MLB Fan All-Star Voting is a Mess
MLB recently released its first Phase 1 All-Star voting update, and honestly, the results are a mess. You can check out the full standings, but if you've been paying attention to baseball this season, you'll probably notice a few names that have no business being as high as they are. In this article, I'm going to break down the voting update, highlight the biggest mistakes, and tell you who you should actually vote for.
For context, here are the results from Phase 1 of fan voting (you can skip past this part and reference is as I talk about it):
NATIONAL LEAGUE
CATCHERS
1. Drake Baldwin, Braves: 972,813
2. Will Smith, Dodgers: 662,883
3. J.T. Realmuto, Phillies: 446,915
4. William Contreras, Brewers: 303,240
5. Hunter Goodman, Rockies: 110,450
6. Carson Kelly, Cubs: 109,628
7. Liam Hicks, Marlins: 105,065
8. Gabriel Moreno, D-backs: 92,127
9. Daniel Susac, Giants: 79,442
10. Pedro Pagés, Cardinals: 70,641
FIRST BASEMEN
1. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers: 870,606
2. Matt Olson, Braves: 802,848
3. Bryce Harper, Phillies: 651,792
4. Jake Bauers, Brewers: 207,276
5. Alec Burleson, Cardinals: 155,211
6. Spencer Horwitz, Pirates: 112,349
7. Ildemaro Vargas, D-backs: 87,590
8. Michael Busch, Cubs, 87,031
9. Rafael Devers, Giants, 74,982
10. Sal Stewart, Reds: 50,844
SECOND BASEMEN
1. Ozzie Albies, Braves: 517,147
2. Bryson Stott, Phillies: 399,729
3. Brice Turang, Brewers: 373,656
4. Hyeseong Kim, Dodgers: 345,924
5. Luis Arraez, Giants: 325,994
6. Brandon Lowe, Pirates: 271,221
7. Ketel Marte, D-backs: 256,413
8. Xavier Edwards, Marlins: 171,780
9. JJ Wetherholt, Cardinals: 148,771
10. Nico Hoerner, Cubs: 119,041
THIRD BASEMEN
1. Max Muncy, Dodgers: 941,218
2. Alec Bohm, Phillies: 386,425
3. Nolan Arenado, D-backs: 363,091
4. Austin Riley, Braves: 353,394
5. Nick Gonzales, Pirates: 267,518
6. Manny Machado, Padres: 163,064
7. Alex Bregman, Cubs: 145,500
8. Bo Bichette, Mets: 107,385
9. Matt Chapman, Giants: 101,971
10. Luis Rengifo, Brewers: 98,712
SHORTSTOPS
1. CJ Abrams, Nationals: 579,796
2. Mookie Betts, Dodgers: 567,566
3. Elly De La Cruz, Reds: 473,485
4. Trea Turner, Phillies: 414,652
5. Otto Lopez, Marlins: 230,286
6. Ha-Seong Kim, Braves: 153,077
7. Dansby Swanson, Cubs: 124,372
8. Masyn Winn, Cardinals: 101,868
9. Konnor Griffin, Pirates: 100,114
10. Joey Ortiz, Brewers: 94,637
DESIGNATED HITTERS
1. Shohei Ohtani, Dodgers: 1,165,133
2. Kyle Schwarber, Phillies: 820,009
3. Dominic Smith, Braves: 371,508
4. Christian Yelich, Brewers: 174,746
5. Iván Herrera, Cardinals: 101,738
6. Casey Schmitt, Giants: 78,001
7. Moisés Ballesteros, Cubs: 64,070
8. Eugenio Suárez, Reds: 54,719
9. Troy Johnston, Rockies: 45,683
10. Miguel Andujar, Padres: 42,566
OUTFIELDERS
1. Andy Pages, Dodgers: 800,496
2. Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves: 693,472
3. Brandon Marsh, Phillies: 668,191
4. Michael Harris II, Braves: 635,473
5. Teoscar Hernández, Dodgers: 507,625
6. Jordan Walker, Cardinals: 437,071
7. James Wood, Nationals: 431,607
8. Corbin Carroll, D-backs: 425,814
9. Juan Soto, Mets: 421,513
10. Kyle Tucker, Dodgers: 400,903
11. Mauricio Dubón, Braves: 397,044
12. Justin Crawford, Phillies: 357,022
13. Adolis García, Phillies: 328,418
14. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cubs: 265,408
15. Jackson Chourio, Brewers: 252,264
16. Seiya Suzuki, Cubs: 239,224
17. Oneil Cruz, Pirates: 214,719
18. JJ Bleday, Reds: 180,904
19. Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres: 170,376
20. Jung Hoo Lee, Giants: 166,215
