Here are finalists to start 21 All-Star Game – MLB.com

Read our FAQ on the balloting format, which includes two phases of fan voting to determine the All-Star starters, and the ability to vote through Google Search.

The finalists are set as we enter Phase 2 of the fan voting to determine the starters for the 2021 MLB All-Star Game presented by Mastercard at Coors Field in Denver on July 13.

The final Phase 1 results were announced Sunday on the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Ballot Finalists Show on MLB Network. The top three vote-getters at each position, plus the top nine outfielders, in both the American League and National League advanced to Phase 2.

These were the five leading vote getters across MLB in Phase 1:

Vote totals have been reset for all players heading into Phase 2, and the Astros have the most representatives on the final ballot with seven, followed by the Blue Jays, Dodgers and Cubs with five each. Overall, 20 teams have at least one representative in Phase 2.

Phase 2 will last for four days, beginning at noon ET on Monday and concluding on Thursday at 2 p.m. ET. At 9 p.m. ET on Thursday night, the starting teams will be announced during the 2021 Google MLB All-Star Starters Reveal on ESPN.

Fans can cast their votes exclusively online at mlb.com/vote, via mobile devices at MLB.com, all 30 club websites, the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps and on Google Search in the U.S. and Canada by searching “MLB All-Star vote” or “Vote” along with a player’s name. (Fan voting determines the starters at first base, second base, third base, shortstop, catcher and the three outfield spots in each league, plus the designated hitter spot in the AL. Pitchers and reserves for both teams will be determined through a combination of Player Ballot choices and selections made by the Commissioner’s Office.)

The rest of the 2021 All-Star rosters will be named on Sunday, July 4, at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, and the All-Star Game, held at Coors Field in Colorado, will be on Tuesday, July 13 on FOX.

Here are the MLB All-Star Ballot finalists.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
First: Shohei Ohtani, LAA
Second: J.D. Martinez, BOS
Third: Yordan Alvarez, HOU

Alvarez and Martinez are having strong seasons at the plate, but they are up against a two-way juggernaut in Ohtani, which may be a lot to overcome.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
First: Salvador Perez, KC
Second: Martín Maldonado, HOU
Third: Yasmani Grandal, CWS

Perez started five straight All-Star Games behind the plate for the AL before missing the 2019 season while recovering from Tommy John surgery. The Royals backstop is up against Grandal and Maldonado, two players searching for their first All-Star Game start.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
First: Buster Posey, SF
Second: Yadier Molina, STL
Third: Willson Contreras, CHC

These three have combined to start nine of the past 11 All-Star Games at catcher for the NL. Contreras got the starting nod in each of the past two All-Star Games, snapping a streak of three straight starts for Posey. Molina last started in 2013.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
First: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., TOR
Second: Yuli Gurriel, HOU
Third: José Abreu, CWS

Guerrero’s impressive breakout propelled him to the top of the leaderboard in Phase 1, but with the vote tallies being reset, Abreu and Gurriel have a chance to overtake the Blue Jays slugger. Guerrero and Gurriel would be first-time All-Stars, while Abreu (the 2020 AL MVP) is eyeing his fourth All-Star nod and second start.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
First: Max Muncy, LAD
Second: Freddie Freeman, ATL
Third: Anthony Rizzo, CHC

A brief injured-list stint due to an oblique strain earlier this month wasn’t enough to cost Muncy his Phase 1 lead among NL first basemen. In Phase 2, he’s challenged by two players who have made a combined four All-Star starts. That includes Freeman, the NL’s starting first baseman in 2018 and ‘19 and the reigning NL MVP.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
First: Marcus Semien, TOR
Second: Jose Altuve, HOU
Third: DJ LeMahieu, NYY

Semien, who moved from shortstop to second base after signing a one-year, $18 million contract with the Blue Jays in the offseason, is looking for his first career All-Star nod at age 30. Altuve and LeMahieu have been there before, combining for nine All-Star selections and six starts.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
First: Ozzie Albies, ATL
Second: Adam Frazier, PIT
Third: Gavin Lux, LAD

No matter who wins this race, there will be a first-time All-Star starter at second base in the NL. Albies is the only one of the three to have made an All-Star Game before, earning a spot on the NL team as a reserve in 2018.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
First: Xander Bogaerts, BOS
Second: Bo Bichette, TOR
Third: Carlos Correa, HOU

The same player hasn’t started consecutive All-Star Games at shortstop for the AL since Derek Jeter from 2006-10, and that trend will continue this year, with ‘19 starter Jorge Polanco not among the finalists. While Bogaerts and Correa have started once before — Bogaerts in 2016 and Correa in ‘17 — Bichette is looking to crash the party for the first time.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
First: Fernando Tatis Jr., SD
Second: Javier Báez, CHC
Third: Brandon Crawford, SF

Tatis, the Padres’ 22-year-old superstar, continues to turn heads with his dynamic skill set, although he has some stiff competition in this race from two resurgent veterans in Báez and Crawford. That duo was the NL’s starting double-play combination in 2018, when Báez was still at the keystone, and the Cubs infielder got the start at shortstop for the Senior Circuit in ’19. Crawford was behind the Dodgers’ Corey Seager by approximately 56,000 votes in the last standings update on June 21, but he pulled ahead on the final day of the Phase 1 voting to grab a spot among the NL shortstop finalists.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
First: Rafael Devers, BOS
Second: Alex Bregman, HOU
Third: Yoán Moncada, CWS

Devers finished 12th in the AL MVP race in 2019 but surprisingly wasn’t selected for the All-Star team that year, so he’s still in search of his first appearance at the Midsummer Classic, as is Moncada. Bregman has two All-Star selections and one start under his belt, but his status for this year’s All-Star Game is in question due to a left quad strain.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
First: Kris Bryant, CHC
Second: Nolan Arenado, STL
Third: Justin Turner, LAD

Eligible for free agency at the end of this season, Bryant has rebounded from a rough 2020 campaign, dazzling at the plate and handling a variety of positions on defense. He last started an All-Star Game in 2016, the same year he won the NL MVP Award. In the three All-Star Games since, it’s been Arenado starting at third base for the NL. Turner, who continues to perform at a high level at age 36, made his only All-Star team as a reserve in 2017.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
First: Mike Trout, LAA
Second: Aaron Judge, NYY
Third: Byron Buxton, MIN
Fourth: Michael Brantley, HOU
Fifth: Adolis García, TEX
Sixth: Teoscar Hernández, TOR
Seventh: Cedric Mullins, BAL
Eighth: Alex Verdugo, BOS
Ninth: Randal Grichuk, TOR

Trout has been sidelined since mid-May with a left calf strain, but he was still the leading vote-getter among AL outfielders in Phase 1. The question now is whether he’ll be back for the All-Star Game. Trout, Judge and Brantley are the only AL outfield finalists who have made an All-Star team previously.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
First: Ronald Acuña Jr., ATL
Second: Nick Castellanos, CIN
Third: Jesse Winker, CIN
Fourth: Mookie Betts, LAD
Fifth: Chris Taylor, LAD
Sixth: Juan Soto, WSH
Seventh: Bryce Harper, PHI
Eighth: Joc Pederson, CHC
Ninth: Mike Yastrzemski, SF

In the hunt for his second straight All-Star start, Acuña was the NL’s leading vote-getter in Phase 1. Yastrzemski was 16th in the NL outfield standings on June 21, but a late surge made him a finalist. It would be the first All-Star start for Yaz, as well as Castellanos, Pederson, Soto, Taylor and Winker.