The five most intriguing races in the final days of MLB All-Star voting
We’re in the final days of MLB All-Star voting, which is good news if you’re tired of hearing about the onslaught of votes from Kansas City Royals fans, who have been trying to stack the American League team with their players. It’s almost over. We promise.
Voting ends Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET and between then and now the Royals aren’t the only drama on the ballot. In fact, now that the Royals are down to a non-obscene five starters, we should be able to sit back and enjoy the intriguing races before us.
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Here are the five best battles left on the ballot, some involving the Royals, some not. The starters will be announced Sunday at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Reserves will be named Monday at 7 p.m. ET, also on ESPN. If you still need to cast your votes, here’s a link to the online ballot.
1. WILL INFANTE KEEP HIS LEAD AT SECOND BASE IN THE AL?
This is the biggest question. Infante, as we’ve documented, isn’t anywhere in the neighborhood of worthy of a starting spot in Cincinnati. But at the latest tally, he was leading Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros by about 230,000 votes. That’s not insurmountable, so Altuve could very well be the second-base starter. Jason Kipnis of the Cleveland Indians, who is nearly four million votes behind Infante, is the most worthy, but that ain’t happening, folks.
2. CAN FRAZIER UNSEAT CARPENTER AT THIRD BASE IN THE NL?
Cincinnati Reds third baseman Todd Frazier has a chance to become an All-Star starter in his own park. He just needs to pass Matt Carpenter of the St. Louis Cardinals, who has held the No. 1 spot since the start. Frazier is very close, according to the figures released Monday. He was 62,980 behind. The numbers support Frazier, across the board. Now he just needs the votes.
3. WHAT’S THE NL OUTFIELD GOING TO LOOK LIKE?
We haven’t spent a ton of time talking about the NL outfield situation, but it got a lot more interesting this past week. And not because of votes, but because of injuries. Bryce Harper is the No. 1 vote-getter, but after him, things get interesting. Giancarlo Stanton broke a bone in his hand, so while he’ll likely win a starting spot, he’s not going to play in the game. In third and fourth place, separated by about 340,000 votes, are Matt Holliday and Nori Aoki. They’re both injured too. That seems to clear the way for No. 5 vote-getter Andrew McCutchen to get a starting nod and then? That’s where the fun starts.
Joc Pederson would be the third starter, but a number of other players are within striking distance, starting with Jason Heyward and Justin Upton, all the way down to Yasiel Puig. To give you an idea of how plentiful the votes are, Bryce Harper received more than two million votes last week. So there’s a legit possibility that someone jumps into a starting spot in the final days.
4. CAN MORALES PASS CRUZ ONE MORE TIME?
Over in the race for AL DH, Nelson Cruz and Kendrys Morales have been in a back-and-forth battle since May. Morales took the No. 1 spot from Cruz on June 8, but Cruz passed him again in Monday’s tally. Entering the final days, Cruz led by just over 200,000 votes. This can swing either way.
5. WILL DONALDSON HOLD ON TO THIRD BASE IN THE AL?
Josh Donaldson overtook Mike Moustakas in Monday’s public vote tally, leading by about 1.3 million votes. Donaldson starting at third for the American League would be just and warranted. He’s playing like an MVP and is definitely more deserving than Moustakas. But again, we’re talking about Royals fans and they’re a juggernaut. You think they backed off in the second-to-last week but are planning a last-second charge in the final days? Or if public support all around baseball has swung Donaldson’s way. We’ll see.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
