Aaron Judge is Yankees’ only AL starter in first All-Star voting update

It might only be June 12th, but the 93rd edition of the Major League Baseball All-Star Game is less than a month away. MLB is currently in the voting stage of determining starters, and Phase 1 began at the end of May. Now with close to two weeks of votes in, the league has released its first update on the leaders at each position.

Of the nine Yankees on the ballot, the only one currently projected to start at his position is no surprise: defending American League MVP Aaron Judge. Although he missed 10 games in late-April/early-May due to a a minor hip injury and has been out since last Saturday with a concerning sprained toe, the Yankees’ captain has absolutely raked. In 49 games, he leads the AL in homers with 19 homers, a .674 slugging percentage, a 1.078 OPS, and a 193 OPS+.

Judge currently sits in first place among all AL outfielders with 844,965 votes. Since his timetable for returning from his toe injury is unclear, it’s also hazy as to whether or not he would even start at the Midsummer Classic in Seattle, but he’s in good shape to potentially get the honor regardless. However, unlike last year, he might not get the automatic entry from leading the American League in Phase 1 voting. That title currently goes to 2021 AL MVP and two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani, who has 924,182 votes at DH.

Here’s where the other Yankees stand among their positions. Given that none of them have really been starring, it’s unsurprising that they’re not terribly close. Anthony Rizzo looked better prior to his recent 0-for-24, but so it goes.

• Catcher: Jose Trevino ranks ninth (107,304); On pace for Phase 2 are the Orioles’ Adley Rutschman (460,496) and the Rangers’ Jonah Heim (320,028)
• First base: Anthony Rizzo ranks third (321,765); On pace for Phase 2 are the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (545,976) and the Rays’ Yandy Díaz (533,179)
• Second base: Gleyber Torres ranks fourth (171,173); On pace for Phase 2 are the Rangers’ Marcus Semien (707,712) and the Astros’ Jose Altuve (363,013)
• Third base: DJ LeMahieu ranks eighth (129,178); On pace for Phase 2 are the Blue Jays’ Matt Chapman (475,322) and the Rangers’ Josh Jung (470,836)
• Shortstop: Anthony Volpe ranks seventh (114,842); On pace for Phase 2 are the Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette (775,221) and the Rangers’ Corey Seager (376,659)
• Designated hitter: Giancarlo Stanton ranks sixth (112,608); On pace for Phase 2 are the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (924,182) and the Blue Jays’ Brandon Belt (205,659)

In the outfield, Judge leads with 844,965 among the six AL outfielders on pace for Phase 2 (Angels’ Mike Trout, 598,918; Astros’ Yordan Alvarez, 571,986; Rays’ Randy Arozarena, 532,489; Blue Jays’ Kevin Kiermaier, 322,341; Rangers’ Adolis García, 300,968), with only teammate Harrison Bader also in the Top 20 (16th, 137,655).

As a reminder, fans don’t get to vote on pitchers. So Gerrit Cole might join Judge at the All-Star Game via manager or player selection, as could standout reliever Michael King. We won’t know about that until sometime in early July though.

See the results for all positions below: