HITTER
1) J.D. Martinez, Red Sox -- 893,689
2) Hunter Pence, Rangers -- 602,766
3) Nelson Cruz, Twins -- 506,211
4) Shohei Ohtani, Angels -- 362,947
5) Aledmys Diaz, Astros -- 353,015
6) Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees -- 295,326
7) Avisail Garcia, Rays -- 282,170
8) Khris Davis, Athletics -- 251,191
9) Daniel Vogelbach, Mariners -- 237,238
10) Yonder Alonso, White Sox -- 147,177

Martinez has opened up his lead on the resurgent Pence as the Red Sox star seeks a second straight All-Star Game selection. Ohtani recently dazzled with his first career cycle, but he still has work to do to catch up to Cruz for the third and final Starters Election spot.

Fans may vote in "The Primary" at MLB.com and all 30 club sites, the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark apps up to five times in any 24-hour period. Fans in the US and Canada can also vote on Google Search for every position, or up to 17 unique players per day, by searching "MLB Vote" or the names of their favorite players. Primary voting ends at 4 p.m. ET on Friday.

The top three vote-getters at each position (including nine outfielders) per league will move on to "The Starters Election," which begins at noon ET on Wednesday, June 26. The votes will reset for a 28-hour voting window that ends at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 27. Starters for the 2019 Midsummer Classic will be unveiled on ESPN that night at 7 ET. The pitchers and reserves will be announced on Sunday, June 30, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Then on Tuesday, July 9, during the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, fans may visit MLB.com and the 30 club sites to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet.

The 90th Midsummer Classic, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.