Buying or Selling the Fans' Picks From 1st-Round of MLB All-Star 2023 Voting Results
Voting for the 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game began on May 29, with Phase 1 of that vote ending next Thursday (June 22) at noon ET.
And this week, we got our first look at the ballot standings with a top 20 for each league's outfield and a top 10 for each other position. (Except pitching, but we'll discuss that in a bit.)
Before we go any further, let's address that Phase 1 business.
When Phase 1 ends, the top two vote-getters at each position (top six in the outfield) will advance to Phase 2 to determine who starts in Seattle. Phase 2 voting will run for 72 hours from noon ET on June 26 through noon ET on June 29, with the winners announced that night at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.
One caveat: The top overall vote-getter in each league automatically gets a starting spot without needing to partake in Phase 2. As things stand, those players are Atlanta OF Ronald Acuña Jr. in the NL and Angels DH/RHP Shohei Ohtani in the AL.
But how well did the fans do in the first two weeks of voting?
Are we in a good position to have the actual best players involved in that Phase 2 vote?
Or are the fans in Atlanta and Toronto getting a little too carried away with their right to vote?
For each position, we'll either buy or sell the current starter(s), while also highlighting one player at each position from each league.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics are current through the start of play Wednesday.
Catcher
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NL Catcher (Buying)
1. Sean Murphy, Braves - 603,501
2. Will Smith, Dodgers - 419,587
3. Elias Díaz, Rockies - 168,163
4. Francisco Alvarez, Mets - 167,708
5. J.T. Realmuto, Phillies - 161,838
The fans definitely have this one right, with Murphy all alone in first place and Smith all alone as the only viable challenger to him. Murphy would be a legitimate candidate for NL MVP were it not for his teammate, Ronald Acuña Jr., running away with the award.
But it is stunning to see Realmuto all the way down in fifth place, even below Colorado's catcher Elias Díaz—a team that otherwise doesn't have a single player in the top nine of the vote at any position.
Perhaps hitting for the cycle the night after the initial wave of votes was published will be the spark the three-time All-Star needs to at least climb into third place in the next tabulation. But he won't make it to Phase 2.
AL Catcher (Buying)
1. Adley Rutschman, Orioles - 460,4962
2. Jonah Heim, Rangers - 320,028
3. Salvador Perez, Royals - 312,615
4. Alejandro Kirk, Blue Jays - 258,580
5. Martín Maldonado, Astros - 154,799
First of all, the lack of love for Cal "Big Dumper" Raleigh is surprising. Mariners fans have stuffed the ballot boxes to get José Caballero over 100,000 votes, but their slugging catcher with an awesome nickname can't even crack the top five? Weird.
It wouldn't matter, though, because Rutschman is going to win this by a mile. He has one of the best on-base percentages in baseball and has been the most valuable position player for a team that is simply refusing to let Tampa Bay run away with the AL East.
The real question is: How many All-Star Game rosters will Rutschman crack in his career? Yogi Berra (15), Johnny Bench (14), Iván Rodríguez (14), Mike Piazza (12), Gary Carter (11), Bill Dickey (11), Bill Freehan (11), Roy Campanella (11), Carlton Fisk (11) and Yadier Molina (10) all cracked double digits, in case you were wondering.
First Base
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NL First Baseman (Buying)
1. Freddie Freeman, Dodgers - 775,503
2. Pete Alonso, Mets - 377,749
3. Matt Olson, Braves - 272,275
4. Paul Goldschmidt, Cardinals - 178,238
5. Trey Mancini, Cubs - 79,229
Freeman is the deserved leader by a landslide.
Maybe the reigning NL MVP Goldschmidt should be ahead of both Alonso and Olson instead of hanging out in fourth place with 11 home runs, seven stolen bases and an .879 OPS. However, Goldy doesn't belong in Freeman's layer of the stratosphere, so whatever.
But what in the name of all that is holy is Mancini doing in fifth place here? There aren't many NL first basemen playing great this season, but let's be sure to throw the occasional vote to Christian Walker and/or LaMonte Wade Jr. to fix that debacle.
AL First Baseman (Selling)
1. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays - 545,976
2. Yandy Díaz, Rays - 533,179
3. Anthony Rizzo, Yankees - 321,765
4. Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers - 192,643
5. Ty France, Mariners - 132,393
The gap between Guerrero and Díaz is almost nonexistent, so this injustice might correct itself in the next refresh.
And I can appreciate why Guerrero holds a slight edge. He put on that incredible show in the 2019 Home Run Derby and was the first runner-up to Shohei Ohtani for the 2021 AL MVP. He's also the son of a Hall of Famer and has a much bigger fanbase in Toronto than Díaz has in Tampa Bay.