AMERICAN LEAGUE
CATCHERS
1. Shea Langeliers, Athletics: 715,625
2. Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays: 298,401
3. Adley Rutschman, Orioles: 261,607
4. Dillon Dingler, Tigers: 261,084
5. Ryan Jeffers, Twins: 235,679
6. Cal Raleigh, Mariners: 213,549
7. Salvador Perez, Royals: 139,460
8. Logan O'Hoppe, Angels: 129,693
9. Yainer Diaz, Astros: 101,367
10. Austin Wells, Yankees: 96,365
FIRST BASEMEN
1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays: 603,014
2. Ben Rice, Yankees: 509,830
3. Munetaka Murakami, White Sox: 437,107
4. Nick Kurtz, Athletics: 269,658
5. Pete Alonso, Orioles: 202,781
6. Willson Contreras, Red Sox: 177,884
7. Josh Naylor, Mariners: 125,485
8. Jonathan Aranda, Rays: 115,412
9. Christian Walker, Astros: 95,577
10. Spencer Torkelson, Tigers: 85,880
SECOND BASEMEN
1. Ernie Clement, Blue Jays: 904,702
2. Ezequiel Duran, Rangers: 287,996
3. Travis Bazzana, Guardians: 279,862
4. Jose Altuve, Astros: 244,131
5. Jazz Chisholm Jr., Yankees: 230,846
6. Gleyber Torres, Tigers, 173,068
7. Cole Young, Mariners: 151,884
8. Chase Meidroth, White Sox: 122,213
9. Jeremiah Jackson, Orioles: 95,132
10. Vaughn Grissom, Angels: 91,142
THIRD BASEMEN
1. Junior Caminero, Rays: 625,520
2. Kazuma Okamoto, Blue Jays: 556,172
3. Miguel Vargas, White Sox: 329,208
4. Josh Jung, Rangers: 285,827
5. José Ramírez, Guardians: 269,973
6. Brendan Donovan, Mariners: 120,208
7. Maikel Garcia, Royals: 94,196
8. Zach McKinstry, Tigers: 93,817
9. Isaac Paredes, Astros: 93,030
10. Ryan McMahon, Yankees: 92,275
SHORTSTOPS
1. Bobby Witt Jr., Royals: 890,575
2. Andrés Giménez, Blue Jays: 354,651
3. Kevin McGonigle, Tigers: 266,239
4. Colson Montgomery, White Sox: 176,673
5. Jeremy Peña, Astros: 162,537
6. Gunnar Henderson, Orioles: 152,643
7. Corey Seager, Rangers: 133,270
8. J.P. Crawford, Mariners: 127,993
9. José Caballero, Yankees: 127,115
10. Zach Neto, Angels: 126,720
DESIGNATED HITTERS
1. Yordan Alvarez, Astros: 1,015,768
2. George Springer, Blue Jays: 323,112
3. Yandy Díaz, Rays: 267,585
4. Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees: 160,727
5. Joc Pederson, Rangers: 120,603
6. Samuel Basallo, Orioles: 111,977
7. Dominic Canzone, Mariners: 107,328
8. Chase DeLauter, Guardians: 88,130
9. Colt Keith, Tigers: 84,042
10. Jorge Soler, Angels: 76,401
OUTFIELDERS
1. Aaron Judge, Yankees: 977,460
2. Mike Trout, Angels: 926,601
3. Cody Bellinger, Yankees: 533,842
4. Byron Buxton, Twins: 497,562
5. Riley Greene, Tigers: 422,835
6. Julio Rodríguez, Mariners: 421,205
7. Randy Arozarena, Mariners: 412,273
8. Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays, 337,581
9. Jesús Sánchez, Blue Jays: 310,970
10. Myles Straw, Blue Jays: 272,973
11. Carlos Cortes, Athletics: 218,247
12. Wade Meckler, Angels: 206,242
13. Luke Raley, Mariners: 185,035
14. Wilyer Abreu, Red Sox: 171,026
15. Jo Adell, Angels: 156,474
16. Steven Kwan, Guardians: 130,398
17. Taylor Ward, Orioles: 129,622
18. Sam Antonacci, White Sox: 128,052
19. Javier Báez, Tigers: 115,440
20. Jarren Duran, Red Sox: 111,489
Before diving into the position-by-position analysis, I want to make one thing clear: something needs to be done about fan voting. While many fans vote for deserving candidates, plenty simply vote for their favorite players or stack ballots with members of their favorite team. Others may not know who has actually performed the best and end up voting for random players who have no real All-Star case. With that said, let's get into the biggest issues from the first voting update.
