Finalists For First-Ever MLB All-Star Starters Election Announced

Yankee Stadium. Photo by Jason Schott.

Finalists for the first-ever Google MLB All-Star Starters Election were announced during Friday night’s MLB Network Showcase telecast of the Yankees hosting the Houston Astros.

The Starters Election features the top three vote-getters at each position (and the top nine outfielders) in each League based on vote totals from “The Primary,” which ran from May 28th through 4:00 p.m. ET this afternoon.


The Starters Election begins at 12:00 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday, June 26th, with fans voting during a 28-hour window that ends at 4:00 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, June 27th. During this second phase of voting, in which fans can vote once on MLB platforms and submit up to 17 unique player votes on Google, vote totals will reset (i.e., vote totals from “The Primary” do not carry over) and the winner at each position (including three outfielders per League) will be named a starting position player for the 2019 Midsummer Classic. Results of the Starters Election will be announced on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on ESPN’s “Google MLB All-Star Election Night.”
In the NL, Cody Bellinger of the Los Angeles Dodgers (3,685,170) edged out Christian Yelich of the Milwaukee Brewers (3,646,071) for the most votes across the Majors during “The Primary.” The pair of 2018 All-Stars and leading candidates for the NL MVP Award are joined in the Starters Election by fellow NL outfielders Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves (2,553,169); 2018 All-Star Nick Markakis of the Braves (1,425,889); three-time All-Star Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies (1,242,552); Albert Almora of the Chicago Cubs (1,071,664); 2010 All-Star Jason Heyward of the Cubs (1,040,260); Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs (997,340); and 2015 All-Star Joc Pederson of the Dodgers (961,515).
Blackmon’s Rockies teammate and four-time All-Star Nolan Arenado (2,483,867) is featured in a star-studded competition at third base in the NL, which also includes two-time All-Star Kris Bryant of the Cubs (1,400,401) and Josh Donaldson of the Braves (1,376,228). The shortstop candidates joining that trio on the left side of the infield are 2018 All-Star Javier Báez of the Cubs (2,598,426), Dansby Swanson of the Braves (1,719,262) and 2018 All-Star Trevor Story of the Rockies (961,384), who surpassed two-time All-Star Corey Seager of the Dodgers (878,049) in the final days of voting for the third NL shortstop spot.
Across the diamond, 2018 All-Star Ozzie Albies of the Braves (2,190,518) is joined by two-time All-Star Mike Moustakas of the Brewers (1,758,636) and Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks (1,102,419) at second base, while three-time All-Star Freddie Freeman of the Braves (2,214,793) competes with Josh Bell of the Pirates (1,831,933) and three-time All-Star Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs (1,545,682) at first base. Rounding out the NL contenders at catcher is 2018 All-Star Willson Contreras of the Cubs (2,384,622), seven-time All-Star Brian McCann of the Braves (1,762,917) and 2015 All-Star Yasmani Grandal of the Brewers (1,193,352).
In the AL, seven-time All-Star Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels was the League’s leading vote-getter during the initial phase of voting, tallying 3,370,499 total votes. Trout, who is bidding for an Angels franchise record seventh consecutive fan-elected start, leads the group of nine AL outfield contenders, which also includes: two-time All-Star George Springer of the Houston Astros (2,565,706); three-time All-Star Michael Brantley of the Astros (1,667,430); Austin Meadows of the Tampa Bay Rays (1,344,031); three-time All-Star and reigning AL MVP Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox (1,325,117); Eddie Rosario of the Minnesota Twins (1,172,657); two-time All-Star Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (995,903); Josh Reddick of the Astros (928,606); and Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers (904,563). Gallo edged out Twins outfielder Max Kepler (904,425) by just 138 votes for the ninth AL outfield spot to advance to the Starters Election.
A trio of potential first-time All-Stars are among the AL contenders at first base, including Luke Voit of the Yankees (1,205,706), Carlos Santana of the host Cleveland Indians (1,180,719) and C.J. Cron of the Twins (1,045,120). They are joined on the right side of the infield by second base candidates Tommy La Stella of the Los Angeles Angels (1,713,094), six-time All-Star Jose Altuve of the Astros (1,629,148) and two-time All-Star DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees (1,312,490).
Rounding out the infield are shortstop candidates Jorge Polanco of the Twins (1,450,913), 2017 All-Star Carlos Correa of the Astros (1,115,469) and 2018 All-Star Gleyber Torres of the Yankees (976,163), who held on despite a late surge from three-time All-Star Francisco Lindor of the Indians (962,899). At third base, 2018 All-Star Alex Bregman of the Astros (2,341,355) is joined by a pair of potential first-time All-Stars in Gio Urshela of the Yankees (857,474) and Hunter Dozier of the Kansas City Royals (746,742).
Behind the plate, 2017 All-Star catcher Gary Sánchez of the Yankees (2,266,469) joins first-time All-Star hopefuls James McCann of the Chicago White Sox (1,085,254) and Robinson Chirinos of the Astros (946,823), while two-time All-Star J.D. Martinez of the Red Sox (1,564,520), three-time All-Star Hunter Pence of the Rangers (1,054,282) and six-time All-Star Nelson Cruz of the Twins (974,788) battle for the right to start at designated hitter.
The 51 players featured in the Starters Election span 17 Major League Clubs, including 10 in the AL and seven in the NL. In addition, the competition includes nineteen players bidding for their first career All-Star selections.
The AL All-Star Team, which will be managed by Alex Cora of the defending World Series Champion Boston Red Sox, will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the NL All-Star Team, led for a second consecutive year by Dave Roberts of the defending NL Champion Los Angeles Dodgers, will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads – totaling 24 for the NL and 23 for the AL – will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections made by the Commissioner’s Office. The balance of the All-Star rosters will be announced on Sunday, June 30th at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN during the “Google MLB All-Star Selection Show.”
During each phase of voting, the 2019 Google MLB All-Star Ballot is available when fans search in English and Spanish. The ballot at MLB.com and Club sites also offers audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually impaired fans. Banco BHD León once again sponsors online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the D.R. via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language web site of Major League Baseball.
Fans will once again have the opportunity to participate in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites – online or via their mobile devices – with the 2019 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year’s recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy.
MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Progressive Field (July 9th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 8th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Celebrity Softball Game (July 7th), and PLAY BALL PARK at the Huntington Convention Center (July 5th-9th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 90th Midsummer Classic 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 U.S., while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. 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 www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.