As far as this season is concerned, though, it's not even close.
As one of the most important players for the team with the best record, Díaz has been the much better hitter, boasting an OPS (.926) that crushes Guerrero's (.798). He has also been better in the field, even making the occasional appearance at third base.
Certainly not going to argue that every Tampa Bay Ray deserves to be an All-Star Game starter, but this one should be.
Second Base
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NL Second Baseman (Selling)
1. Luis Arráez, Marlins - 509,092
2. Ozzie Albies, Braves - 376,726
3. Nolan Gorman, Cardinals - 245,524
4. Miguel Vargas, Dodgers - 142,182
5. Jeff McNeil, Mets - 126,924
Listen, I love Arráez, and I would cherish the opportunity to spend the entire month of September watching every single one of his plate appearances in the quest for a .400 batting average. He should be no worse than a reserve on the ASG roster.
But Thairo Estrada has been the best second baseman in the National League, and it's a crime he isn't even in the top five of this vote.
After another two-hit performance Wednesday, Estrada is batting .296/.347/.485 with nine home runs and 15 stolen bases. He entered the day tied with Arráez with 111 total bases, even though the Marlin has 24 more hits. Throw in the baserunning and the better defense, and Estrada should have the edge.
Frankly, none of this top five makes much sense. Neither McNeil nor Vargas belong anywhere in the conversation. Nico Hoerner, Ha-Seong Kim and Jonathan India have all been better than those two. And Gorman has been slightly better than Albies in basically every statistical category, though it's clear from these early totals that Atlanta's fans take their job of voting for their players very seriously.
AL Second Baseman (Buying)
1. Marcus Semien, Rangers - 707,712
2. José Altuve, Astros - 363,013
3. Whit Merrifield, Blue Jays - 286,799
4. Gleyber Torres, Yankees - 171,173
5. Brandon Drury, Angels - 146,476
Thank goodness fans have noticed how well Semien is playing this season, because Altuve has no business being on this list—let alone atop it—after not making his season debut until May 19 and hitting just .266 through 16 games played.
Altuve is an eight-time All-Star who finished fifth in the AL MVP vote last season and won it in 2017. There will always be a "legacy" element to All-Star voting. (See: Miguel Cabrera in seventh place for AL DH.)
But Semien is the pick this year. Full stop.
Third Base
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NL Third Baseman (Buying)
1. Nolan Arenado, Cardinals - 410,122
2. Austin Riley, Braves - 368,044
3. Max Muncy, Dodgers - 358,235
4. J.D. Davis, Giants - 227,536
5. Manny Machado, Padres - 191,629
Arenado did get out to a rather terrible start to the season, which explains the relative lack of votes for a seven-time All-Star. (Also, the Cardinals have the worst record in the National League.)
Through 36 games, he had just three home runs and a .620 OPS. But he caught fire in mid-May and entered Wednesday with 10 home runs a 1.109 OPS dating back to May 12.
That was more than enough for Arenado to retake the reins at a position lacking for quality candidates. Muncy has 18 home runs but is batting just .191. Chicago's Patrick Wisdom (14 HR, .198 AVG) is in a similar boat. And though Machado is starting to heat up, he has a lot of ground to cover to even be worth considering ahead of Arenado.
AL Third Baseman (Buying)
1. Matt Chapman, Blue Jays - 475,322
2. Josh Jung, Rangers - 470,836
3. Rafael Devers, Red Sox - 221,310
4. Alex Bregman, Astros - 187,388
5. Anthony Rendon, Angels - 147,258
...
9. José Ramírez, Guardians - 100,097
Has anyone told the fans in Cleveland that All-Star voting has begun?
Ramírez is putting up numbers well on par with what got him a top-six finish in five of the last six AL MVP votes. He entered Wednesday worth 2.1 fWAR, good for second among third basemen, just 0.1 behind Chapman. Yet, he is merely in ninth place in this vote, and was the only Guardian to place ninth or better at any position.
At worst, this should be a three-horse race between him, Toronto's two-time Platinum Glove recipient and Texas' rookie phenom.
From what we've got, though, I could go either way on the order of Chapman and Jung, but I agree with the Blue Jay holding a slight edge for now. With a gap of fewer than 4,500 votes, though, this is the one most likely to go right down to the wire.
Shortstop
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NL Shortstop (Buying)
1. Orlando Arcia, Braves - 406,509
2. Francisco Lindor, Mets - 302,051
3. Xander Bogaerts, Padres - 209,144
4. Matt McLain, Reds - 200,152
5. Dansby Swanson, Cubs - 197,569
Arcia as the NL's starting shortstop is...fine.
