All-Star Game ballots open with 9 Rays players

Read our FAQ on this year’s revamped balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters, and the ability to vote through Google Search.

ST. PETERSBURG -- All-Star Game voting opened on Tuesday, and the Rays are represented by nine players on the initial ballot, with a chance for Austin Meadows, Brandon Lowe, Ji-Man Choi, Yandy Diaz, Willy Adames, Mike Zunino, Avisail Garcia, Kevin Kiermaier and Tommy Pham to appear in the Midsummer Classic.

“I certainly hope our fans and Major League Baseball fans recognize that we have a lot of players that are worthy of consideration,” said Rays manager Kevin Cash. “I know we have some time to go, but Austin Meadows is right there. Obviously Tyler [Glasnow] before the injury. Brandon Lowe, Avisail Garcia, Yandy Diaz, I don’t want to leave anybody off, I haven’t put a ton of thought into it, but there’s a reason we have the record we have right now and it’s a credit to our players.”

• VOTE NOW: Google MLB All-Star Ballot

Of the group, Lowe, Meadows, Diaz and Pham appear to have the best chance among position players to represent the Rays in Cleveland. Lowe leads the team with a 2.0 bWAR, while Meadows leads the team with a .351 batting average and a 1.105 OPS.

Pitchers Glasnow, Blake Snell, Charlie Morton, Jose Alvarado and Diego Castillo have also pitched well enough to get some consideration. Pitcher selections are not determined by the fans, and are instead chosen through a combination of Player Ballot selections and choices made by the Commissioner’s Office.

Fans may vote in "The Primary" at MLB.com and all 30 club sites, the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark apps up to five times in any 24-hour period. Fans in the US and Canada can also vote on Google Search for every position, or up to 17 unique players per day, by searching "MLB Vote" or the names of their favorite players. Primary voting ends at 4 p.m. ET on Friday, June 21.

The top three vote-getters at each position (including nine outfielders) per league will move on to "The Starters Election," which begins at noon ET on Wednesday, June 26. The votes will reset for a 28-hour voting window that ends at 4 p.m. ET on Thursday, June 27. Starters for the 2019 Midsummer Classic will be unveiled on ESPN that night at 7 ET. The pitchers and reserves will be announced on Sunday, June 30, at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Then on Tuesday, July 9, during the 2019 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard, fans may visit MLB.com and the 30 club sites to submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet.

The 90th Midsummer Classic, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, please visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.