This year, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge and Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper have been elected to start in the July 16th All-Star Game at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Judge led the major leagues with an impressive 3,425,309 votes and was selected for his sixth American League start in seven All-Star Games. On the other hand, Harper topped the NL with 3,277,920 votes and was chosen for his eighth All-Star Game, seventh as a starter.
Starting spots in the All-Star Game are now given to the top vote-getter in each league in the first phase of online voting. This change in rules began in 2022 and led to Judge and Harper securing their positions as starters. The online voting began on June 5 and ended recently on Thursday. The next phase of voting will run from noon EDT on Sunday to noon EDT on June 30.
While the starters have been announced, there is still more to come. The remaining starters for the game will be revealed on June 30, followed by the pitchers and reserves on July 7. Additionally, six players each from the Baltimore Orioles and Philadelphia Phillies have advanced to the second phase of voting.
In the American League, catcher finalists include Salvador Perez and Adley Rutschman, while first base finalists are Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Ryan Mountcastle. Second base options are Jose Altuve and Marcus Semien, with third base finalists being Jose Ramirez and Jordan Westburg. The shortstop finalists are Gunnar Henderson and Bobby Witt Jr. Outfield options include Steven Kwan, Anthony Santander, Juan Soto, and Kyle Tucker. Finally, the designated hitter finalists are Yordan Alvarez and Ryan O’Hearn.
On the National League side, catcher finalists consist of William Contreras and J.T. Realmuto.