Boston Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers has put himself in a good spot to potentially start in the upcoming Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
Devers was voted as a finalist to earn the starting nod at third base for the American League side along with Cleveland Indians star José RamÃrez after the first round of fan voting concluded Thursday, according to MLB.com's Thomas Harrigan. RamÃrez garnered just over 100,000 more votes than Devers, which is the tightest race between finalists out of any position in the AL.
While Devers still has a shot to be a part of the starting lineup, his teammates in Xander Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez just missed the cut -- the top two vote-getters at each position advanced to the next round of voting. Bogaerts finished in third at shortstop in the voting process while Martinez placed fourth among designated hitters, per Chris Cotillo of MassLive. For Bogaerts and Martinez, there only chance now to be selected as All-Stars will have to come in a reserve role.
Devers' selection to start the All-Star Game over RamÃrez will come down to a second round of voting, which begins next Tuesday and will last for four days. The votes finalists received in the first round of balloting do not carry over.
Devers, 25, has proven to be one of the best hitters in baseball this season. He is batting .328, which is fourth-best in the MLB, to go along with 17 home runs and 45 RBIs.
The complete rosters for the All-Star Game, which is set to take place on Tuesday, July 18 at Dodger Stadium, will be revealed on July 10.
