NEW YORK -- Feeling that he's being "overlooked," Didi Gregorius' Yankees teammates watched the shortstop open in third place among the five American League candidates in a tight campaign for the Esurance All-Star Game Final Vote.
The first update of the Final Vote was released at 11 a.m. ET on Tuesday, with Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas leading with 4.4 million votes. Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts stands between Gregorius and Moustakas, with Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus and Rays first baseman Logan Morrison filling in behind him.
• Cast your Esurance Final Vote for Gregorius
"I think he's one of the top shortstops in the league, and he has been for a while," said New York catcher Austin Romine.
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The belief that Gregorius should be an All-Star runs through the Yankees' clubhouse. Left fielder Brett Gardner also said Gregorius has been overlooked, so much so that even he didn't know what to expect when the Yankees brought the shortstop over from the D-backs in a trade before the 2015 season.
"To be honest, when we traded for him, I wasn't sure," Gardner said. "I didn't know a whole lot about him. I saw him play a little bit, but he's really matured over the last couple of years and turned into a [heck] of a player."
Yankee fans will have a chance to give Gregorius his due up until 4 p.m. ET on Thursday when voting closes. Fans can fill out unlimited ballots at http://www.yankees.com/vote or cast up to 35 ballots by texting 'A3' to 89269.
Gregorius is batting .302/.331/.477 with 10 homers and 36 RBIs in 59 games this season, despite missing the first month of the season with a right shoulder strain.

"I'm really really pulling for him," Gardner said. "I hope he can go join the rest of the guys in Miami."
• Five Yankees named to ASG
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.