Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario has continued to move up in the Midsummer Classic balloting among American League outfielders, according to the fourth 2018 Camping World All-Star Ballot update released Monday.
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Rosario was 14th among AL outfielders in the first update released on June 12, but he was ninth in the latest update. He's garnered 666,108 votes, but the top three have a commanding lead, with the Red Sox's Mookie Betts (3,119,106), the Angels' Michael Trout (2,666,972) and the Yankees' Aaron Judge (2,021,348) leading the way.
Rosario, though, is a deserving All-Star, hitting .313/.354/.570 with 18 homers, 23 doubles and 52 RBIs in 79 games, entering Monday. Rosario ranks seventh among position players with 3.6 Wins Above Replacement, according to Fangraphs. But he's in a tough position, as Trout (6.3 WAR), Betts (5.0) and Judge (4.2) are all ahead of him.
"Rosie has begun to figure out through last year and the first half of this year that he's got a lot of things he can do to help teams win," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "On the defensive side, with his bat, with his power. I don't know if a lot of people projected the power to this point, but if you've got that kind of bat speed and those kind of hands, it was kind of a matter of time before he figured some things out offensively. So yeah, we just hope that that nod comes his way."
Molitor, a seven-time All-Star during his Hall of Fame career, added that Rosario deserves recognition for how he's developed his game, and an All-Star bid would be a fitting reward.
"Young players that have high aspirations for themselves, to be an All-Star is not a motivation that, I think, is a bad one," Molitor said. "It's a great way to increase your brand and your exposure and let everyone know that, 'Hey, I can be an elite player in this game.' That's what All-Stars do."

Shortstop Eduardo Escobar is also an All-Star candidate, but he is not among the top five vote-getters at his position. Escobar is hitting .277/.332/.527 with 12 homers, 49 RBIs and a Major League-leading 34 doubles in 77 games while seeing time at both shortstop and third base.
Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot until Thursday at 10:59 p.m. CT. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps. Each fan can vote up to five times in any 24-hour period, for a maximum of 35 ballots cast.
Following the announcement of this year's All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Final Vote for the final player on each league's roster. Then on Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 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 2018 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
The 89th Midsummer Classic, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., 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 SiriusXM 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 @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.
Other Twins on the ballot include first baseman Joe Mauer, second baseman James Dozier, third baseman Miguel Sano, center fielder Byron Buxton, right fielder Max Kepler, catcher Mitch Garver and designated hitter Logan Morrison.