Entering the final hours of the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot, it seems increasingly likely that Major League Baseball's tradition of surprising late-surge selections will continue as fans decide the starting position players for the 87th All-Star Game presented by MasterCard on July 12 in San Diego.
In the National League, there is now a virtual dead heat at catcher between to-date leader Yadier Molina of the Cardinals and surging Buster Posey of the Giants, while the Cubs' seemingly once-certain bounty of having five starters at Petco Park might be reduced to as few as two if leads keep disintegrating at this rate for infielders Ben Zobrist, Kris Bryant and Addison Russell.
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In the American League, two-time All-Star Game MVP Mike Trout of the Angels is the only one seemingly assured of a starting spot in the outfield. Jackie Bradley Jr. and Mookie Betts of the Red Sox are still following him, respectively, in position for the other two spots, but the race is on. Betts is closing on his teammate, and only 208,503 votes separate Betts from No. 4 Lorenzo Cain of the Royals, No. 5 Mark Trumbo of the Orioles and No. 6 Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays.
Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on Thursday. Fans can submit up to five ballots per any 24-hour period, with a maximum of 35 ballots per account, exclusively at MLB.com and all 30 clubs sites using the 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Ballot.
Molina, bidding for his eighth consecutive All-Star selection, led in every weekly NL voting update for the past month. But Posey outvoted him since the last one, 433,716-363,433, so the previous lead that hovered around 70,000 is now down to just 5,130. The Nationals' Wilson Ramos, who made a big surge in the last update, outdrew Molina for the second week in a row, this time 383,224-363,433, and is very much in the picture given the massive voting volume.
The Cubs have dominated at all four infielder spots throughout the past month of updates, but at this moment, first baseman Anthony Rizzo, still holding a narrow lead over Trout in the race for top overall vote-getter, is the only sure thing. The other three have leads in the 300,000s, but that is a big dropoff over the past several days.
At third base, Nolan Arenado of the Rockies has outgained Bryant since Wednesday, 564,988-388,966.
At shortstop, Trevor Story of the Rockies outgained Russell, 313,545-251,184. Meanwhile, Dodgers rookie Corey Seager received more support than either of them -- 379,204 votes -- to make a late bid.
And at second base, few Major Leaguers have had a better time lately than Daniel Murphy of the Nationals. He received a whopping 594,028 votes since Wednesday's update -- compared to 417,730 for Zobrist. That reduced Zobrist's lead to 306,934, the smallest among those three Cubs.
Miguel Cabrera, Josh Donaldson and Nelson Cruz all made late-surge starts last year. Pablo Sandoval, Robinson Cano and Melky Cabrera did it in 2012. So did Alex Avila and Jose Reyes in 2011. There was Josh Hamilton in 2010, Dustin Pedroia in 2009, Barry Bonds in 2007, Mark Teixeira and David Eckstein in 2005. In 2004, Hideki Matsui surged past fellow countryman Ichiro Suzuki to start for the American League. There were others as well, going back to Cal Ripken Jr. in 2001 -- enough evidence to know that some big leads are not safe.
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Fans may also receive the ballot by texting VOTE to 89269 (USA) or 101010 (Canada). Or text VOTA for a ballot in Spanish. Message and data rates may apply. Up to five messages. No purchase required. Reply STOP to cancel. Reply HELP for info.
Rosters for American and National Leagues will be revealed at 7 p.m. ET on July 5 during the one-hour Esurance All-Star Selection Show on ESPN.
Following that announcement, be sure to return to MLB.com and cast your 2016 Esurance MLB All-Star Game Final Vote for the final player on each league's All-Star roster. On Tuesday, July 12, watch the 2016 All-Star Game presented by MasterCard live on FOX, and during the game visit MLB.com to submit your choice for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet via the 2016 MLB All-Star Game MVP Vote.
The 87th All-Star Game, in San Diego, will be televised nationally by FOX, in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS, and worldwide by partners in more than 160 countries via MLB International's independent feed. ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB.com, MLB Network and SiriusXM will also provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage. For more information, please visit allstargame.com.
AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING LEADERS
CATCHER

1. Salvador Perez, Royals: 3,754,594
   
2. Matt Wieters, Orioles: 1,033,217
   
3. Russell Martin, Blue Jays: 981,618
   
4. Brian McCann, Yankees: 578,013
   
5. Robinson Chirinos, Rangers: 511,308
   FIRST BASE
   
6. Eric Hosmer, Royals: 2,638,022
   
7. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 2,088,920
   
8. Chris Davis, Orioles: 952,053
   
9. Justin Smoak, Blue Jays: 772,948
   
10. Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox: 769,385
    SECOND BASE
    
