Several positions remain too close to call with four days remaining in All-Star balloting for the 2017 MLB 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). The American League and National League All-Star Teams will be unveiled on Sunday, July 2nd at 7:00 p.m. (ET) on the "Esurance All-Star Selection Show" on ESPN prior to the network's 8:00 p.m. (ET) "Sunday Night Baseball" telecast featuring the Washington Nationals at the St. Louis Cardinals.
Miami Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna has accumulated 1,270,464 votes to join the NL outfield leaders in his bid for a starting role in front of his hometown fans. Ozuna, an All-Star in 2016, will attempt to hold off Cubs teammates Jason Heyward (1,241,194) and Ben Zobrist (1,122,946), as well as his Marlins teammate Giancarlo Stanton (1,069,313) and Matt Kemp of the Atlanta Braves (1,058,050). The 26-year-old Ozuna is joined in the outfield by Major League Baseball's leading vote-getter and four-time All-Star Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals (3,617,444), and 2014 All-Star Charlie Blackmon of the Colorado Rockies (3,115,730).
At third base in the NL, a pair of two-time All-Stars -- Kris Bryant of the Cubs (1,978,692) and Nolan Arenado of the Rockies (1,920,610) -- are separated by less than 60,000 votes as they set for a four-day showdown to the finish. Bryant is bidding for his second consecutive fan-elected start, while Arenado is trying to become the first Rockies third baseman to earn a fan election. A second close race continues to play out on the left side of the NL infield as Cincinnati Reds shortstop Zack Cozart (1,915,806) remains in front of Corey Seager of the Los Angeles Dodgers (1,657,732). Cozart is aiming for his first career All-Star selection, while Seager is attempting to earn his first starting assignment and second All-Star selection overall in his second full season.
The remaining NL leaders include: first baseman Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals (1,728,607), who continues to fight off pressure from Anthony Rizzo of the Cubs (1,601,245); second baseman Daniel Murphy of the Nationals (3,057,360), who has a comfortable lead over Javier Báez of the Cubs (1,654,829); and catcher Buster Posey of the Giants (2,530,713), who continues to outpace Willson Contreras of the Cubs (1,216,513).
In the American League, the roller coaster race at first base continues to intrigue as 2016 All-Star starter Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals (1,419,887) tries to hold off Justin Smoak of the Toronto Blue Jays (1,348,233), Yonder Alonso of the Oakland Athletics (1,076,984) and Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers (1,011,382). Three different players have held the top spot over the last five weeks, and Smoak has risen from outside the top five to second place over the last two weeks.
In pursuit of his first All-Star selection, third base leader Miguel Sanó of the Minnesota Twins (1,550,240) has seen his lead shrink over the last week as José Ramírez of the Cleveland Indians (1,341,076), Toronto's Josh Donaldson (1,1191,244) and Kansas City's Mike Moustakas (1,067,150) all remain in pursuit of a starting assignment. Ramírez is also aiming for his first All-Star nod, while Donaldson seeks a fourth selection and Moustakas bids for a second trip to the Midsummer Classic.
A tight four-way race continues to develop at designated hitter as four-time All-Star Nelson Cruz of the Seattle Mariners (1,366,962) is chased by potential first-time All-Star Corey Dickerson of the Tampa Bay Rays (1,267,234), three-time All-Star Edwin Encarnacion (1,186,483) of the Indians and seven-time All-Star Matt Holliday of the New York Yankees (1,107,847).
The remaining AL leaders include: second baseman Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros (2,925,041), who remains ahead of New York's Starlin Castro (1,737,446); shortstop Carlos Correa of the Astros (2,229,857), who is trailed by fellow Puerto Rico native Francisco Lindor of the Indians (1,648,532); catcher Salvador Perez of the Royals (2,150,223), who is followed by Gary Sánchez of the Yankees (1,337,651); and outfielders Aaron Judge of the Yankees (3,442,597), Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels (2,559,173) and George Springer of the Houston Astros (1,619,385). Judge, who has drawn the attention of fans around the country during his outstanding rookie season, remains the AL's leading vote-getter, and he trails MLB leading vote-getter Harper by less than 200,000 votes. Springer is followed closely by Cleveland's Michael Brantley (1,325,743); Avisaíl García of the Chicago White Sox (1,292,694); and Mookie Betts of the Boston Red Sox (1,223,195).
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.
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.