Braves’ Ronald Acuña Jr. leads all players in All-Star votes
DETROIT — On Monday, Major League Baseball released its first All-Star Game balloting update.
The top vote-getter in the sport to this point?
Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr.
Acuña has received 1,086,537 votes, putting him ahead of second-place Shohei Ohtani, the Angels’ two-way phenom in voting for the All-Star Game, which will take place at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park on July 11.
Acuña is looking for his fourth career All-Star selection and his fourth consecutive fan-elected starting assignment. He is also seeking to be the National League’s leading vote-getter for a third straight season, a testament to his impact throughout baseball.
He would become the first Braves player (and third overall) to lead the majors in voting since Dale Murphy in 1985. (Hank Aaron did it in 1970 and 1971.) If the fans choose Acuña as an AllStar Game starter this year, he would become the fourth player in Braves history to receive four starting nods, joining Aaron (five), Murphy (five) and Hall of Famer Chipper Jones (four).
The Braves are wellrepresented in this balloting update.
Something no one expected at the beginning of the season: Orlando Arcia, who replaced Dansby Swanson, leads all NL shortstops with 406,509 votes. He is ahead of the Mets’ Francisco Lindor (302,051) and San Diego’s Xander Bogaerts (204,144). Arcia, looking for his first All-Star selection, would become the first Atlanta shortstop to be a fan-elected starter since Walt Weiss in 1998.
And then there’s Sean Murphy, who leads all NL catchers with 603,501 votes. He is ahead of the Dodgers’ Will Smith (419,587). Those two have a nice lead over the rest of the competition. Murphy,
who would be a first-time All-Star, would become the first Braves catcher to win a fan election since Brian McCann in 2011.
Don’t forget about Austin Riley, who is second among NL third basemen. Riley has 368,044 votes, while St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado leads the group with 410,122. Riley would go to his second All-Star Game.
Ozzie Albies is second among second baseman. Albies, who has 376,726, trails Miami’s Luis Arraez (509,092 votes). It would be Albies’ third All-Star appearance.
Phase 1 of voting — in which fans vote for the best players at each position — concludes at 12 p.m. on June 22. Fans can submit up to five ballots per 24-hour period on MLB’s voting page on MLB.com.
And on June 22, the top two vote-getters at each position, and the top six outfielders, will be revealed. They’ll advance to the second phase of voting to determine who starts for each All-Star team.
The leading votegetter in each league during the first phase of voting — Acuña is on pace for this in the NL — will receive an automatic starting spot in the All-Star Game without needing to compete in the second phase of voting. But because Acuña is an outfielder, MLB would still hold a second phase of voting to determine the two outfielders who’d start alongside him.
Something to remember: The pitchers and reserves for the All-Star teams — 23 for each squad — will be determined through a combination of player ballot choices and Commissioner’s Office selections.
The full All-Star rosters will be announced on July 2.