He missed nearly a month with a fractured wrist, though it didn't cause him to miss a beat. He was batting .333 at the time of that April 12 injury, and after four hits in Wednesday's doubleheader, he is still hitting .333 for the year.
Impressive stuff from a player who entered the season as a career .243 hitter and most of us expected to be Atlanta's Plan B at shortstop behind Vaughn Grissom.
To be clear, though, the gap between the best NL shortstop and the seventh-best NL shortstop is negligible. As disappointing as Trea Turner has been for the Phillies, he could still storm back to win this vote with a strong second half of June.
It might be too late for Elly De La Cruz to pull it off, but maybe not. Goodness knows we've spent enough time this season talking about the Reds' recent callup.
AL Shortstop (Selling)
1. Bo Bichette, Blue Jays - 775,221
2. Corey Seager, Rangers - 376,659
3. Wander Franco, Rays - 226,629
4. Jeremy Peña, Astros - 172,258
5. J.P. Crawford, Mariners - 123,364
Even with more than twice as many votes as any other AL shortstop, it often feels like Bichette is still being underappreciated.
Still just 25 years old, he led the AL in hits in both 2021 and 2022. He is currently leading the majors in that department and ranks first in the AL in batting average (.316).
But there is no way he should be this far ahead of Franco, whom FanGraphs rates as the most valuable player in the American League, and whom Baseball-Reference rates as the most valuable position player in the majors.
Were this vote identical to the AL third baseman vote with Bichette just a couple thousand tallies ahead of Franco, I'd be OK with it. Both young AL East shortstops are worthy. However, this divide is ridiculous.
Also, I cannot comprehend how Franco is down in the low 200k range while teammates Yandy Díaz and Randy Arozarena are each well clear of half a million votes. Fans shouldn't be expected to vote "along party lines," if you will, but it's strange that Tampa Bay's biggest star isn't getting the love that its second tier of stars is receiving.
Designated Hitter
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NL Designated Hitter (Buying)
1. J.D. Martinez, Dodgers - 412,373
2. Bryce Harper, Phillies - 380,345
3. Travis d'Arnaud, Braves - 221,543
4. Jorge Soler, Marlins - 170,483
5. Christopher Morel, Cubs - 114,897
Though Soler (19) has more home runs than Martinez (16), and though Harper (.396) has a more impressive OBP than Martinez (.306), it's kind of hard to go against the guy who is leading the National League in slugging percentage (.610) while darn near also leading the league in RBI (47 to Pete Alonso's 49).
One thing you have to love about Martinez is he doesn't waste his time with plain ol' singles. The breakdown of his 53 hits is: 18 singles, 17 doubles, 16 home runs and two triples.
Not too shabby for a guy the Red Sox seemed to think couldn't hit anymore.
AL Designated Hitter (Buying)
1. Shohei Ohtani, Angels - 924,182
2. Brandon Belt, Blue Jays - 205,659
3. Robbie Grossman, Rangers - 129,623
4. Corey Julks, Astros - 116,842
5. Harold Ramírez, Rays - 112,860
Only two things worth mentioning here, in what really should be the most unanimous All-Star vote of all-time.
1) It's weird that Ohtani isn't leading all players in total votes, currently over 162,000 votes behind Ronald Acuña Jr. for that crown. Not only do we talk about Ohtani seemingly every hour of every day, but you would think he would be especially dominating the international vote.
2) If ever there was a spot to toss a vote in Oakland's direction, it would be Brent Rooker for DH. But that didn't happen, as not a single Athletic finished top 10 at C/1B/2B/3B/SS/DH, nor top 20 in the outfield. They were the only team with no one to be found in this initial vote count.
NL Outfield
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National League Outfielders (Buying Two of the Three Starters)
1. Ronald Acuña Jr., Braves - 1,086,537
2. Mookie Betts, Dodgers - 676,491
3. Lourdes Gurriel Jr., D-backs - 367,348
4. Juan Soto, Padres - 339,009
5. Corbin Carroll, D-backs - 232,565
6. Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres - 207,474
7. Michael Harris II, Braves - 192,261
8. Cody Bellinger, Cubs - 187,828
9. Nick Castellanos, Phillies - 186,503
10. Seiya Suzuki, Cubs - 170,013
At least as far as FanGraphs is concerned, the three starting outfielders in the National League could not be more clear-cut: Carroll (3.5 fWAR), Acuña (3.2) and Betts (3.0) were the only players who entered Wednesday north of 2.1, indisputably leading the pack.
But the voters managed to pick the wrong Diamondback in going with Gurriel over Carroll.
To be fair, when voting opened on May 29, it was plenty defensible to go with Gurriel. At the time, he was batting .319 with nine home runs while Carroll was sitting at .283 with eight home runs.
