MLB All-Star Voting 2015: End Date and Time, Latest Projected Leaders

Crunch time has arrived in regards to 2015 MLB All-Star Game voting, with only hours remaining for fans to vote their favorite player into the illustrious field before the polls close late Thursday night.

Although not much time is left, there are plenty of races in both the American League and National League that are coming down to the wire. Just a handful of votes separate some of the starting lineup slots from reserve players, ensuring a tight finish to the voting.

Although voting ends soon, the public will have to wait until Sunday to find out who is starting and Monday to hear the complete field. With that said, let's take one last look at the MLB All-Star voting and who to expect in the starting lineup for each league.

2015 MLB All-Star Voting

End Date and Time: Thursday, July 2 at 11:59 p.m. ET

Projected Starting Lineup

American League (Current Votes)	Position	National League
Salvador Perez, Kansas City Royals	C	Buster Posey, San Francisco Giants
Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers	1B	Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona Diamondbacks
Omar Infante, Kansas City Royals	2B	Dee Gordon, Miami Marlins
Alcides Escobar, Kansas City Royals	SS	Jhonny Peralta, St. Louis Cardinals
Josh Donaldson, Toronto Blue Jays	3B	Todd Frazier, Cincinnati Reds
Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels	OF	Bryce Harper, Washington Nationals
Lorenzo Cain, Kansas City Royals	OF	Giancarlo Stanton, Miami Marlins
Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals	OF	Matt Holliday, St. Louis Cardinals
Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners	DH (AL Only)	-
Chris Archer, Tampa Bay Rays	SP	Max Scherzer, Washington Nationals

The final All-Star Game voting numbers in anticipation for the Thursday night deadline have been released by MLB.com, and they set up a number of down-to-the-wire battles for starting positions across the board.

As has been the case virtually all season, though, the Kansas City Royals are still the talk of baseball when it comes to the All-Star voting. Once slated to field starters for almost every lineup spot on the AL side, the Royals now look likely to field just five of the eight field starters (ho, hum).

When you compare it to where the franchise has been in recent years, it's pretty incredible five fielders could be a lock to start, as the Kansas City Star's Andy McCullough noted:

It won't be five without another starving fanbase trying to give them a run for their money, however. Second baseman Omar Infante is ahead of the Houston Astros' Jose Altuve by just more than 200,000 votes, which means the AL's stolen-base leader needs a late surge to cut down the Royals' All-Star group.

Pat Sullivan/Associated Press

While the Royals and their fans have dominated voting, they can't hold a candle to what Josh Donaldson is doing. His incredible debut season with the Toronto Blue Jays has helped to make him the biggest vote-getter in the event's history, surpassing Josh Hamilton's tally of more than 11 million from 2012.

Donaldson's dominance this season has carried over into the stat sheet, prompting Peter Gammons to laud two other potential All-Stars who aren't getting the same love:

Donaldson isn't alone in having his starting spot all but wrapped up, but there are plenty of other tight races to follow in the closing hours. 

While stars such as Bryce Harper and Mike Trout are well in front, other races could come down to the last moment. One of which is at third base in the National League, with the All-Star hosts hoping to get one of their own in.

The Cincinnati Reds hope their late push to get third baseman Todd Frazier into the starting lineup won't fall on deaf ears, as they try to continue the recent tradition of at least one hometown starter in each All-Star Game. He currently trails Matt Carpenter for the starting spot by just over 60,000 votes.

Of course, the Reds are all over it on social media:

With the 51-26 Cardinals already likely to field starters in Matt Holliday and Jhonny Peralta, perhaps they could concede one spot for the cause. They probably won't have to, with the Reds going all out to ensure they get a hometown starter into the mix.

Last-day comebacks shouldn't be a regular occurrence with so many starters well in front, but expect Frazier to be one who eliminates the deficit.