The 2024 MLB All-Star Game is about a month away, which means two things.
The first thing is that the initial voting update is out.
The second is that lots of the top vote-getters are deserving while a handful who are in the top spots at their respective positions are head-scratchers.
For Yankees stars Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, they are more than deserving. And they’re not only at the top of the list for American League outfielders — they’re at the top of the list in all of MLB.
Judge (1,366,315 votes) and Soto (1,252,020) are the top overall vote-getters, ahead of players including Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper.
As of now, Judge and Soto are the only Yankees in position to be named starters for the game, but there are some others in the hunt.
Giancarlo Stanton (408,610 votes) trails only Yordan Alvarez (475,158) at designated hitter.
Anthony Volpe is third among shortstops (339,150 votes), but has a tough hill to climb to surpass Bobby Witt Jr. (541,261) and Gunnar Henderson (740,436).
What about the Mets?
The only Mets player in the top five of voting at his respective position is Pete Alonso, who has 151,602 votes at first base. He is in striking distance of No. 3 vote-getter Matt Olson (154,672), but will almost certainly not be able to catch Freddie Freeman (713,858) or Harper (1,110,562).
Starling Marte is having a borderline All-Star-worthy season, but is not among the top nine vote-getters in the outfield. One truly curious name is on there, though — Nick Castellanos, who has a .609 OPS but has the sixth-most votes.
Meanwhile, Francisco Lindor is not among the top-five vote-getters at shortstop — a list that is led by the now-injured Mookie Betts and the injured-but-soon-to-return Trea Turner.
The strange name on that top five? Atlanta Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia, who has the fourth-most votes despite a .253 OBP and an OPS+ of 72.
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The player who winds up as the top vote-getter at each position before phase 1 of voting ends on June 27 will receive an automatic spot on the All-Star team, while the second-highest vote-getter at each position advances to phase 2 of voting.
The reserves and pitchers on the team will be determined by the player ballot, which means deserving Yankees and Mets can get in that way if they aren’t voted in by the fans.
Full rosters for the All-Star Game will be revealed on July 7.
The game will take place at Globe Life Field in Texas on July 16.
Source Agencies
