All-Star Ballot Phase 2 update: Tight races in AL, NL OF

Phase 2 voting is underway for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. Here's how the races to determine the All-Star starters are shaping up.

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The showdowns between young phenoms Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop in the American League and superstar sluggers Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber at designated hitter in the National League highlight the Phase 2 races on the 2024 MLB All-Star Ballot presented by BuildSubmarines.com.

The finalists at each position in the AL and NL are vying to join the Yankees' Aaron Judge and the Phillies' Bryce Harper in the starting lineups for this year's Midsummer Classic on July 16 at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Judge and Harper clinched automatic starting bids by finishing as each league's top vote-getter in Phase 1 of the voting.

Phase 2 of voting is open now until noon ET on Wednesday. The All-Star Ballot will continue to be available exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com/vote, all 30 club websites, the MLB App and the MLB Ballpark App. Fans may vote once per day during Phase 2, with the daily voting limit resetting each day at midnight ET.

Here are the Phase 2 standings after the first day of voting.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

FIRST BASE
1) Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays: 57%
2) Ryan Mountcastle, Orioles: 43%

Vlad Jr. (13 HR, .846 OPS) is in position to land his third All-Star start in the past four years and secure his fourth consecutive All-Star nod. That would make him one of only four Blue Jays to start three All-Star Games, along with José Bautista (four), Roberto Alomar (four) and Joe Carter (three). Mountcastle (11 HR, .777 OPS) is one of six Orioles still on the ballot -- the O's have finalists at every position except second base -- as he seeks his first All-Star appearance.

SECOND BASE
1) Jose Altuve, Astros: 56%
2) Marcus Semien, Rangers: 44%

Altuve (.304 AVG, 13 HR, .822 OPS) has the early edge in this Texas showdown with his All-Star rival Semien (11 HR, .683 OPS). This will be the fourth straight All-Star Game with Altuve or Semien elected as the AL starter at second base, and the eighth time in the last nine. Semien won the vote last year and in 2021; Altuve won from 2015-18 and in '22.

SHORTSTOP
1) Gunnar Henderson, Orioles: 67%
2) Bobby Witt Jr., Royals: 33%

Only one of these two dynamic young stars can earn their first career All-Star start. Will it be the 23-year-old Henderson (.288 AVG, 26 HR, 13 SB, .988 OPS) or the 24-year-old Witt (.312 AVG, 12 HR, 22 SB, .897 OPS)? Henderson, the catalyst for the powerhouse Orioles, has opened up a commanding lead early in Phase 2 voting.

THIRD BASE
1) José Ramírez, Guardians: 59%
2) Jordan Westburg, Orioles: 41%

J-Ram (23 HR, 76 RBIs, .889 OPS) is in the lead as he looks to make his fourth All-Star Game in a row, the sixth of his career and his third start. Westburg doesn't get the attention of superstar teammates Henderson and Adley Rutschman, but he's having a breakout sophomore season for the O's, with 13 home runs and an .837 OPS.

OUTFIELD
1) Juan Soto, Yankees: 29%
2) Steven Kwan, Guardians: 28%
3) Anthony Santander, Orioles: 26%
4) Kyle Tucker, Astros: 16%

With Judge having secured one of the three AL outfield spots, it's a four-player race between Soto, Kwan, Santander and Tucker for the other two starting roles. Right now, Judge's fellow Bronx Bomber Soto (.303 AVG, 20 HR, 1.005 OPS) is in position to join him at the Midsummer Classic, which would be his fourth career All-Star Game with a third different team. But this is a close race. Soto has a narrow lead over Kwan (.368 AVG, .961 OPS) and Santander (22 HR, .802 OPS), who'd both be first-time All-Stars. Tucker (19 HR, .979 OPS) has been an All-Star the past two years, but he's trailing as he works his way back from a right shin contusion.

CATCHER
1) Adley Rutschman, Orioles: 72%
2) Salvador Perez, Royals: 28%

Rutschman (.294 AVG, 15 HR, .821 OPS) has opened up the biggest lead of any Phase 2 race, and it's over a six-time All-Star starter in Perez (.281 AVG, 14 HR, .824 OPS). It would be the first career All-Star start for the Orioles' leader behind the plate -- Rutschman was an All-Star last year, but behind starter Jonah Heim. Salvy also made the AL All-Star team last year ago as the Royals' only representative, the eighth All-Star nod of his career.

