This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

ST. PETERSBURG -- Two of the Rays’ most valuable players could be in the American League’s starting lineup at the All-Star Game in Seattle next month.

Yandy Díaz  and Randy Arozarena advanced to the second phase of All-Star voting, MLB announced on Thursday evening, by finishing among the top vote-getters at their respective positions in Phase 1. (For more information about the finalists, the balloting process and what comes next, check out this story.)

Díaz received 1,567,748 votes in the opening phase, so he will vie for his first career All-Star appearance against Blue Jays first baseman  Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who garnered the most votes (1,632,519) in Phase 1. Díaz would be the first Rays first baseman to win a fan election and only the second infielder in franchise history to do so, joining Rays icon Evan Longoria  (2009-10).

Díaz said he would be honored to be elected to the All-Star Game in any role, whether it be as a starter or reserve, but was honored by the idea of being voted into the lineup.

“Of course, I would be very excited,” he said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “It's something that you can just add on, especially after all the sacrifices that I've made to get here, and I'll be pretty excited if I make it.”

Arozarena, meanwhile, is one of six outfielders moving on to compete for three starting spots in the AL lineup. He finished third in the initial phase with 1,564,098, behind only the Yankees’ Aaron Judge (2,095,328) and the Angels’ Mike Trout (1,604,762), but the tallies from Phase 1 don’t carry over into Phase 2.

The other AL outfield finalists are Yordan Alvarez, former Ray Kevin Kiermaier and Arozarena’s close friend, Adolis García of the Rangers. Arozarena is looking to become just the second Rays outfielder to earn a fan-elected start, with the only other nod going to soon-to-be Rays Hall of Famer Carl Crawford in 2010.

“It's good to see that the fans are out there supporting me and giving me the votes for the All-Star Game,” Arozarena said through Navarro. “I think it's showing all the hard work that I've been doing to be able to be in this position.”

Is it possible that Arozarena is getting an extra boost in the voting due to the World Baseball Classic heroics for Team Mexico that made him an international star? The always-entertaining fan-favorite smiled as he answered.

“Mexico, United States, Japan -- all over the world, I think they're voting for me,” he said. “I think I've won them over with what I've done out on the field and the hard work that I do every day to be able to put that show on on the field.”

There’s one other bit of intrigue regarding Arozarena’s potential All-Star Game appearance. If invited, the Rays’ home-run leader confirmed he would “love to go out there and put on a show” in the Home Run Derby.

It would be hard to pass up on the possibility of Arozarena crushing homers -- and crossing his arms -- in Seattle, right?

“Hopefully,” he said, “they invite me.”