MLB All-Star Game voting: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Fernando Tatis Jr. among early leaders
Even as Major League Baseball contends with stultifying games, offensive ineptitude and a looming reckoning with pitchers’ use of banned substances, its gaggle of young stars often find a way to paper over the game’s warts.
And the first batch of fan voting for the July 13 All-Star Game certainly reflects that.
Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero – likely the American League MVP frontrunner – received more votes than any player in balloting returns announced Monday.
Guerrero, the 22-year-old son of a Hall of Famer, tops the entire AL slash line, ranking first in batting average (.344), on-base percentage (.450) and slugging (.688), for a major league-best OPS of 1.137. He also leads the majors with 21 home runs and 55 RBI, and has received nearly 858,000 votes in early All-Star balloting.
Meanwhile, fans have an avenue to vote two-way star Shohei Ohtani into the game – he’s the leading vote-getter at designated hitter; he’s slugged 17 home runs with a .961 OPS and has nine stolen bases.
(For good measure, he’s also struck out 68 batters in 47⅓ innings with a 2.85 ERA as a pitcher).
In the National League, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr.’s 804,000 votes lead the pack and ensure he’ll receive his second career All-Star nod.