Yadi seeks 9th All-Star nod, trails in early voting

ST. LOUIS -- Only two active position players in the Majors and three across the Cardinals' storied history have appeared in more Midsummer Classics than Yadier Molina. But if the eight-time All-Star wants to keep climbing up those leaderboards, he'll need help.
Despite missing a month to a groin injury, Molina was the lone Cardinals player to appear among the leading vote-getters when the National League's first All-Star ballot update was released Monday. With less than a month of voting left, Molina ranks fifth among NL catchers, nearly 129,000 votes behind leader Buster Posey. Cubs backstop Willson Contreras, Atlanta's Kurt Suzuki and Francisco Cervelli of the Pirates round out the top five.
Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman leads all NL vote-getters with 633,342. He's one of three Braves projected to earn a starting spot, along with second baseman Ozzie Albies and outfielder Nick Markakis. If voting ended today, Nolan Arenado (third base), Brandon Crawford (shortstop), Bryce Harper and Matt Kemp (outfield) would represent the NL at their respective positions.
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It's been three years since the Cardinals had a starter voted into the All-Star Game, their most recent representative coming with Jhonny Peralta's selection in 2015. Adam Wainwright started the game for the NL in 2014, but before Peralta, the last St. Louis position player to earn a starting nod was Molina (along with Carlos Beltran) in 2013. Molina also started the 2009 and 2010 games. He's made five other appearances as a reserve.

St. Louis' other position player candidates will have to qualify as reserves for this year's contest, unless voting picks up. José Martínez (first base), Kolten Wong (second base), Paul DeJong (shortstop) and Matt Carpenter (third base) placed outside the top five at their positions at the first update, while Tommy Pham, Marcell Ozuna and Dexter Fowler all ranked outside the top 15 outfielders.
Ozuna started last year's game as a member of the Marlins. The Cardinals' most valuable player by bWAR, Harrison Bader, did not qualify for this year's ballot. Based on 2018 performance, most of the club's top All-Star candidates make their living on the mound, with Miles Mikolas, Michael Wacha, Bud Norris and Jordan Hicks all compiling strong campaigns. But fans do not vote for pitchers.