DESIGNATED HITTER
1) Yordan Alvarez, Astros: 51%
2) Ryan O'Hearn, Orioles: 49%

With Shohei Ohtani now in the National League, Alvarez is the preeminent DH in the AL -- but he's locked in a tight race with O'Hearn, one of the many Orioles having a stellar first half. Alvarez (.294 AVG, 16 HR, .891 OPS) is seeking his third straight All-Star appearance but his first career start, with Ohtani having commanded the ballot in recent seasons. O'Hearn (.285 AVG, 10 HR, .808 OPS) would be a first-time All-Star.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

SECOND BASE
1) Ketel Marte, D-backs: 55%
2) Luis Arraez, Padres: 45%

Marte (.287 AVG, 17 HR, .874 OPS) has the early Phase 2 lead over the reigning NL All-Star starter Arraez (.314 AVG, .738 OPS). The second baseman for last year's National League pennant winners has started one All-Star Game before in 2019, but can Marte hold off the two-time All-Star Arraez, who leads the Majors with 111 hits?

SHORTSTOP
1) Trea Turner, Phillies: 53%
2) Mookie Betts, Dodgers: 47%

With two big names here in Turner and Betts, Turner is in the lead. This would be the second career All-Star start for the Phillies shortstop, who's batting .332 with an .833 OPS, and the third career All-Star Game -- for a third different team, with Turner's first two coming with the Nationals and Dodgers. Betts led the NL shortstop vote in Phase 1, but he'll also miss the All-Star Game with a fractured left hand. Still, the seven-time All-Star was off to such a great start in his first season as a shortstop (.304 AVG, 10 HR, .893 OPS) that Betts still has a chance to win the fan vote and be named the All-Star starter.

THIRD BASE
1) Alec Bohm, Phillies: 70%
2) Manny Machado, Padres: 30%

There could be an all-Phillies left side of the infield in the All-Star Game, as Bohm has a big lead over Machado in the third-base race as Turner leads Betts at shortstop. Bohm (.300 AVG, 10 HR, .839 OPS) is having a career year and would be a first-time All-Star, as he leads the Majors with 28 doubles and leads the NL with 68 RBIs. Machado (10 HR, .726 OPS) is a six-time All-Star, but he has a lot of ground to make up in the voting.

OUTFIELD
1) Christian Yelich, Brewers: 21%
2) Jurickson Profar, Padres: 20%
3) Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres: 16%
4) Brandon Marsh, Phillies: 15%
5) Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers, 14%
6) Nick Castellanos, Phillies, 14%

If voting ended today, the NL's starting outfield would be Yelich, Profar and Tatis. But Marsh, Hernández and Castellanos are all in contention -- all are within two percentage points of Tatis for the No. 3 spot. Yelich (.321 AVG, 8 HR, .885 OPS) is having his best year since his superstar run for Milwaukee from 2018-19, and he's seeking his first All-Star nod since those two seasons. Of the two Padres currently in position to start alongside Yelich, only Tatis has All-Star experience, having started at shortstop for the NL in 2021. Profar, who's batting .314 with an NL-best .408 on-base percentage, would be a first time All-Star. So would Marsh, while his Phillies teammate Castellanos is a two-time All-Star, including last year, and Hernández is a one-time All-Star (2021).

CATCHER
1) William Contreras, Brewers: 60%
2) J.T. Realmuto, Phillies: 40%

Contreras is looking for his second All-Star start in the past three years after starting the 2022 Midsummer Classic when he was with the Braves -- although that was as a replacement at DH for an injured Harper. The Brewers catcher (.291 AVG, 9 HR, .788 OPS) has opened up an early lead in Phase 2 over the three-time All-Star Realmuto (.261 AVG, 7 HR, .720 OPS), who started the 2021 All-Star Game but is recovering from right knee surgery.

DESIGNATED HITTER
1) Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers: 61%
2) Kyle Schwarber, Phillies: 39%

Ohtani has started the past three All-Star Games at DH -- but in the AL -- and he's in a good spot to earn his fourth All-Star start in a row in his first season with the Dodgers. Ohtani (.316 AVG, 26 HR, 1.034 OPS) earned the automatic start in 2023 as the American League's leading vote-getter in Phase 1, but with Harper earning that honor this year in the NL, Ohtani will have to beat out the Phillies star's teammate in Phase 2. Schwarber (17 HR, .820 OPS) is a two-time All-Star and managed to leapfrog the Braves' Marcell Ozuna to become a 2024 All-Star finalist. Can he make another comeback against Ohtani?