Read our FAQ on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters, and the ability to vote through Google Search.

SAN FRANCISCO -- A throwback season for Buster Posey is likely to culminate in yet another All-Star selection for the Giants’ star catcher.

Posey, 34, is the leading vote-getter among National League catchers in the first balloting update for the 2021 All-Star Game at Coors Field that was released on Monday. Posey has drawn 511,221 votes thus far, building a comfortable lead over the Cardinals’ Yadier Molina (273,515) and the Cubs’ Willson Contreras (194,550).

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The top three vote-getters at each position, plus the top nine outfielders, in each league will advance to the second phase of the voting, which will ultimately determine the starters for this year’s Midsummer Classic, to be held July 13. The voting period for Phase 1 concludes at 1 p.m. PT on June 24.

Posey didn’t start against the D-backs on Monday after catching on three consecutive days over the weekend in Washington, D.C., but he’s reestablished himself as an indispensable player for the Giants this season, batting .329 with a .971 OPS and 11 home runs over 45 games. He already has six All-Star nods to his name, though his last selection came in 2018.

The only other Giants position player to crack the top 5 in voting was Brandon Crawford, who ranked fourth among NL shortstops with 122,536 votes. Crawford trailed the Padres’ Fernando Tatis Jr. (701,251), the Cubs’ Javier Báez (233,644) and the Dodgers’ Corey Seager (153,863).

Like Posey, the 34-year-old Crawford is in the midst of a resurgent season and entered Monday hitting .251 with an .870 OPS and a team-high 14 homers over 57 games this year. While Tatis will be the overwhelming favorite to start for the NL at shortstop, manager Gabe Kapler said he believes that Crawford deserves to join Posey in Denver next month.

“I think Buster is deserving of the credit that he’s getting for any number of reasons,” Kapler said. “We don’t really need to take a deep dive into those. With Craw, it’s really interesting. One of my favorite sites is FanGraphs, and I checked FanGraphs to see where he ranked with the other shortstops around baseball, and it’s pretty favorable for Craw. He’s really had a great year. And obviously, Tatis is a great shortstop as well. But I’d put Craw up there with anybody in the game right now. I’m very confident in his defense, and his at-bats have been outstanding all year.”

Pitchers are not included in the fan vote, but right-hander Kevin Gausman -- a Centennial, Colorado, native -- is also making a strong case for his first career All-Star selection after logging a 1.43 ERA over 13 starts this year, the second-lowest mark among qualified starters, behind only Mets ace Jacob deGrom (0.56 ERA).

The final Phase 1 results will be announced on June 27 at 9 a.m. PT on the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot Finalists Show on MLB Network. Phase 2 will last for four days, concluding on July 1 at 11 a.m. PT. Later that night, the starting teams will be announced at 6 p.m. PT on the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Starters Reveal on ESPN.