Yankees stars lead American League fan voting as Clement surges ahead
Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger head the New York Yankees’ charge in the second phase of Major League Baseball’s All-Star voting, though Toronto’s Ernie Clement has taken the overall American League lead.
Major League Baseball has released its second update on All-Star fan voting, revealing a strong showing from the New York Yankees across multiple positions. Aaron Judge, Ben Rice, and Cody Bellinger have emerged as the top vote-getters for the franchise, positioning themselves for potential starting roles in the upcoming All-Star Game. The voting is currently in Phase 1, which is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, with the top vote-getter at each position in both leagues automatically securing a starting spot.
Judge leads all American League outfielders with 1,788,499 votes, narrowly ahead of Mike Trout by approximately 50,000 votes. Despite being sidelined for the past three weeks due to a right rib fracture, Judge is considered likely to make the team given his overwhelming support from fans. However, he does not hold the overall lead in the American League. That distinction belongs to Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement, who has surged to the top of the American League standings with 2,054,130 votes.
At first base, Ben Rice ranks second in the American League, trailing only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The voting results present a notable divergence between fan preference and recent performance metrics. Rice holds an offensive performance metric (OPS+) of 174, significantly higher than Guerrero Jr.’s 101. Despite this statistical disparity, Guerrero Jr. leads the voting by approximately half a million votes. Rice is expected to advance comfortably to the runoff stage, where he will have an opportunity to secure his first All-Star selection.
Cody Bellinger also features prominently in the American League outfield rankings, sitting fourth with 1,067,622 votes behind Judge, Trout, and Byron Buxton. Bellinger’s inclusion is bolstered by his 3.8 rWAR, which is the highest among American League outfielders. The 2019 National League MVP has not made an All-Star team since winning that award, but his current performance levels suggest a strong chance of breaking that streak.
In the second base race, Jazz Chisholm Jr. ranks fourth with 419,777 votes, placing him roughly 100,000 votes behind second-place finisher Ezequiel Duran. Chisholm faces a difficult path to advancing to the Phase 2 runoff. While the Yankees are expected to send one or two pitchers to the All-Star Game, those roster spots are determined through means other than fan voting. The final results of Phase 1 will determine which players advance to the next stage of selection.
