TORONTO -- Toronto's Justin Smoak is making a late push on the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot and is now within 71,654 votes of first place among AL first basemen.
Smoak is trailing only Kansas City's Eric Hosmer (1,419,887 votes) and, after already tying his career-high home run total of 20 before the halfway point of the season, has plenty of momentum heading into the final days of voting. The 30-year-old slugger owns a .304 batting average that leads all AL first basemen entering play on Monday. He also ranks no lower than second in the group when it comes to on-base percentage (.367), OPS (.955), home runs, and RBIs (48).
• Cast your Esurance All-Star Game Ballot for Smoak and other #ASGWorthy players
Now chasing Smoak are Oakland's Yonder Alonso (1,076,984), Detroit's Jose Cabrera (1,011,382) and Cleveland's Carlos Santana (966,199). If Smoak were to surpass Hosmer, it would be his first appearance in the All-Star Game presented by Mastercard.
Josh Donaldson (1,067,150) now ranks third among AL third basemen, trailing only Jose Ramirez of the Indians (1,341,076) and Miguel Sano of the Twins (1,550,240). The 2015 AL MVP has been limited to 34 games due to a calf injury earlier this season, but has still posted a .915 OPS.

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki (783,649) ranks fifth in voting among AL shortstops but is looking up at Carlos Correa (2,229,857) who, along with his teammate Jose Altuve (2,925,041) at second base, are among just five AL players to earn over two million votes so far.
In the outfield, Kevin Pillar (801,968) currently ranks 14th while Jose Bautista (1,055,645) has moved into seventh place.
Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com At Bat and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps. Vote up to five times in any 24-hour period.
The Esurance All-Star Selection Show will take place on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Following the unveiling of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will have 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.