With time running out in the All-Star Starters Election, many races are still too close to call, and your votes will have a huge impact as most position battles have yet to be decided.
Here's a look at who's leading as of 1:30 p.m. CT Thursday:
NL catcher
- Willson Contreras (Cubs): 44.8%
- Brian McCann (Braves): 32.6%
- Yasmani Grandal (Brewers): 22.6%
NL second base
- Ketel Marte (D-backs): 39.7%
- Ozzie Albies (Braves): 34.0%
- Mike Moustakas (Brewers): 26.3%
NL outfield
- Christian Yelich (Brewers): 22.3%
- Cody Bellinger (Dodgers): 21.1%
- Ronald Acuña Jr. (Braves): 14.9%
- Charlie Blackmon (Rockies): 12.6%
- Nick Markakis (Braves): 8.1%
- Jason Heyward (Cubs): 6.5%
- Kyle Schwarber (Cubs): 5.4%
- Albert Almora Jr. (Cubs): 5.1%
- Joc Pederson (Dodgers): 4.1%
“I think we have a bunch of guys who should be starting,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “I think our three guys have a pretty good case. I know Brewers fans have always done their part. We’ve had guys improbably elected, so I know the state of Wisconsin is going to do its part.”
The 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will be played on Tuesday, July 9, at Progressive Field in Cleveland. It 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. During the game, 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. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.
The Brewers’ social media team spent the day spreading the word about MLB’s new election system, and fans at Miller Park during Wednesday’s game were encouraged to vote.
All-Star pitchers and reserves will be named on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. CT, on the Google MLB All-Star Selection Show, also on ESPN.
Yelich cruised into the finals after vying with the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger for the top vote count among NL players during initial balloting. The other outfield finalists are the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. and Nick Markakis, the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon, the Cubs’ Albert Almora Jr., Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber and a second Dodger, Joc Pederson.
Statistically, Yelich is comfortably poised to make his first career All-Star Game start. He belted his Major League-leading 29th home run on Friday night and has topped the MLB leaderboard for much of this season, making Yelich a strong candidate for the T-Mobile All-Star Home Run Derby. Yelich has already tied Prince Fielder’s franchise record for home runs before the All-Star break. Fielder hit 29 homers before the break in 2007, the season he set a Brewers record with 50 homer.
Yelich cruised into the finals after vying with the Bellinger for the top vote count among all Major League players during initial balloting. Bellinger came out on top, with 3,685,170 votes to 3,646,071 for Yelich. (The next-highest vote-getter in MLB was Mike Trout with 3,370,499 votes.) The other NL outfield finalists are the Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. and Nick Markakis, the Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon, the Cubs’ Albert Almora Jr., Jason Heyward and Kyle Schwarber and a second Dodger, Joc Pederson.
Helping the cause is that Thursday marked the start of a 10-game homestand for Milwaukee. Yelich hit 20 homers in his first 29 home games this season.
“That is elite performance, to avoid all of [the highs and lows usually associated with hitting],” Counsell said. “You’ve got a lot of noise coming at you, and he gets more noise than most guys coming at him. To block all that out and do your job at that level, that’s what’s so impressive about it. Most of us never get to that level at anything.”