Who needs a boost in AL All-Star voting?

Fans have through July 5 to cast ballots for Midsummer Classic

June 26th, 2018

There's a good chance that more than half of the American League's teams will have a player on the field during the first inning of next month's All-Star Game presented by Mastercard. There are nine positions being voted on in the AL portion of the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot, and eight teams are represented among the leaders in the updated results revealed on Tuesday.
VOTE NOW: 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot
All nine starting positions remain the same in this week's update, though there is plenty of room for movement, and Astros second baseman continues to have the highest vote total of any player in either league.
But one of Altuve's many teammates on the ballot leaderboards is involved in one of the tightest races remaining. , who started at shortstop for the AL last year, continued to narrow the gap between himself and Orioles three-time All-Star Manny Machado, the subject of multiple Trade Deadline rumors.
National League voting update
The closest race remains at catcher, with the Rays' and the Yankees' vying to be the starting backstop, but a recent injury to Sanchez might not help his cause. 
Voting to decide the starters for the 89th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard on July 17 at Washington's Nationals Park continues until 11:59 p.m. ET on July 5.
Here are the latest results in the AL:

CATCHER

  1. , Rays: 1,063,708
  2. , Yankees: 904,678
  3. , Astros: 680,351
  4. , Royals: 497,711
  5. , Indians: 345,015
    Ramos has extended his lead from just south of 60,000 votes last week to nearly 160,000 this week. He and Sanchez are the only two AL catchers who entered the week qualifying for the batting title, and Ramos' superior .293/.340/.469 slash and Sanchez's right groin issue sustained on Sunday combine to put Ramos in good shape to make his second career All-Star appearance and first start.

FIRST BASE

  1. , White Sox: 1,032,748
  2. Yuli Gurriel, Astros: 714,361
  3. Mitch Moreland, Red Sox: 644,728
  4. , Angels: 516,550
  5. , Tigers: 415,891
    Abreu is still well out in front here, and the only difference is who he is in front of. Gurriel jumped over Moreland this past week, and his grand slam against the Royals over the weekend likely didn't hurt his cause. Abreu's .796 OPS ranks No. 1 among qualified AL first basemen.

SECOND BASE

  1. , Astros: 2,460,967
  2. , Yankees: 797,817
  3. Dee Gordon, Mariners: 395,253
  4. , Indians: 248,942
  5. , Red Sox: 184,661
    The only change here is that Pedroia bumped the A's out of the top five despite having played in just three games all season and not a single one in June. Altuve is in line to make his fourth straight start at second for the AL. His only competition is for the most overall votes, as you'll see in the outfield list.

THIRD BASE

  1. , Indians: 1,319,651
  2. , Yankees: 764,032
  3. , Astros: 718,814
  4. , Rangers: 422,263
  5. Mike Moustakas, Royals: 342,607
    No changes here. Ramirez is not only running away with his second consecutive starting nod at third base but he's putting together an AL MVP Award argument. The Indians slugger is tied for the Major League lead in home runs with 23, after hitting a career-high 29 last season.

SHORTSTOP

  1. Manny Machado, Orioles: 960,628
  2. , Astros: 793,087
  3. Didi Gregorius, Yankees: 639,630
  4. , Indians: 619,112
  5. , Mariners: 504,985
    Right now, it appears the only thing that would stop Machado from making his second start for the AL (and first at shortstop) is getting traded to a National League team, but Correa has made a bit of a charge the past two weeks. Lindor continues to challenge Machado in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and homer total, but that bout is evidently not resonating with voters because this is the second straight week that Lindor has slipped a spot in the standings.

OUTFIELD

  1. , Red Sox: 2,337,514
  2. , Angels: 1,989,649
  3. , Yankees: 1,557,109
  4. , Astros: 829,579
  5. , Indians: 794,074
  6. , Red Sox: 784,969
  7. , Astros: 531,538
  8. , Yankees: 501,175
  9. Mitch Haniger, Mariners: 487,150
  10. , Astros: 485,861
  11. , Twins: 434,243
  12. , Yankees: 374,794
  13. , Red Sox: 366,791
  14. , Tigers: 364,392
  15. Ben Gamel, Mariners: 257,653
    There are some small changes in the order here -- most notably Springer bumping Brantley out of the fourth spot -- but not in the composition. The bottom line is that Betts, Trout and Judge are running away with it. The intrigue rests in the overall vote totals for Betts and Altuve, but Altuve's lead has grown from just 3,684 votes last week to 123,453 this week.

DESIGNATED HITTER

  1. J.D. Martinez, Red Sox: 1,675,492
  2. , Yankees: 738,878
  3. Evan Gattis, Astros: 659,606
  4. , Angels: 452,372
  5. , Mariners: 424,914
    Cruz, fresh off AL Player of the Week status, bumped the Indians' out of the top five, but it's still Martinez well out in front in his first year with the Red Sox. This will be his first opportunity to start in an All-Star Game.
    Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot until Thursday, July 5, at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps. Each fan can vote up to five times in any 24-hour period, for a maximum of 35 ballots cast.
    Following the announcement of this year's All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Final Vote for the final player on each league's roster. Then on Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2018 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
    The 89th Midsummer Classic, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., 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, visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.