It's down to the wire at 1B, 3B, DH in AL vote
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The Midsummer Classic voting race has entered the home stretch. With the 88th All-Star Game presented by Mastercard drawing ever closer, Major League Baseball released its final updates on the results of the Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot on Monday.
The starting position players and rosters for the game -- to take place on July 11 at Marlins Park in Miami -- will be unveiled on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Until the voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday, it's up to the fans to decide the competition at each position. On the American League side, the leaders remain the same as last week, but the races are far from over -- especially at first base, where Miami-area native Eric Hosmer of the Royals is holding on to a narrow lead over Justin Smoak of the Blue Jays.
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The competition is also coming down to the wire at third base, where the Twins' Miguel Sanó is just ahead of the Indians' José Ramírez, and at designated hitter, where Corey Dickerson of the Rays is hot on the heels of the Mariners' Nelson Cruz.
• Hottest races at 3B, OF in NL All-Star voting
Here are the latest AL results:
CATCHER
- Salvador Perez, Royals: 2,150,223
- Gary Sánchez, Yankees: 1,337,651
- Brian McCann, Astros: 1,330,042
- Welington Castillo, Orioles: 1,050,023
- Yan Gomes, Indians: 895,482
Perez has eclipsed the 2-million-vote mark, as the Royals backstop seeks a fifth straight All-Star nod. Salvy has been a rock as usual for Kansas City this season, having caught in 57 games, second-most in the AL. The 27-year-old leads Major League catchers with 15 home runs.
Now behind him is Sanchez, whose continued hot hitting for the Yankees has pushed him into second place in the voting, past his former New York teammate, the Astros' McCann. Sanchez, who wasn't even in the Major Leagues at the All-Star break last year, hit his 13th home run of the season on Sunday and is hoping for his first career trip to the Midsummer Classic.
FIRST BASE - Eric Hosmer, Royals: 1,419,887
- Justin Smoak, Blue Jays: 1,348,233
- Yonder Alonso, A's: 1,076,984
- Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 1,011,382
- Carlos Santana, Indians: 966,199
Hosmer is up over 1 million votes after taking the lead in the AL first-base race a week ago, and could make his second straight All-Star team. But Smoak, a potential first-time All-Star, is close behind, by a little more than 71,000 votes. Both are having excellent seasons -- Hosmer is hitting .302 for the Royals, while Smoak has mashed 20 home runs for the Jays.
Alonso, having a career year for the A's, and the Tigers' Cabrera are also in the hunt, both having passed the million-vote mark. Alonso has never been an All-Star; Miggy has been to the All-Star Game 11 times, including in each of the past seven seasons.
SECOND BASE - Jose Altuve, Astros: 2,925,041
- Starlin Castro, Yankees: 1,737,446
- Jason Kipnis, Indians: 957,179
- Whit Merrifield, Royals: 589,154
- Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 551,841
Altuve, the second-highest vote-getter of any AL player, is nearing 3 million votes. The 2016 AL MVP finalist continues to spark the MLB-best Astros, hitting .319/.393/.521 with 11 home runs, 36 RBIs and 12 stolen bases. He's in prime position to make his fourth straight All-Star Game.
Castro, having an impressive offensive for the Yankees -- his .315 batting average trails only Altuve among AL second basemen, and he has 12 homers and 45 RBIs -- remains in second place and is nearing 2 million votes. New to the top five vote-getters at second base is the Royals' Merrifield, who has jumped into fourth place ahead of Pedroia.
THIRD BASE - Miguel Sano, Twins: 1,550,240
- Jose Ramirez, Indians: 1,341,076
- Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays: 1,191,244
- Mike Moustakas, Royals: 1,067,150
- Manny Machado, Orioles: 946,013
Sano has more than 1.5 million votes, and he mashed his 17th and 18th home runs of the season in the past week. The 24-year-old Twin, who would be in line for his first Midsummer Classic, has been mashing all season, ranking second in the Majors in average exit velocity at 95.2 mph.
