The first returns for this year's Major League Baseball All-Star Game voting have been released, and they show good news for one local fan favorite.
Indians slugger Jose Ramirez, who started at third base for the American League last year, once again leads among AL third basemen with 443,234 votes. The man in second, New York Yankees rookie Miguel Andujar, has less that half that total after just over a week of voting.
The 25-year-old Ramirez made a late charge last season to earn his first All-Star nod, becoming the first Indian since Juan Gonzalez in 2001 to be voted in as a starter in the Midsummer Classic. He has only gotten better in 2018, with his totals for WAR (4.4), home runs (19), and OPS (1.007), and OPS+ (163) all among baseball's top five.
But Ramirez isn't the only member of the Tribe with a chance to start: Francisco Lindor sits in second among AL shortstops, just over 110,000 votes behind Baltimore's Manny Machado. Additionally, Michael Brantley is fourth among outfielders, although he is far behind New York's Aaron Judge for the last starting spot. Both Lindor and Brantley have twice been selected for the All-Star Game as reserves in the past.
Fans have until July 5 at 11:59 p.m. to vote for their favorite players at Indians.com/vote. The complete rosters (including pitchers, who are not selected by the fans) will be announced days later. Each email account can cast up to five ballots a day and 35 ballots total.
The game itself will take place July 17 in Washington, D.C.