Miggy closing gap at 1B in All-Star balloting

DETROIT -- The gap has narrowed between Miguel Cabrera and Eric Hosmer in the latest vote totals from the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot. For now, however, Hosmer remains one of eight Royals leading at their respective positions, setting up a potential blue wave at next month's All-Star Game.

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Cabrera might have one of the best chances of breaking it up. While most Royals starters built on their leads, Cabrera's deficit whittled from about 618,000 votes a week ago to about 476,000 votes as of Monday's update.

The Tigers have jumped to Cabrera's support over the past week, repeatedly reminding fans to cast their All-Star vote. The team wore Vote Miggy T-shirts to the field for batting practice, and sent out an email to fans from David Price asking them to vote for Cabrera and other Tigers on the ballot.

"Eric's having a great year and he's one of my really good friends. In the offseason we both live in south Florida. But I think it's well-known that Miggy's probably one of the, if not the best player in baseball," J.D. Martinez said. "So it would be really surprising."

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Said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus: "Apparently, the Kansas City fans are sitting at their desk punching in Royal players on a regular basis. I give them credit for that. Obviously, Miggy is one of the most deserving players in the game to be at the All-Star Game."

Cabrera, for his part, is staying out of it.

"I mean, if I'm on the All-Star team, that's good," Cabrera said, before asking reporters if they had voted. "We play for something. We play to be the home team in the World Series. That's very important."

Fans can cast their votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on their computers, tablets and smartphones -- using the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday, July 2, at 11:59 p.m. ET. For the first time, voting is exclusively online, where fans may submit up to 35 ballots.

Fans may also receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada). Or text VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info.

Other Tigers rank among the top five, but with bigger gaps. Jose Iglesias is second among AL shortstops, but just under 3 million votes behind Alcides Escobar. Yoenis Cespedes ranks sixth among AL outfielders, the top three of whom will start. Among those ahead of Cespedes is Alex Rios, who missed a month and a half on the disabled list.

Following the announcement of the 2015 All-Stars, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast your 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player for each league's All-Star roster. On Tuesday, July 14, watch the 2015 All-Star Game 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 2015 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.

MLB.com will provide extensive online coverage of All-Star Week festivities.

The 86th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 200 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.