With only a couple of days left in the first phase of All-Star fan voting, Orioles star Adley Rutschman remains the leading vote recipient among American League catchers.
The top two players at each position — top six in the outfield — as of noon Thursday advance to a second phase to determine the position players who will start the July 11 All-Star Game at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park. Rutschman is comfortably positioned to advance, with his 895,217 votes as of Tuesday’s update about 250,000 more than Kansas City’s Salvador Perez and Texas’ Jonah Heim. The gap between Perez and Heim, about 2,200 votes, is the closest AL race to determine who will advance at any position.
The winner of the head-to-head second phase will start the Midsummer Classic. Rutschman, 25, would be the first Orioles catcher to win the fan vote since Matt Wieters in 2014 and become the third to start the All-Star game, joining Gus Triandos in 1958 and 1959 and Terry Kennedy in 1987.
The first overall pick in the 2019 draft, Rutschman entered Tuesday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays batting .280 with an .824 OPS, 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. With 47 walks — one off the AL lead — against 41 strikeouts, Rutschman is one of five qualified hitters with more walks than strikeouts. Cleveland third baseman José Ramírez is the only other such player in the AL.
If Rutschman holds onto his lead and wins the finalist stage, his first All-Star appearance would come in the closest major league ballpark to his hometown of Sherwood, Oregon.
Rutschman will likely be the only Oriole to reach the next phase of voting, based on Tuesday’s update. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle, second baseman Adam Frazier, shortstop Jorge Mateo and designated hitter Gunnar Henderson are all eighth at their respective positions, and third baseman Ramón Urías is 10th. Despite leading the AL in batting average, Austin Hays is 15th among AL outfielders in voting, and Cedric Mullins is 19th.
Reserves and pitching staffs are determined by votes from players and the Commissioner’s Office. Along with Hays, Baltimore right-handed pitchers Tyler Wells, Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano all have strong cases to make their first All-Star teams.
()