The Boston Red Sox are off to a slower start this year, but they still should be well-represented at the 2017 All-Star Game.
Major League Baseball released its first American League balloting update for the All-Star Game on Wednesday, with injured Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout leading all AL vote-getters at 776,937. New York Yankees rookie slugger Aaron Judge is right behind Trout with 730,438 votes, but Mookie Betts is poised to join them as an All-Star starter, ranked third among AL outfielders with 337,473 votes.
Betts, who is hitting .276 entering Wednesday and leads the Red Sox in home runs (nine), RBI (32) and slugging percentage (.495), is the only Boston player currently in line to make the starting nine. Xander Bogaerts ranks third among AL shortstops with 252,379 votes, behind Puerto Rico natives Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa.
Andrew Benintendi also has a shot at making the All-Star club, as the Red Sox rookie currently is fifth among outfield vote-getters behind Betts and the Cleveland Indians’ Michael Brantley. Benintendi has endured a rough May (.213 average in 25 games) but still ranks second among all MLB rookies with 50 hits, trailing only Judge.
Fan voting for the 2017 All-Star Game at Marlins Park in Miami will continue until June 29, so there’s plenty of time for these results to change. These ballots only include position players, too, and there’s a strong chance Red Sox starter Chris Sale and closer Craig Kimbrel also will join the All-Star party.
Here are the current voting leaders for the National League, per MLB Communications:
Thumbnail photo via Patrick Gorski/USA TODAY Sports Images
