WASHINGTON -- It's not often a player who already has a top-five finish in the league MVP voting enjoys a breakout season, but the first half of 2017 has been just that for Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon.
• Cast your Esurance Final Vote for Rendon
Now he is in position to be an All-Star for the first time in his career as he appears on the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote ballot with hopes of joining his five Nationals teammates in Miami on July 11. Rendon's competition will be fierce, as he appears on the ballot with Chicago's Kristopher Bryant, Miami's Justin Bour, Colorado's Mark Reynolds, and Los Angeles' Justin Turner. Fans can vote until 4 p.m. ET Thursday, while also showing their support for Rendon by tweeting with #VoteRendon, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, any tweet that includes #VoteRendon will count toward his vote total.
"I always want my guys to get as many accolades as they earn. And our guys have earned it," said Nationals manager Dusty Baker.
It is unlikely that Rendon -- with a laid-back personality, allergic to attention and reluctant to talk about himself -- will be openly campaigning for himself during the next few days, considering it's not his style to make a big deal out of such things.
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"Or anything besides [Houston] Rockets basketball," Nats first baseman Ryan Zimmerman said.
However, Rendon has made a case for himself on the field this year. He is hitting .298/.399/.555 with 16 home runs and leads the Nationals at 3.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball-Reference, thanks to his stellar defense at third base. His season really took off with his historic performance on April 30 vs. the Mets, in which he went 6-for-6 with three home runs and a franchise-record 10 RBIs.
"Anthony's a special player, and I think one of the most underrated players in the big leagues," Zimmerman said. "You never hear too much talked about him, but I think people are slowly starting to see the kind of player he is. Part of that has to do with the way he is, his demeanor and he's never going to be a guy to talk about himself, which is why we like him so much as well.
"He deserves it as much as anyone."

The NL East-leading Nationals will be well represented in Miami with five All-Stars -- Zimmerman, Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg -- and three starters, but it would still be special for them to add another, especially considering it would be the first career appearance for Rendon. And Rendon's credentials stack up among the best at his position. He leads NL third baseman in WAR, weighted runs created plus (wRC+) and OPS. Rendon trails only Rockies third baseman Nolan Arenado, the NL starter at third base, in defensive WAR at the position. 
"Rendon's done a great job for us this year, with the glove, on offense, defense, everything," Harper said. "He definitely deserves to be there, and hopefully he'll get that vote."
Fans can cast ballots for the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile devices until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. The winners, as chosen exclusively by online fan voting totals, will then be announced during "MLB Tonight" live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 6 p.m. Extensive coverage throughout the Final Vote will be provided by MLB Network and MLB.com, including interviews with the candidates, frequent updates, heat maps indicating where votes are being cast for each candidate, news on player and club campaigns, and a running countdown clock leading up to the announcement.
Now in its 16th season, with more than 680 million votes cast, the Final Vote again will include social votes on the last day of balloting, as Twitter support for the 10 candidates over the final six hours of balloting will count toward their vote totals. From 10 a.m.-4 p.m. ET on Thursday, any tweet that includes a designated player hashtag will be tabulated as part of the official vote total used to determine the winners.
On Tuesday, July 11, at 7:30 p.m. ET, tune in to the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 88th All-Star Game, in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.