Vladimir Guerrero Jr. appears to be inching closer to a fourth consecutive All-Star nod.
After being named a first base finalist through the first round of voting — finishing second to Baltimore Orioles Ryan Mountcastle — the 25-year-old has jumped out in front.
In the initial stage, Guerrero Jr. received 1,976,645 votes, behind Mountcastle’s 2,296,697.
Yet when the MLB released a Phase 2 update on Tuesday, he led the two-person ballot, receiving 57 per cent of all votes.
Guerrero is slashing .297/.375/.471 with 13 home runs and 50 RBI over 83 games this season, while Mountcastle has a .273/.317/.460 line with 11 home runs and 40 RBI in 78 games.
Should Toronto’s first baseman secure a third All-Star start in the last four seasons, it would make him just the fourth in franchise history to do so. The only other Blue Jays to have started three All-Star games are José Bautista (four), Roberto Alomar (four) and Joe Carter (three).
Guerrero was the only Jays player to be voted in as a finalist, while Mountcastle is one of six Orioles to appear on the ballot — Baltimore has a finalist at each position besides second base.
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper automatically received starting spots by leading their respective leagues in Phase 1 of voting.
Judge received an MLB-best 3,425,309 votes, and Harper finished with 3,277,920.
Phase 2 concludes on July 3, upon which the starters will be revealed.
All-Star pitchers and reserves will be announced on July 7 and will be chosen through a combination of player ballots and selections made by the Commissioner’s Office.
The All-Star Game is July 16 in Arlington, Texas.
Here is how the rest of the Phase 2 update looked:
American League
C: Adley Rutschman – 72 per cent (BAL) / Salvador Perez (KC)
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. – 57 per cent (TOR) / Ryan Mountcastle (BAL)
2B: Jose Alute – 56 per cent (HOU) / Marcus Semien (TEX)
3B: Jose Ramirez – 59 per cent (CLE) / Jordan Westburg (BAL)
SS: Gunnar Henderson – 66 per cent (BAL) / Bobby Witt Jr. (KC)
OF: Aaron Judge starting (NYY) / Juan Soto – 29 per cent (NYY) / Steven Kwan – 28 per cent (CLE) / Anthony Santander – 26 per cent (BAL) / Kyle Tucker – 16 per cent (HOU)
DH: Yordan Alvarez (HOU) – 51 per cent / Ryan O’Hearn (KC)
National League
C: William Contreras – 60 per cent (MIL) / J.T. Realmuto (PHI)
1B: Bryce Harper starting (PHI)
2B: Ketel Marte – 55 per cent (ARI) / Luis Arraez (SD)
3B: Alec Bohm – 70 per cent (PHI) / Manny Machado (SD)
SS: Trea Turner – 53 per cent (PHI) / Mookie Betts (LAD)
OF: Christian Yelich – 21 per cent (MIL) / Jurickson Profar – 20 per cent (SD) / Fernando Tatis Jr. – 16 per cent (SD) / Brandon Marsh – 15 per cent (PHI) / Teoscar Hernandez – 14 per cent (LAD) / Nick Castellanos (PHI)
DH: Shohei Ohtani – 61 per cent (LAD) / Kyle Schwarber (PHI)