The Toronto Blue Jays will be well-represented at this year’s All-Star Game in Seattle.
Major League Baseball released its first All-Star ballot update on Monday and Bo Bichette, Matt Chapman, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. are currently leading their respective positions in terms of votes.
Bichette has been Toronto’s best player so far this season. He leads the American League with 91 hits and a .317 batting average and his 14 home runs through 67 games has him on pace to set a new career high. He’s a no-brainer to be named to the second All-Star Team of his career, but Bichette’s competition for the AL’s starting shortstop position is Wander Franco of the Tampa Bay Rays, who boasts similar offensive numbers but better defence.
Chapman and Guerrero Jr. both got off to blazing starts in April but have cooled off since. Chapman has nine home runs with a slash line of .269/.349/.475 and Guerrero Jr. has nine home runs with a slash line of .283/.353/.446. Chapman’s top competition for the AL’s starting third base position is Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez while Yandy Diaz of the Tampa Bay Rays and Nathaniel Lowe of the Texas Rangers have good cases at first base.
Elsewhere, there are a couple of former Blue Jays who are leading their respective positions in All-Star voting. Marcus Semien is having a huge season for the Rangers and leads the way at second base while Lourdes Gurriel’s strong start with the Arizona Diamondbacks has him leading the way for one of the outfield spots in the National League.
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