Over the past two-plus weeks, though, Carroll has found his form, batting .420 with 12 extra-base hits and five stolen bases. He's now hitting .313 for the year with the second-best OPS in baseball (.998), 14 home runs and 19 stolen bases, leaving Gurriel in the dust as the obvious choice among Diamondback outfielders.
But it's worth revisiting the new ASG voting format here.
For outfielders, the top six vote-getters when voting closes at noon ET on June 22 will advance to Phase 2 of the voting process, with the three starters being chosen from that tiny pool the following week. However, if the league's top overall vote-getter is an outfielder—which will almost certainly be true of Acuña at this point—he automatically becomes one of the starters, with the outfield vote then becoming the top remaining four players for two spots.
So, as long as Carroll finishes top five, there's still a good chance he'll be an All-Star Game starter as a rookie. And with the way he has played as of late for the best team in the National League, one would hope that won't be a problem.
That said, get out and rock the vote, because we all know Atlanta fans are going to continue stuffing the ballots and might get Harris ahead of Carroll, which would be a travesty with the numbers he has put up through his sophomore slump.
AL Outfield
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American League Outfielders (Buying Two of the Three Starters)
1. Aaron Judge, Yankees - 844,965
2. Mike Trout, Angels - 598,918
3. Yordan Álvarez, Astros - 571,986
4. Randy Arozarena, Rays - 532,489
5. Kevin Kiermaier, Blue Jays - 322,341
6. Adolis García, Rangers - 300,968
7. George Springer, Blue Jays - 275,512
8. Masataka Yoshida, Red Sox - 268,969
9. Julio Rodríguez, Mariners - 221,092
10. Daulton Varsho, Blue Jays - 216,643
Let me start this section with a hearty "holy shirts and pants" at the realization Luis Robert Jr. doesn't even appear in the top 20. While he hasn't been "must be an ASG starter" good, he at least belongs in the top 10 and probably the top five.
But White Sox fans clearly could not care less about this All-Star Game, as their only players who showed up were Yasmani Grandal at 10th among catchers and Jake Burger at 10th among designated hitters, neither of whom even got 60,000 votes.
Among the rest of the AL outfielders, the only slight gripe is that Trout should not be in the top three ahead of Arozarena. But Trout does belong in the top six, so no big deal.
Plus, the gap between Trout at No. 2 and Arozarena at No. 4 is pretty small, and it most likely will not matter anyway with the current No. 3 vote-getter (Álvarez) expected to be on the IL until right around the All-Star break. Even if Álvarez's absence doesn't cause him to fade in the voting, it's a safe assumption he would be replaced on the roster due to the injury.
Aside from that, Kiermaier at No. 5 is a bit high. I'd love to see Tampa Bay's Josh Lowe (currently 12th in the vote) in that spot instead, because a six-man Phase 2 ballot of Judge, Trout, Alvarez, Arozarena, Lowe and García would be perfect.
Starting Pitchers
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Pitching Votes: Error 404 Not Found
How dumb is it that we don't get to vote on pitchers for the All-Star Game?
I could appreciate it back in the day when all of the fan voting was done via those hanging chad ballots, and it would have been outrageous to try to include the litany of possible pitchers on that thing.
But we can't handle it now when everything is done digitally?
Really?
Just to add one more argument to this article, we're going to pretend that we actually do get a vote for who starts on the mound in the All-Star Game, and we'll give you our top four choices for each league.
AL Starting Pitcher
1. Shane McClanahan, Tampa Bay Rays
2. Sonny Gray, Minnesota Twins
3. Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers
4. Gerrit Cole, New York Yankees
McClanahan is having yet another terrific season, sitting at 10-1 with a 2.18 ERA. He had some issues with walks earlier in the year, but he has issued just six free passes over his last five starts, taking the reins for AL Cy Young.
Gray is only slightly behind McClanahan with a 2.25 ERA, having the best season of his career at 33 years old. He has allowed just one home run all season.
But if you want to give the first pitch to Eovaldi (2.49 ERA) as a tip o' the cap for being the only pitcher with multiple complete games this season, I'm for it.
NL Starting Pitcher
1. Spencer Strider, Atlanta Braves
2. Zac Gallen, Arizona Diamondbacks
3. Marcus Stroman, Chicago Cubs
4. Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles Dodgers
Strider's ERA has ballooned a bit over the past month, but he's still averaging 14.5 K/9. If anyone should be on the mound trying to throw flames by what might be a top of the order of Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, we want it to be Strider.
Gallen has also hit a rough patch over the past month, twice allowing at least five earned runs in a start. But he has been getting pretty unlucky and still leads all qualified pitchers in FIP.
Stroman getting the start would be fun, though, as he would head straight from the first inning of the All-Star Game to the trade block and then to free agency.
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