Read our story on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters.
Phase 1 of voting for the 2026 All-Star Game is charging toward its conclusion, and there are plenty of interesting storylines to follow as we prepare for Phase 2.
The latest results, unveiled Monday, show familiar names at or near the top of many positional battles, but also a few surprising names making noise. With Phase 1 of balloting coming to an end at noon ET Thursday, here are five takeaways from the voting so far.
1. 2025 World Series teams are dominating the vote -- with a twist!
Given the wildly entertaining Fall Classic we saw last year, it's not a surprise that multiple members of the Dodgers and Blue Jays have had strong showings in the first phase of All-Star voting. Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani as the leading vote-getter among all players? Sure, that's pretty much a given. But Toronto second baseman Ernie Clement having the next-highest vote total and pacing all AL players? That's pretty unexpected. But then, Clement kinda made a name for himself in October.
He set an MLB record last season with 30 postseason hits and hit .411 across three series. That made quite an impression with fans. He's the only AL player with more than 2 million votes so far, and only the second player in either league after Ohtani. And, naturally, he's dominating the AL vote at second base. As the current leading vote-getters in their leagues, Ohtani and Clement are on track for automatic spots in the starting lineups.
2. There will be a battle for the final outfield spots in each league.
The outfield, uh, field in both leagues is absolutely stacked. There are MVP candidates galore (and no fewer than four previous MVP winners). But, unfortunately, not everyone can start the All-Star Game, which means the battles to determine the three starters in each league should create some intriguing races in Phase 2. First, you have to get to Phase 2, though. To that end, the Mariners' Randy Arozarena has a lead of just about 11,000 votes over the Blue Jays' Daulton Varsho for the sixth and final spot, which would allow him to join teammate Julio Rodríguez, who currently sits in fifth. Toronto's Jesus Sanchez and Detroit's Riley Greene also sit within striking distance.
There's drama in the NL, too. The Mets' Juan Soto, who ranked ninth in the first ballot update, leapfrogged the D-backs' Corbin Carroll, the Nationals' James Wood and the Cardinals' Jordan Walker and now ranks sixth, putting him in position to advance. But Wood, having a tremendous season in Soto's old stomping grounds in D.C., is still only about 32,000 votes behind, coming down the home stretch.
3. Will we see any comebacks in the final days of Phase 1?
With the top two vote-getters at each position (plus the top six outfielders) moving on to Phase 2, the question is whether anyone can make a late charge in order to vault into one of those final spots. (Once that happens, the slate is wiped clean, and the voting begins anew in Phase 2.)
We already discussed the intrigue in the outfield, but perhaps the most interesting race to watch outside of those comes at second base in the NL, where Bryson Stott of the All-Star host Phillies is currently in position to advance alongside the Braves' Ozzie Albies. But Brice Turang of the NL Central-leading Brewers is just a bit more than 60,000 votes behind, which bears watching in the final days of Phase 1. A year after receiving some votes in the NL MVP race, Turang is enjoying another strong season for a Milwaukee club that continues to surprise -- and he'll have to surprise here to overtake Stott.
4. There's star power -- and just POWER -- at DH.
There have been many standout designated hitters this season. Entering Monday, there were 11 with an OPS of .826 or higher and six at .905 or higher. And while you can certainly make an All-Star case for many of them, none stand out more than Ohtani, Kyle Schwarber and Yordan Alvarez. The three lefty sluggers have been flat-out mashing so far in 2026.
The Phillies' Schwarber led all MLB players with 29 homers entering Monday, while the Astros' Alvarez led all MLB players with a 1.068 OPS. And Ohtani, well, he keeps doing Ohtani things. His .969 OPS entering Monday was third-best among primary DHs. So, it makes sense that these three are leading the way in the DH vote. Ohtani, of course, leads ALL players in votes (more than 2.3 million so far), with Schwarber coming in second in the NL's DH race (more than 1.5 million votes). Meanwhile, Alvarez (nearly 2 million votes) is the easy leader among DH candidates in the AL.
5. Potential first-time All-Stars are soaring.
It's always fun when a player earns his first All-Star start -- especially when it's his first All-Star selection. There are quite a few guys who could be writing that story this season.
While Clement is leading at second base, his current runner-up, the Rangers' Ezequiel Duran, also is looking to become a first-time All-Star. The same goes for the Yankees' Ben Rice (second at first), who boasted a 1.004 OPS entering Monday, as well as A's catcher Shea Langeliers (19 homers), who is leading the vote among Junior Circuit backstops.
In the NL, reigning Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin of the Braves is in line to start behind the plate in what would be his first All-Star berth, Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams is also heading toward a start in what would be his first selection, and Stott will have a shot at his first All-Star trip if he holds off Turang (who is looking for the same). Other potential first-time starters -- and first-time selections -- include three outfielders: the Dodgers' Andy Pages, the Phillies' Brandon Marsh and the Braves' Michael Harris II.