PHOENIX -- Being atop the National League leaderboard in several categories was not enough to get D-backs third baseman Jake Lamb elected to next week's All-Star Game presented by MasterCard.
• Cast your Esurance Final Vote for Lamb
In order for Lamb to be in San Diego, he will need the help of fans, as he is one of five Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote candidates for the National League.
"I couldn't believe when [manager Chip Hale] told me," Lamb said. "It's still surreal I guess, but it's a cool time, and hopefully I can get in."
• Interactive All-Star Game rosters
:: Complete All-Star Game coverage ::
Other players up for the NL Final Vote are San Francisco's Brandon Belt, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, Pittsburgh's Starling Marte and Colorado's Trevor Story.
The Cubs' Kris Bryant will start for the NL at third, while Colorado's Nolan Arenado was named a reserve at the position. There's also St. Louis' Matt Carpenter, who made the team as a reserve. Carpenter has played both second and third base this year.
"I saw that my numbers were close to all the other guys', but I also know the game, I know the league," Lamb said. "You've got Arenado and Bryant; I was watching the game today, and Bryant hit his 25th -- that's crazy, he has 25 homers right now. There's obviously Carpenter -- I don't know if he's a third baseman, he's playing all over the place. There's some really good third basemen around the league, and like I said, it's just cool to be on that list. It's awesome."

Lamb is in the midst of a breakout season at age 25. He's leading the NL in slugging percentage (.609) and boasted a .292 batting average, 19 home runs and 59 RBIs. He got his league-leading seventh triple in Tuesday's 7-5 victory over the Padres.
Lamb's teammates began lobbying on his behalf as soon as the All-Star rosters were announced.
"First of all, it's a joke that he's not on the roster to start," Arizona closer Brad Ziegler said. "He's leading the league in slugging percentage and there may be no more single stat that's more valuable, as far as a hitter goes. He's been incredibly productive, and he's done it in late-game, close situations. He's tied and won games for us with homers all season."
Lamb knows that he doesn't have the same name recognition that some of the other Final Vote candidates have.
"Not a whole lot of guys know about me, and I understand that. It's not something that I can control," Lamb said. "Obviously, I'm doing my job, I texted everyone to make sure you get on the computers, or we're not friends anymore. But other than that, no, I just texted some of my closest friends."
After hitting .263 in his first full season in the big leagues last year, Lamb worked during the winter on changing his mechanics at the plate. He lowered his hands in his setup, which allows him to keep his bat in the strike zone longer.
The results were noticeable right away in Spring Training, and he carried that right into the regular season.
Lamb has come through in the clutch for the D-backs this year with 11 of his homers either tying the game or putting the D-backs ahead.
Fans can vote for the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote until 1 p.m. MST on Friday. The winners, as chosen exclusively by online fan voting totals, will be announced during a Final Vote-themed telecast of "MLB Now" featuring commentary from political analyst Jeff Greenfield, live on MLB Network and MLB.com from 1-2 p.m. MST. MLB Network will provide extensive coverage across all of its studio programming during the Final Vote, including interviews with the candidates, frequent updates, heat maps indicating the cities where votes are being cast for each candidate, news on player and club campaigns and a running countdown clock leading up to the announcement.
Baseball fans have cast nearly 600 million online votes for Final Vote candidates since the program's inception in 2002. In addition to MLB.com and the official club websites, fans can use their mobile devices to cast votes at MLB.com/vote or via text message. To receive the ballot, text the word "VOTE" to 89269. To vote for a specific player, fans can text their choice to 89269. EXAMPLE: Text "A3" to vote for AL Player 3 or "N3" to vote for NL Player 3. Message and data rates may apply. Text "STOP" to end and "HELP" for information. Mobile voting in Canada also is available and fans should text their choices to 101010.
For the fifth consecutive year, the Final Vote will include social balloting, as Twitter support for the 10 candidates over the last six hours of balloting will count toward their vote totals. From 7 a.m.-1 p.m. MST on Friday, 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 12, watch the 2016 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 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote. The 87th All-Star Game, in San Diego, 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.