MIAMI -- Marlins catcher J.T. Realmuto, who has elevated his game the point that he arguably is the best at his position in the Majors, is starting to get noticed in the All-Star balloting.
• VOTE: 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot
MLB released its latest All-Star Game voting, and for the first time since the process began, Realmuto has cracked the top five among National League catchers.
Realmuto has claimed the fifth spot with 818,925 votes, and is closing in on Cardinals veteran Yadier Molina, who is fourth with 913,149 votes.
Buster Posey of the Giants tops the list with 1,384,631 votes, followed by Willson Contreras of the Cubs (1,240,132) and Atlanta's Kurt Suzuki (1,174,470).
"He deserves it," Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Realmuto. "He's a great player. I don't know how else to say it. People just don't know it yet, or maybe they do. They're starting to, I guess."
Realmuto still needs to make up ground, and time to vote is running out.
Fans may cast votes for starters at MLB.com and all 30 club sites -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online using the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Ballot until Thursday at 11:59 p.m. ET. On smartphones and tablets, fans can also access the ballot via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps. Each fan can vote up to five times in any 24-hour period, for a maximum of 35 ballots cast.
Following the announcement of this year's All-Star starters, reserves and pitchers, fans should return to MLB.com and cast their 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Final Vote for the final player on each league's roster. Then on Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 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 2018 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
The 89th Midsummer Classic, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., 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 of the All-Star Game. 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.
Statistically, Realmuto has been among the game's top catchers the past few seasons. This year, especially, he's standing out.
Realmuto entered Monday night with a slash line of .309/.366/.542 and his Fangraphs War (fWAR) is 3.2, the highest among any Major League catcher. Realmuto also is first among catchers in slugging percentage, WRC+ (147) and wOBA (.387).