11. Jose Altuve, Astros: 2,186,949
    
12. Robinson Cano, Mariners: 1,276,010
    
13. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 1,081,667
    
14. Omar Infante, Royals: 949,308
    
15. Ryan Goins, Blue Jays: 757,923
    THIRD BASE
    
16. Manny Machado, Orioles: 2,196,732
    
17. Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays: 1,590,183
    
18. Mike Moustakas, Royals: 1,135,431
    
19. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: 1,099,086
    
20. Nick Castellanos, Tigers: 789,144
    SHORTSTOP
    
21. Xander Bogaerts, Red Sox: 2,825,025
    
22. Alcides Escobar, Royals: 1,478,645
    
23. Troy Tulowitzki, Blue Jays: 1,136,479
    
24. Elvis Andrus, Rangers: 917,112
    
25. Carlos Correa, Astros: 694,103
    OUTFIELD
    
26. Mike Trout, Angels: 2,972,582
    
27. Jackie Bradley Jr., Red Sox: 2,184,884
    
28. Mookie Betts, Red Sox: 1,915,637
    
29. Lorenzo Cain, Royals: 1,821,746
    
30. Mark Trumbo, Orioles: 1,801,969
    
31. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 1,707,134
    
32. Alex Gordon, Royals: 1,165,980
    
33. Ian Desmond, Rangers: 1,133,422
    
34. Paulo Orlando, Royals: 1,065,647
    
35. Carlos Beltran, Yankees: 964,473
    
36. Kevin Pillar, Blue Jays: 934,982
    
37. Michael Saunders, Blue Jays: 903,050
    
38. Adam Jones, Orioles: 726,916
    
39. Melky Cabrera, White Sox: 518,476
    
40. J.D. Martinez, Tigers: 497,102
    DESIGNATED HITTER
    
41. David Ortiz, Red Sox: 3,400,200
    
42. Edwin Encarnacion, Blue Jays: 1,131,827
    
43. Kendrys Morales, Royals: 1,102,349
    
44. Victor Martinez, Tigers: 865,194
    
45. Nelson Cruz, Mariners: 799,967
    NATIONAL LEAGUE ALL-STAR BALLOTING LEADERS
    CATCHER
    
46. Yadier Molina, Cardinals: 1,568,930
    
47. Buster Posey, Giants: 1,563,800
    
48. Wilson Ramos, Nationals: 1,282,287
    
49. Miguel Montero, Cubs: 854,629
    
50. Jonathan Lucroy, Brewers: 846,380
    FIRST BASE
    
51. Anthony Rizzo, Cubs: 2,630,049
    
52. Brandon Belt, Giants: 1,233,499
    
53. Paul Goldschmidt, D-backs: 977,889
    
54. Adrian Gonzalez, Dodgers: 734,448
    
55. Brandon Moss, Cardinals: 522,808
    SECOND BASE
    
56. Ben Zobrist, Cubs: 2,474,852
    
57. Daniel Murphy, Nationals: 2,167,918
    
58. Joe Panik, Giants: 768,312
    
59. Neil Walker, Mets: 500,384
    
60. Chase Utley, Dodgers: 488,170
    THIRD BASE
    
61. Kris Bryant, Cubs: 2,459,704
    
62. Nolan Arenado, Rockies: 2,108,503
    
63. Matt Carpenter, Cardinals: 882,135
    
64. Matt Duffy, Giants: 665,802
    
65. Martin Prado, Marlins: 396,859
    SHORTSTOP
    
66. Addison Russell, Cubs: 1,741,182
    
67. Trevor Story, Rockies: 1,423,547
    
68. Corey Seager, Dodgers: 1,082,434
    
69. Brandon Crawford, Giants: 1,002,201
    
70. Zack Cozart, Reds: 528,785
    OUTFIELD
    
71. Dexter Fowler, Cubs: 2,320,877
    
72. Bryce Harper, Nationals: 2,253,083
    
73. Yoenis Cespedes, Mets: 2,249,489
    
74. Jason Heyward, Cubs: 1,485,679
    
75. Ryan Braun, Brewers: 1,327,209
    
76. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies: 1,155,982
    
77. Jorge Soler, Cubs: 992,174
    
78. Starling Marte, Pirates: 893,952
    
79. Andrew McCutchen, Pirates: 816,079
    
80. Stephen Piscotty, Cardinals: 793,912
    
81. Hunter Pence, Giants: 764,004
    
82. Matt Holliday, Cardinals: 680,416
    
83. Charlie Blackmon, Rockies: 644,191
    
84. Marcell Ozuna, Marlins: 578,015
    
85. Angel Pagan, Giants: 561,677