Oakland Athletics first baseman Yonder Alonso and a pair of Houston Astros - shortstop Carlos Correa and outfielder George Springer - are among the leaders in the latest American League balloting update for the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, it was announced earlier today on MLB Network. The 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, which is available exclusively online via MLB.com, Club sites and mobile devices, will be accessible until the voting period ends on Thursday, June 29th at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
Alonso, bidding for his first career All-Star selection, has received 651,055 votes to move ahead of 11-time All-Star Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers (646,598) by less than 5,000 votes in a crowded race at first base. Reigning All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals (626,783), Carlos Santana of the Cleveland Indians (558,320) and Yuli Gurriel of the Astros (529,887) are all within striking distance, rounding out the top five at the position. Alonso, who is hitting .310 on the season with 16 home runs and 36 RBI, is aiming to become the first Athletics first baseman to win a fan election since Jason Giambi in 2000. The only other A's infielder in that span to earn a fan-elected starting assignment was third baseman Josh Donaldson in 2014.
Correa, the 2015 AL Rookie of the Year, has totaled 1,176,486 votes to move ahead of fellow Puerto Rico native and World Baseball Classic teammate Francisco Lindor of the Indians (1,054,295). The 22-year-old Correa, who is vying for his first All-Star selection, would become the first Astros shortstop to garner a starting assignment from the fans. Correa leads AL shortstops with 40 RBI and 26 walks, while Lindor, an All-Star in 2016, paces the position with 17 doubles and 12 home runs.
Springer, also attempting to make his All-Star debut, has tallied 804,826 votes as he moved from seventh place to third place over the last week to join fellow outfield leaders Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees (1,893,260) and Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (1,582,782). Judge, who remains the league's leading vote-getter, leads the Majors with 22 home runs, paces the AL with a .347 batting average and ranks second in the AL with 49 RBI. Springer would become just the second Astros outfielder to earn a fan election, joining Cesar Cedeño, who was selected to start by the fans for the National League in 1973. The 27-year-old Springer, who has 17 home runs and 40 RBI on the season, is followed by Cleveland's Michael Brantley (776,487), Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox (714,185), Avisaíl García of the Chicago White Sox (698,876) and Astros teammate Carlos Beltrán (613,225).
The remaining AL leaders include: second baseman Jose Altuve of the Astros (1,615,938); third baseman Miguel Sanó of the Minnesota Twins (1,010,060); catcher Salvador Perez of the Royals (1,025,982); and designated hitter Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners (863,549). Altuve is followed by Starlin Castro of the Yankees (1,072,305), while Sanó is trailed by José Ramírez of the Indians (697,747). Behind the plate, Houston's Brian McCann (791,517) has moved into second place behind Perez, while Matt Holliday of the Yankees (689,918) remains second in pursuit of Cruz at designated hitter.
The Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, the largest program of its kind in professional sports, is being conducted exclusively online for the third consecutive season. Fans around the world can cast their votes for starters a total of 35 times with the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, including a maximum of five valid ballots cast in any 24-hour period. The 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot is available in English and Spanish, and offers audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually impaired fans. Banco BHD León once again 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 2017 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 23 for the NL and 22 for the AL - will be determined through a combination of "Player Ballot" choices and selections made by the Commissioner's Office.
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 32-man roster via the 2017 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 16th season with over 680 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, Club sites and their mobile devices.
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 2017 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.
MLB All-Star Week includes the MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Marlins Park (July 11th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 10th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game (July 9th), All-Star FanFest at the Miami Beach Convention Center (July 7th-11th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 88th Midsummer Classic 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 Sirius XM 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 @AllStarGame on social media.