Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman leads all National League players in fan balloting for the 2018 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. The first National League balloting update was announced earlier today on MLB Network. The first American League update will be announced tomorrow. The 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot, which is available exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com, all 30 Club sites and the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps, will be accessible until the voting period ends on Thursday, July 5th at 11:59 p.m. (ET).
Freeman, a two-time All-Star (2013-14) bidding for his first fan-elected start, has received 633,342 total votes. The 28-year-old, who is tied for first in the NL with 85 hits and 19 doubles, is batting .340 on the season with 12 home runs, 45 RBI, a .430 on-base percentage and a .568 slugging percentage. He would become the first Braves first baseman to earn a starting assignment in the Midsummer Classic since Fred McGriff was elected by the fans in consecutive seasons in 1995-96. The only other Atlanta first baseman to win a fan election was Hall of Famer Hank Aaron in 1973. Freeman, who is trailed by Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs (248,275), is joined among the NL leaders by his Atlanta teammates Ozzie Albies and Nick Markakis.
Albies, a 21-year-old native of Willemstad, Curaçao, has totaled 398,816 votes to outpace fellow second basemen Javier Báez of the Cubs (360,307) and Scooter Gennett of the Cincinnati Reds (309,512). Albies, who leads the NL with 52 runs scored and is tied with Freeman for the NL lead with with 19 doubles, has 15 home runs, 36 RBI and six stolen bases on the season. He would join Marcus Giles (2003) and Dan Uggla (2012) as the only Braves second basemen to garner a starting assignment via the fan ballot. Markakis, who is bidding for his first career All-Star nod in his 13th big league season, would become the first Braves outfielder to draw a starting assignment since Jason Heyward in 2010. The 34-year-old veteran, who has 2,137 career hits, is tied with Freeman for the NL lead with 85 hits while batting .327 on the season with eight home runs and 43 RBI. The seventh overall pick in the 2003 Draft (by Baltimore) has played in at least 155 games in 10 of his first 12 seasons. Markakis has received 494,206 votes to rank second among NL outfielders, behind Washington's Bryce Harper (498,189) and ahead of Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers (351,780). Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies is a close fourth with 309,099 votes.
The remaining NL leaders include: third baseman Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (527,683) and San Francisco Giants teammates Brandon Crawford at shortstop (466,021) and Buster Posey at catcher (281,331). Arenado is followed by Kris Bryant of the Cubs (305,062), while Crawford is ahead of Atlanta's Dansby Swanson (225,182). In the NL's closest race, Willson Contreras of the Cubs (259,427) trails Posey behind the plate, while Atlanta's Kurt Suzuki (223,108) remains close behind.
For the fourth consecutive season, MLB's All-Star Balloting Program is being conducted exclusively online and via mobile devices at MLB.com, all 30 Club web sites and the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps. Fans around the world can cast their votes for starters a total of 35 times with the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot, including a maximum of five valid ballots cast in any 24-hour period. Additionally, when fans vote they have a chance to win a 2019 Freedom Elite Motorhome, valued at over $85,000. During the voting period, the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot will be available in English, Spanish and Japanese, and will offer audio CAPTCHA functionality for visually impaired fans. Banco BHD León will once again sponsor 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 2018 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. The AL squad will be managed by AJ Hinch of the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros, while the NL team will be led by Dave Roberts of the defending NL Champion Dodgers.
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 2018 Camping World MLB All- Star Final Vote. Fans will cast their votes from a list of five players from each League over the balloting period. Now in its 17th season with over 760 million votes cast, fans again will be able to make their Final Vote selections on MLB.com, the Club sites and on 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 2018 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 Nationals Park (July 17th), Gatorade All-Star Workout Day featuring the T-Mobile Home Run Derby (July 16th), All-Star Sunday featuring the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game and All-Star Legends & Celebrity Softball Game (July 15th), GEICO All-Star FanFest at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center (July 13th-17th), plus a lineup of additional events taking place around the city. The 89th 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 SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit www.allstargame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.