He'll have to hold off Ramirez, who has cut Sano's lead in the voting by nearly half over the past week. Ramirez, who also has yet to make an All-Star team, is hitting .321 with 12 homers for the defending AL champs. Donaldson and Moustakas, who like his infield-mate Merrifield has moved into the top five since the last update and now ranks fourth in the third-base race, have each also received over 1 million votes.
SHORTSTOP - Carlos Correa, Astros: 2,229,857
- Francisco Lindor, Indians: 1,648,532
- Didi Gregorius, Yankees: 1,069,822
- Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox: 982,987
- Troy Tulowitzki, Blue Jays: 783,649
Correa has a sizeable lead, with more than 2 million votes. Forming one of the top double-play combos in baseball with Altuve, the reigning Player of the Month for May is batting .303 with 14 home runs and 48 RBIs as he seeks his first career All-Star nod.
The rest of the top five vote-getters at shortstop remain unchanged, although Correa has widened his lead over the field since last week. Lindor, an All-Star for the first time last season, and would-be first-time All-Star Gregorius are the others with more than 1 million votes, and they're running out of time to catch Correa.
DESIGNATED HITTER - Nelson Cruz, Mariners: 1,366,962
- Corey Dickerson, Rays: 1,267,234
- Edwin Encarnación, Indians: 1,186,483
- Matt Holliday, Yankees: 1,107,847
- Evan Gattis, Astros: 885,391
Cruz continues to hold on to his lead at designated hitter, but Dickerson, looking to make his first All-Star Game, has jumped into second place and is within 100,000 votes of Cruz. Cruz, a four-time All-Star, continues to anchor the Seattle lineup, while Dickerson is having a breakout year for the Rays, hitting .330 with 17 home runs and an AL-best 99 hits.
Encarnacion has moved into third place ahead of Holliday, but both veteran sluggers are over 1 million votes and in the thick of the race as they seek to make the All-Star team in their first seasons with their new clubs.
OUTFIELD - Aaron Judge, Yankees: 3,442,597
- Mike Trout, Angels: 2,559,173
- George Springer, Astros: 1,619,385
- Michael Brantley, Indians: 1,325,473
- Avisaíl García, White Sox: 1,292,694
- Mookie Betts, Red Sox: 1,223,195
- José Bautista, Blue Jays: 1,055,645
- Carlos Beltrán, Astros: 1,054,503
- Brett Gardner, Yankees: 889,616
- Lonnie Chisenhall, Indians: 885,443
- Andrew Benintendi, Red Sox: 869,774
- Lorenzo Cain, Royals: 829,284
- Josh Reddick, Astros: 827,203
- Kevin Pillar, Blue Jays: 801,968
- Abraham Almonte, Indians: 684,675
Judge continues to preside over the AL All-Star race and looks to be a well-deserved lock for his first All-Star Game. The Yankees' rookie phenom leads all ALers in the balloting, and is the only player with more than 3 million votes. Judge leads the Majors with 26 home runs and has posted a monster .332/.440/.699 slash line, good for a Major League-best 1.139 OPS. He also leads the AL in RBIs (59), runs scored (66) and walks (47).
Trout, who was having yet another MVP-caliber season before tearing a ligament in his left thumb, remains in second place with more than 2.5 million votes, putting him in line to make the Midsummer Classic for a sixth straight season.
Springer has surpassed 1.5 million votes and remains in third place to hold on to the third AL starting outfield spot, looking for his first trip to the All-Star Game. The Astros right fielder has mashed 22 home runs this season.
Other outfielders over 1 million votes are Brantley, Garcia, Betts, Bautista and Beltran, putting them within reach of a starting spot as well.
Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot until Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB.com At Bat and MLB.com Ballpark mobile apps.
The Esurance All-Star Selection Show will take place on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Following the unveiling of the 2017 All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2017 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. Then on Tuesday, July 11, while watching the 2017 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans may visit MLB.com to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2017 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
The 88th Midsummer Classic, at Marlins Park in Miami, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage, while MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM will have comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com.