2011 MLB All-Star Voting: AL Position By Position Leaders

The MLB All-Star teams will be announced on July 3rd, but until then, it is uncertain who will make the teams. Players are chosen by fan voting, which means that the best player does not always make it.

Fan favorites get voted in when they occasionally don't deserve it, and players who are having outstanding years occasionally miss out.

Here are the leaders of the American League All-Star voting as of June 21. The National League list can be found here.

Catcher: Russell Martin (2,226,797 Votes)

After the past two seasons, many people believed that Russell Martin was done. He has returned to the form he had earlier in his career, albeit with a much lower batting average. Martin has nine home runs, 30 RBI and a .238 batting average.

Martin is not the most deserving catcher in the American League, but it helps that he plays for the Yankees. Alex Avila (1,730,511 votes) is having an outstanding year. Avila is batting .305 with nine home runs and 41 RBI.

First Base: Adrian Gonzalez (3,017,960 Votes)

The American League has three elite first baseman in Gonzalez, Miguel Cabrera (1,771,893 votes), and Mark Teixeira (2,407,665 votes). While all three are having strong seasons, Gonzalez is deserving of being in first place.

Teixeira has 21 home runs, but just a .251 batting average. Meanwhile, Gonzalez is batting an American League leading .353 with 15 home runs and 67 RBI.

Second Base: Robinson Cano (3,664,498 Votes)

Cano is having a great season this year. He is batting .295 with 14 home runs and 47 RBI. His only problem is that he has a 4.7 percent walk rate this year. Based on WAR though, Cano is the fifth best second baseman in the AL.

Ben Zobrist (828,711 votes), who is fifth in the AL shortstop voting, is actual the American League's best shortstop based on WAR. He has a 3.6 WAR on the year.

Shortstop: Derek Jeter (2,654,040 Votes)

With the Yankees captain closing in on 3,000 career hits, is it really any surprise that he is the AL's leading vote-getter for the American League shortstop position in the All-Star Game. Jeter has struggled this year as he is hitting just .260 with two home runs and 39 runs scored.

Asdrubal Cabrera is one of the best shortstops in the American League. He is hitting .295 with 12 home runs, 11 stolen bases and 43 RBI. Based on WAR, the American League's best shortstop is Alexei Ramirez and he is not even in the top five of the All-Star voting.

Third Base: Alex Rodriguez (2,876,537 Votes)

Rodriguez is the one of the Yankees that is deserving of his place atop of the All-Star voting at his position. He is having an outstanding first half. Rodriguez has 13 home runs and 44 RBI while posting a .292 batting average.

Trailing Rodriguez is Adrian Beltre (2,307,380 votes). Like Rodriguez he is having a good season, but he has not performed at the same level as Rodriguez. Beltre has a .267 batting average with 12 home runs and 53 RBI.

Outfield: Jose Bautista (4,156,940 Votes)

Bautista is the leading vote getter in both the American League and in all of baseball. He absolutely deserves this. Many people doubted that Bautista could repeat his numbers from last year, but he is on pace to come close to them.

Bautista is hitting .330 with 21 home runs and 46 RBI. He has an MLB-leading 4.5 WAR on the year.

Outfield: Curtis Granderson (3,473,227 Votes)

Granderson is the other New York Yankee who is absolutely deserving of his spot in the All-Star game. He has been the second best outfielder in the American League this year behind Bautista.

He has matched Bautista's 21 home runs and Granderson also has 54 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Granderson is hitting .280 on the year.

Outfielder: Josh Hamilton (2,400,408 Votes)

When he is healthy, Hamilton is one of the best outfielders in baseball. The problem is that Hamilton has played in only 37 games this season. His numbers have been impressive though as he has five home runs, 31 RBI and a .290 batting average.

The problem is that there are other players who have stayed healthy and are deserving of a spot on the Al-Star team. Jacoby Ellsbury (2,249,323 votes) has put up fantastic numbers this season, as has Brett Gardner (1,120,179 votes). Either of these guys should have a slight edge over Hamilton at this point.

Designated Hitter: David Ortiz (3,116,578 Votes)

Ortiz has had a monster first half of the season. He is batting .323 with 17 home runs and 48 RBI. He is a big reason why the Red Sox have been able turn their season around after a very slow start.

There is not much competition for Big Papi for the DH position. Michael Young (1,760,195 votes) has had a good year and has been a bit underrated. Young has batted .307 this year with three home runs and 45 RBI. However, Ortiz is more deserving of the All-Star nod.