Red Sox SS Xander Bogaerts, 3B Rafael Devers lead positions in first phase of All-Star voting

If the latest voting update is any indication, it looks like the Red Sox have a good chance to have at least two starters in this year’s All-Star Game.

Major League Baseball revealed a second update to the first phase of All-Star voting on Monday, and the left side of the Red Sox’ infield is still leading the pack at their respective positions by a large margin. Xander Bogaerts leads all American League shortstops with 1,006,408 votes — more than 400,000 votes ahead of Toronto’s Bo Bichette — and Rafael Devers, who’s vying for his first career All-Star appearance, leads AL third basemen with 939,174 votes — more than 450,000 votes ahead of Houston’s Alex Bregman.

The first phase of All-Star voting ends on Thursday at 4 p.m. EST. On Sunday, the top three vote-getters at each position and top nine outfielders will be revealed and advance to the second phase of voting to determine the teams and who starts. During the second phase, voting resets and the top vote-getter at each position — and top three outfielders per league — will be named starters.

There are several other Red Sox in the mix. J.D. Martinez (530,660 votes) is second among designated hitters — well behind Los Angeles’ Shohei Ohtani — while Alex Verdugo (421,554 votes) is eighth among outfielders and Christian Vazquez (210,153) is fourth among catchers.

In the National League, Mookie Betts is fourth in voting among outfielders.

The pitchers and reserves for both All-Star teams will be determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections by the Commissioner’s Office. The full squads will be announced during a selection show on July 4.

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3iZXEkJ