All stats are from Friday morning, June 19th.
NL Catcher:
This is one of the few categories that looks pretty reasonable. That said, I'm surprised Pedro Pagés is even on this list. He's batting .228 with a 0.0 WAR and a .641 OPS. I also think Daniel Susac should be higher. He doesn't play every day, but he has solid numbers across the board when he does play.
I also think Will Smith received a bit of a Dodgers fan boost. His batting average sits at .249, and his OPS+ trails the majority of catchers on this list.
NL First Base:
This is a very close race between Matt Olson and Freddie Freeman. However, because of the "Dodger boost," Freeman currently leads by roughly 70,000 votes. Personally, I'd give the starting nod to Olson. He has a higher WAR, OPS, OPS+, and SLG, along with more RBIs and runs scored.
While Bryce Harper deserves to be on this list, he's having only a slightly above-average season, and several first basemen would be stronger options.
Also, Alec Burleson should absolutely be ahead of Jake Bauers, as he's surpassed him in virtually every major metric.
One interesting note: Michael Busch has the third-highest WAR among all NL first basemen. I'm not saying he should be much higher in the voting, but it's a noteworthy statistic.
NL Second Base:
I'll give credit where it's due: fans got several of these selections right. Ozzie Albies is having a good season. Personally, I prefer Brice Turang because of his elite bat-to-ball skills and defense.
But who is voting for Bryson Stott? He has a 0.1 WAR and a slash line of .236/.295/.392. He shouldn't even be in the top seven.
The Dodgers push for Hyeseong Kim is also puzzling, considering he's spent the last few weeks in the minor leagues.
NL Third Base:
Max Muncy is the correct choice here.
Overall, it's been a relatively slow offensive year for NL third basemen, including Alex Bregman, Nolan Arenado, Matt Chapman, and Alec Bohm. Speaking of Bohm, he shouldn't be sitting in second place with a negative WAR.
NL Shortstop:
CJ Abrams is a completely reasonable choice and is having an outstanding season.
Mookie Betts being second, however, is a clear example of the Dodgers fan effect. He's batting below .205 with a 76 OPS+ (league average is 100). Trea Turner or Otto Lopez would be the obvious No. 2 choice for me.
Again, this feels like Dodgers fans pushing one of their favorite players into a position he hasn't earned.
NL Designated Hitter:
The fans got this one right.
Shohei Ohtani is the obvious and correct choice, and Kyle Schwarber is clearly the right No. 2 option. I really don't have any issues with the NL DH voting.
NL Outfield:
This category is a complete mess.
The Dodgers voting influence is very real here. Andy Pages is a good outfielder, but he's nowhere near the best in the National League. Kyle Tucker should also be much lower than No. 10, probably outside the top 15.
Ronald Acuña Jr. was having a decent season—not a top-20 outfielder season—but he's now injured and still receiving significant support.
I have no complaints about Brandon Marsh. He's putting together an excellent year, hitting .316 with a .352 OBP, .492 SLG, .844 OPS, and a 128 OPS+.
Michael Harris II is also having a great season, although he recently dealt with lower back tightness and missed a few games. It remains to be seen whether an IL stint becomes necessary.
Teoscar Hernández owns a solid .276/.348/.785 slash line, but he's currently injured and hasn't yet started a rehab assignment.
Jordan Walker needs to be much higher in the voting. In fact, he should be starting the All-Star Game. The fact that he trails Andy Pages by nearly 400,000 votes is ridiculous. Walker is ahead of Pages in virtually every metric and is on pace for a WAR above 7.0. If MLB didn't provide player stats directly on the voting page, Walker probably would've received 100,000 fewer votes.
James Wood is having a very good season—arguably a little better than Pages—but I'm not sure he belongs at No. 7. Somewhere around No. 9 feels more appropriate.
