A.J. Pollock lone D-back in first return of All-Star votes
Jun 11, 2018, 10:21 AM | Updated: 10:22 am
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The Arizona Diamondbacks do not have much representation in the first return on All-Star balloting.
Outfielder A.J. Pollock was ranked 13th among National League outfielders with 110,055 votes. Pollock, who is on the disabled list with a thumb injury, is hitting .293 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI for Arizona.
Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals (498,189), Atlanta’s Nick Markakis (494,206) and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers (351,780) make up the top three vote-getters in the NL outfield.
Paul Goldschmidt, of course, got off to a very slow start this season, hitting under .200 at one point in late May.
This cost him in the votes, as he’s not even one of the top five first basemen in votes. He has recovered in June, hitting .500 through nine games and bumping his average all the way up to .254.
Even if Goldschmidt continues his incredible pace in June through to the All-Star break, it’s unlikely he will catch Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman to start. Freeman leads all players with 633,342 votes.
Chicago’s Anthony Rizzo, San Francisco’s Brandon Belt, Los Angeles’ Cody Bellinger and Cincinnati’s Joey Votto make up the top-five.
Pitchers are not voted on by the fans, where Patrick Corbin is expected to represent the team if his form continues. The left-hander is 6-2 with a 2.87 ERA this year. While non-closers rarely make it out of the bullpen, Archie Bradley has a 2.30 ERA in 31.1 innings and Yoshihisa Hirano has an even better 1.61 ERA through 28.0 innings.
The next voting update will be on June 18.
