Judge and Acuña were the leading vote-getters in the AL and NL, respectively
• 3 min read
Phase 1 of the 2022 MLB All-Star Game fan voting wrapped up Thursday morning and, Thursday evening, the two finalists at each position in each league were announced during a live MLB Network broadcast. Phase 2 of the voting to select the All-Star Game starters at each position begins Tuesday, July 5 and runs through Friday, July 8.
As part of this year’s voting process the leading vote-getter in each league in Phase 1 gets to skip Phase 2 and is given an All-Star Game starting spot automatically. Yankees slugger Aaron Judge led all players with 3,762,498 votes and will start for the American League for the fourth time (also 2017, 2018, and 2021). Braves wunderkind Ronald Acuña Jr. led the National League with 3,503,188 votes. This is his third straight All-Star Game starting assignment.
Here are the fan-selected finalists at each position:
Catchers
- AL: Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays and Jose Trevino, Yankees
- NL: Willson Contreras, Cubs and Travis d’Arnaud, Braves
Blue Jays fans rushed to the ballot to support their club and the wholly deserving Kirk is a finalist at catcher. So too is Trevino, who went to New York in a late spring training trade and has since emerged as their starting catcher. Cardinals icon Yadier Molina and Astros backstop Martín Maldonado were both a distant third in the voting their respective leagues.
First base
- AL: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays and Ty France, Mariners
- NL: Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals and Pete Alonso, Mets
Guerrero recently said he will skip this year’s Home Run Derby due to a nagging wrist issue. He did not say anything about skipping the All-Star Game, however. Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo was fewer than 70,000 votes behind France for the second AL spot. Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers was a distant third in the NL voting.
Second base
- AL: Jose Altuve, Astros and Santiago Espinal, Blue Jays
- NL: Ozzie Albies, Braves and Jazz Chisholm, Marlins
Albies is out long-term with a broken foot and will miss the All-Star Game. When a player voted in as a starter be unable to play in the All-Star Game, the runner-up gets the nod instead, so Chisholm will be the NL’s starter at second base (unless his back injury proves to be a long-term issue). Andrés Giménez of the Guardians and Jeff McNeil of the Mets finished third in the voting in their respective leagues and were not particularly close to advancing to Phase 2.
Shortstop
- AL: Bo Bichette, Blue Jays and Tim Anderson, White Sox
- NL: Trea Turner, Dodgers and Dansby Swanson, Braves
Swanson has quietly been one of the hottest players in baseball the last two months, slashing .322/.379/.536 with 12 home runs in 54 games since the calendar flipped to May. AL shortstop was far and away the closest race with Red Sox star Xander Bogaerts finishing only 2,607 votes behind Anderson. Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor was a distant third on the NL side.
Third base
- AL: José Ramírez, Guardians and Rafael Devers, Red Sox
- NL: Manny Machado, Padres and Nolan Arenado, Cardinals
Good job, fans. No further notes. Braves slugger Austin Riley was fewer than 45,000 votes behind Arenado for the second finalist spot in the NL. Matt Chapman of the Blue Jays was third in the AL and well behind the two finalists.
Outfield
- AL: Mike Trout, Angels; George Springer, Blue Jays; Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees; Lourdes Gurriel Jr., Blue Jays
- NL: Mookie Betts, Dodgers; Joc Pederson, Giants, Starling Marte, Mets; Adam Duvall, Braves
Judge and Acuña were the leading vote-getters in their respective leagues and automatically get a starting spot, so those players above are vying for the final two outfield spots in their league. Nationals star Juan Soto and Blue Jays slugger Teoscar Hernández were both within 85,000 votes of being a finalist.
Designated hitter
- AL: Yordan Alvarez, Astros and Shohei Ohtani, Angels
- NL: Bryce Harper, Phillies and William Contreras, Braves
Harper is out long-term with a broken thumb, so even if he were to win the Phase 2 voting, Contreras would start at DH in his place. Cardinals legend Albert Pujols and Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen were distant third place finishers in the voting in their leagues.
As a reminder, fans do not vote for the All-Star Game starting pitchers. Those are selected by the two managers, Brian Snitker (Braves) and Dusty Baker (Astros). The All-Star Game rosters are selected through fan and player voting, with the commissioner’s office filling in the gaps as necessary. Managers no longer select All-Star players.
The 2022 MLB All-Star Game will be played Tuesday, July 19, at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. The full All-Star Game rosters will be announced Sunday, July 10.