Pete Crow-Armstrong got completely snubbed. He leads all outfielders—not just NL outfielders—in WAR and currently ranks third in all of MLB behind Shohei Ohtani and Cristopher Sanchez. He also owns outstanding numbers across the board, including a .505 SLG, 141 OPS+, 15 home runs, and 16 stolen bases.
And somehow, almost nobody is talking about Jung Hoo Lee sitting in 20th place. He's batting .325 with a 130+ OPS+ while playing elite defense in center field.
AL Catcher:
Shea Langeliers being in first place is the right call.
Alejandro Kirk in second place, however, is a prime example of poor fan voting. He owns a negative WAR, is batting under .200, has a 69 OPS+, and a .625 OPS. Considering he's only played nine games, almost any other catcher on this list would've been a more deserving choice.
AL First Base:
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who suffered an injury Friday morning against the Cubs, is a reasonable pick. However, I believe Ben Rice should be the starter.
Rice leads Guerrero Jr. in hits, WAR, batting average, OBP, SLG, OPS, OPS+, home runs, and RBIs. Guerrero Jr. only holds advantages in at-bats, plate appearances, and stolen bases.
Munetaka Murakami is injured and currently has no timeline for a return.
Nick Kurtz also deserves more recognition. His .291/.435/.552 slash line is superior to Guerrero Jr.'s.
AL Second Base:
Ernie Clement looks like a solid choice. He plays excellent defense and has outstanding bat-to-ball skills, which have helped him maintain a .294 average.
He doesn't provide much power, but there aren't many clearly superior options.
Ezequiel Duran has been a slightly above-average hitter and a capable defender.
And no offense to Jeremiah Jackson, but I had never heard of him before putting together this article.
AL second base simply isn't a very deep position this year.
AL Third Base:
Junior Caminero over Kazuma Okamoto is absolutely the right choice.
The only categories where Okamoto has the edge are games played and RBIs. While Caminero's defense can be difficult to watch, his offensive production is on another level.
José Ramírez is also having a down year. Overall, the AL third base group isn't nearly as strong as it has been in previous seasons.
AL Shortstop:
Bobby Witt Jr. is both the obvious fan favorite and the obvious best choice.
I'm not sure what fans were thinking with Andrés Giménez. He has a 0.4 WAR and a 73 OPS+.
Kevin McGonigle is pacing for over 8.0 WAR and would be my clear No. 2 choice. Jeremy Peña and Gunnar Henderson are both having down years, with each sitting at 1.5 WAR or lower.
AL Designated Hitter:
Yordan Alvarez is having an incredible season. He was one of only two players to receive over one million votes in the first update. He's batting above .320, owns an OPS over 1.000, carries an OPS+ near 200, and has already hit 24 home runs. He's the easiest first-place vote on the entire ballot.
But George Springer in second place? Seriously? He has a -0.1 WAR, an OPS below .700, and has lost much of his usual power. The defense remains solid, but fans completely missed the mark with this vote.
For comparison, third-place Yandy Díaz is batting above .310 with a .900 OPS.
AL Outfield:
Aaron Judge will likely miss the All-Star Game because of injury, and Mike Trout is a little overrated at the moment.
Cody Bellinger has been solid, posting a 3.8 WAR and a .479 SLG.
Myles Straw has a 0.0 WAR, while Jesús Sánchez and Javier Báez both have negative WAR totals.
Byron Buxton has a legitimate case for being a top-three outfielder in the American League. His OPS is above .900, his OPS+ sits just below 150, and he's third in all of MLB in home runs.
I'd give a slight edge to Riley Greene over Julio Rodríguez because Greene has more hits and better numbers in batting average, OBP, SLG, OPS, and OPS+.
That said, there's certainly a case for Julio. He's the better defender and leads Greene in WAR, games played, plate appearances, home runs, RBIs, and stolen bases.
Aside from Randy Arozarena, none of the remaining outfielders on this list realistically have a chance to make the reserve roster.
As you can see, fans got some of these picks right, but more often than not, they completely missed the mark. Hopefully, this article gave some perspective on just how flawed the voting process can be.
Be sure to share it with any friends who follow baseball so they can help vote for the right players.
If you are interested in voting, you can vote on MLB.com’s All-Star voting page here.
Thanks for reading!