Four Cubs Top 2M Votes But All-Star Dominance Flags…A Little
The Cubs continue to reign in the NL All-Star voting, though some margins at some of the positions are getting a little tighter. Only four players, all Cubs, have appeared on more than two million ballots, with Anthony Rizzo leading the way. I always enjoy looking at the lead Rizzo holds over Brandon Belt, which at this point is larger than leading vote-getter Yadi Molina has at catcher.
Speaking of catcher, Yadi’s perch atop that group is getting ever more precarious as people who are paying attention to production continue to vote for better players. Same goes for shortstop, where Addison Russell’s lead has eroded a bit. I love what Russell brings on the defensive side of the ball, but it’s a flat-out crime that Corey Seager has received less than half the votes that have been cast for the Cubs shortstop.
It makes sense to me that Trevor Story doesn’t have as many votes, what with him playing in Colorado and not getting quite the attention that the more premier franchises receive. But Seager is in LA, which you’d think would drive a little more notoriety. Alas, it does not.
Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist don’t have huge leads either, though it’s hard to imagine them losing half a million votes by the time polls close at 11:59 pm ET on June 30. It’s possible that Russell could lose his spot, but I think Seager and Story will end up splitting too many votes. Molina, on the other hand, could easily see that 75,000-vote cushion evaporate.
Oh, for what it’s worth, David Ross leads in write-in votes but still doesn’t have nearly enough votes to make the top five catchers.
CATCHER
1. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 1,205,497
2. Buster Posey, Giants: 1,130,084
3. Wilson Ramos, Nationals: 899,063
4. Miguel Montero, Cubs: 733,945
5. Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers: 618,896
FIRST BASE
1. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs: 2,202,494
2. Brandon Belt, Giants: 839,188
3. Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs: 681,773
4. Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers: 577,666
5. Brandon Moss, Cardinals: 357,903
SECOND BASE
1. Ben Zobrist, Cubs: 2,057,122
2. Daniel Murphy, Nationals: 1,573,890
3. Joe Panik, Giants: 517,480
4. Neil Walker, Mets: 434,604
5. Josh Harrison, Pirates: 376,549
THIRD BASE
1. Kris Bryant, Cubs: 2,070,738
2. Nolan Arenado, Rockies: 1,543,515
3. Matt Carpenter, Cardinals: 606,986
4. Matt Duffy, Giants: 459,153
5. David Wright, Mets: 313,671
SHORTSTOP
1. Addison Russell, Cubs: 1,489,998
2. Trevor Story, Rockies: 1,110,002
3. Corey Seager, Dodgers: 703,230
4. Brandon Crawford, Giants: 692,640
5. Zack Cozart, Reds: 449,278
OUTFIELD
1. Dexter Fowler, Cubs: 2,003,115
2. Bryce Harper, Nationals: 1,824,808
3. Yoenis Cespedes, Mets: 1,759,302
4. Jason Heyward, Cubs: 1,271,107
5. Ryan Braun, Brewers: 1,045,953
6. Jorge Soler, Cubs: 859,654