Nationals Outfielder Bryce Harper Leads National Leaguers in First Voting Update for 86th All-Star Game

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, who is tied for the Major League lead with 17 home runs, 42 RBI and 40 runs scored, leads all NL players in the first voting update for the 86^th All-Star Game, to be played on Tuesday, July 14^th at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, it was announced today. Thus far, online voting totals via the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Ballot are up 100 percent in comparison to 2014. 

Harper, a two-time All-Star (2012-13), has received 1,116,582 votes as he bids for his second career starting assignment (2013). The 22-year-old would become the first player in Nationals-era history to claim multiple fan-elected starting assignments, and he would become the fourth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat, joining Hall of Famers Gary Carter (1981-84) and Andre Dawson (1981-83) as well as Tim Raines (1982-83). Harper, the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year, leads the Majors with a .467 on-base percentage, .734 slugging percentage and 40 walks to go along with his .331 batting average and nine doubles on the season.

Joining Harper among the outfield leaders are Matt Holliday of the St. Louis Cardinals (979,008) and Giancarlo Stanton of the Miami Marlins (746,926). Holliday, a six-time All-Star (2006-08, 2010-12), is aiming for his first career fan-elected starting assignment. Holliday has reached base in 42 straight games to begin the 2015 season, which is tied for the longest streak to begin a season since 2000 (Albert Pujols, 42, 2008). Dating back to 2014, Holliday has reached in 43 consecutive games, which is the longest Cardinals streak since Jim Edmonds reached in 47 straight during the 2004 season. Hall of Famer Stan Musial holds the club record at 55 straight games in 1943. A starting assignment for Holliday would give St. Louis a starting outfielder in four of the last five years, joining Lance Berkman (2011) and Carlos Beltran (2012-13). The 35-year-old is batting .322 on the season with three home runs, 10 doubles, 24 RBI, 18 runs scored and a .434 on-base percentage. Stanton, a two-time All-Star (2012, 2014), is seeking his first starting assignment after finishing second in NL Most Valuable Player voting in 2014. Stanton would become just the third Marlins player, and first outfielder, to receive a starting bid from the fans, joining Gary Sheffield (3B, 1993) and Hanley Ramirez (SS, 2008-10). The 25-year-old is tied with Harper for the Major League lead with 42 RBI, and is tied for fourth with 13 home runs. Earlier this season on April 16^th, Stanton became the Marlins' all-time home run leader when he hit his 155^th career home run. Overall, Stanton is hitting .237 with seven doubles, 27 runs scored and a .514 slugging percentage on the season. Trailing the outfield leaders are San Francisco Giants outfielders Nori Aoki (441,407) and Angel Pagan (413,843).

A pair of Cardinals lead the way on the left side of the infield as third baseman Matt Carpenter and shortstop Jhonny Peralta attempt to become the first teammates to start on the left side since David Wright and Jose Reyes of the New York Mets accomplished the feat in 2007. Carpenter, who is looking to make his third consecutive All-Star squad and his first fan-elected start, has received 1,113,060 total votes, which ranks second among all NL vote-getters. He would become just the third different Cardinals third baseman to draw a starting assignment, joining Joe Torre (1971-72) and Scott Rolen (2003-05). The 29-year-old leads the NL with 21 multi-hit games and is tied for first with 17 doubles to go along with a .319 batting average, eight home runs, 27 RBI and 32 runs scored. Chicago Cubs rookie third baseman Kris Bryant ranks second behind Carpenter with 583,583 votes. 

Peralta, a two-time AL All-Star (2011, 2013), has received 595,741 total votes as he bids for his first career fan election. The 32-year-old would join Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (1983-92, 1994-95), Edgar Renteria (2003-04), David Eckstein (2005) and Rafael Furcal (2012) as Cardinals shortstops to earn a fan election. Peralta, who has hit safely in 38 of 44 games this season, is batting .308 on the season with seven home runs, 13 doubles, 25 RBI and 23 runs scored. The Santiago, Dominican Republic native is locked in a tight three-way race with three-time All-Star Starlin Castro of the Cubs (571,574) and four-time All-Star Troy Tulowitzki of the Colorado Rockies (525,917). Castro is vying to become just the second Cubs shortstop to draw a starting assignment, joining Don Kessinger (1970, 1972), while Tulowitzki is contending for his third consecutive fan-elected start.

Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, a starter in each of the last two seasons, leads NL backstops as he bids for his seventh All-Star selection (2009-14) and his fifth fan-elected starting assignment overall (2009-10, 2013-14). The 32-year-old would become the first NL catcher to earn three consecutive starting assignments since Mike Piazza had nine straight from 1994-2002. In addition, Molina would join Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith (12) and former teammate Albert Pujols (5) as the only players in Cardinals history to receive at least five fan-elected starts. The Bayamon, Puerto Rico native has tallied 859,520 votes to rank ahead of San Francisco Giants two-time All-Star Buster Posey (759,187). Molina, who leads the Majors with a 2.66 catchers ERA, is batting .286 on the season with eight doubles, 19 RBI and eight runs scored. With four players among the leaders, the Cardinals could become the eighth NL team since fan balloting began in 1970, and the first since the Mets in 2006 with at least four fan-elected starters. The Cardinals have had at least one player elected to start in each of the last six seasons (2009-14), marking the longest active streak in the NL.

Rounding out the NL leaders on the right side of the infield is first baseman Adrian Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Dodgers and second baseman Dee Gordon of the Marlins. Gonzalez, who has totaled 929,016 votes, is seeking his fifth career All-Star selection and his first fan-elected start. The 33-year-old would join Steve Garvey (1974-80) as the only Dodgers first basemen to win a fan election, and he would become the first Dodgers infielder to accomplish the feat since second baseman Jeff Kent in 2005. Gonzalez, who earlier this season became the first-ever Major Leaguer with five home runs through his team's first three games, is tied for first in the NL with 17 doubles, ranks second with a .344 batting average and .638 slugging percentage, and third with 55 hits. Gonzalez has also added 35 RBI, a .421 on-base percentage and 32 runs scored. He is followed at first base by Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs (489,255), who is attempting to make his second consecutive All-Star appearance.

Gordon, a 2014 NL All-Star, has received 934,249 total votes as he bids for his first career starting assignment. The 27-year-old speedster leads the Majors with 70 hits and 18 stolen bases, and ranks second with a .368 batting average to go along with 10 doubles, two triples, 14 RBI, a .399 on-base percentage and 27 runs scored on the season. Along with his teammate Stanton, Gordon is trying to become just the third Marlins player, and first second baseman, to receive a starting bid from the fans, joining Sheffield and Ramirez. Gordon is followed in voting by Cardinals second baseman Kolten Wong (582,238), who is seeking his first career All-Star appearance.

The Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, the largest program of its kind in professional sports, for the first time, is being conducted exclusively online. Last year's program saw more than 300 million votes cast for elected starters. Fans around the world can cast their votes for starters 35 times exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 Club web sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot. During the voting period, the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot will be available in English and Spanish, and will offer audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually-impaired fans. Traditional Chinese, Korean and Japanese versions of the online ballot are also available. Banco BHD sponsors online All-Star balloting in the Dominican Republic, making Spanish-language ballots available to fans in the Dominican Republic via LasMayores.com, the official Spanish-language Web site of Major League Baseball.

Details regarding the unveiling of the 2015 American League and National League All-Star Teams will be available in the coming weeks. The AL All-Star Team will have nine elected starters via the fan balloting program, while the NL All-Star Team will have eight fan-elected starters. The pitchers and reserves for both squads - totaling 25 for the NL and 24 for the AL - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the two All-Star managers - NL skipper Bruce Bochy of the defending World Series Champion San Francisco Giants and AL manager Ned Yost of the Kansas City Royals.

Following the announcement of the American League and National League All-Star rosters, fans will begin voting to select the final player for each League's 34-man roster via the 2015 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 14^th season with more than 480 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile phones.

This year's final phase of All-Star Game voting again will have fans participating in the official voting for the Ted Williams All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet. During the Midsummer Classic, fans can vote exclusively at MLB.com and the 30 Club sites - online or via their mobile devices - with the 2015 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote, and their collective voice will represent 20 percent of the official vote determining this year's recipient of the Arch Ward Trophy. 

The 2015 All-Star Game will be played at Great American Ball Park on Tuesday, July 14^th. The 86^th All-Star Game will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and Sirius XM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.