A trio of close infield races at third base, first base and shortstop highlight the latest National League balloting update for the 2017 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, it was announced earlier today on MLB Network. The next balloting update for the American League will be announced tomorrow. The 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, which is available exclusively online via MLB.com, Club sites and mobile devices, will be accessible until the voting period ends on Thursday, June 29th at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
At third base, two-time All-Star and reigning NL Most Valuable Player Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs has received 1,603,326 votes, while two-time All-Star Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies remains close behind with 1,300,612. Bryant, who is tied for first in the Majors with 47 walks, is batting .264 on the season with 15 home runs, 28 RBI and 14 doubles. Arenado, who leads the Majors with 26 doubles while batting .299 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI, hit for the cycle on Sunday afternoon following his dramatic three-run, walk-off homer in a 7-5 win over the San Francisco Giants. Bryant is bidding for his second consecutive fan-elected start, while Arenado is trying to become the first Rockies third baseman to earn a fan election.
Washington Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman has tallied 1,404,251 votes to remain slightly ahead of Chicago's Anthony Rizzo (1,247,219) in a race that has remained close from the start. Zimmerman, who is batting .349 on the season with 19 home runs and 54 RBI, is aiming for his second career All-Star selection (2009) and first starting assignment. Rizzo is vying for his fourth career All-Star selection (2014-16) and second straight fan-elected start.
Cincinnati's Zack Cozart has received 1,465,327 to remain in front of Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers (1,143,767). Cozart is aiming for his first career All-Star selection, while Seager is attempting to earn his first starting assignment and second All-Star selection overall in his second full season. The 31-year-old Cozart leads NL shortstops with a .320 batting average, a .404 on-base percentage and a .562 slugging percentage, while Seager leads the position with 50 runs scored and 18 doubles.
The remaining NL leaders include: second baseman Daniel Murphy of the Nationals (2,365,180); catcher Buster Posey of the Giants (1,890,039); and outfielders Bryce Harper of the Nationals (MLB-high 2,827,330), Charlie Blackmon of the Rockies (2,259,867) and Jason Heyward of the Cubs (973,333).
The third outfield spot remains the NL's closest race as Heyward continues to fight off teammate Ben Zobrist (887,804); Miami's Marcell Ozuna (871,393); Atlanta's Matt Kemp (835,324); Giancarlo Stanton (823,558) of the Marlins; and Kyle Schwarber of the Cubs (775,212). The six outfielders are separated by less than 200,000 votes. Murphy, who still has the second-highest vote total in the NL behind Harper, remains ahead of Chicago's Javier Báez (1,328,917) at second base. Cubs backstop Willson Contreras (957,933) continues to chase Posey behind the plate.
The Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, the largest program of its kind in professional sports, is being conducted exclusively online for the third consecutive season. Fans around the world can cast their votes for starters a total of 35 times with the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, including a maximum of five valid ballots cast in any 24-hour period. The 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot is available in English and Spanish, and 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 Dominican Republic via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language Web site of Major League Baseball.
Details regarding the unveiling of the 2017 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be available later this week. The AL All-Star Team will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the NL All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 23 for the NL and 22 for the AL - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the Commissioner's Office.
Following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League's 32-man roster via the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 16th season with over 680 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile devices.
This year's final phase of All-Star Game voting again will have fans participating 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 2017 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 Marlins Park (July 11th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 10th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game (July 9th), All-Star FanFest at the Miami Beach Convention Center (July 7th-11th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 88th 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 United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @AllStarGame on social media.