Astros: Seven players listed on All-Star starters ballot

CINCINNATI, OHIO - JUNE 19: Michael Brantley #23 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Alex Bregman #2 after hitting a home run in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
CINCINNATI, OHIO - JUNE 19: Michael Brantley #23 of the Houston Astros celebrates with Alex Bregman #2 after hitting a home run in the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on June 19, 2019 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Seven Astros players have advanced to the voting for the AL All-Star team starters.

In a departure from years past, fans now get to vote only for the starters on each All-Star squad. The first round of voting, in which the top three vote-getters at each position advance to a final vote, has put several Astros in a good position.

In total, seven Astros players are in the final vote, with three of them in a position to possibly end up as All-Star game starters. Note that the players who lose the final vote are not automatically on the All-Star roster as reserves. Rather, the pitchers and reserves are chosen by player ballot and the Commissioner’s office.

Voting for the starters will run from noon ET on Wednesday to 4 p.m. ET on Thursday. Without further ado, here are the seven Astros in the running.

Alex Bregman

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Bregman was by far the top recipient among AL third basemen, tallying more than double the votes of the Yankees’ Gio Urshela, who came in second. Bregman is having an excellent season and is on pace for some gaudy totals. At this point, he looks to be the odds-on favorite to be the starter at third base.

George Springer

Springer was having an MVP-caliber season before getting injured, but he’ll be back soon. If he can pick up where he left off, he could end up in the All-Star game anyway. He finished second in the voting behind Mike Trout despite the time spent on the IL. He carries a .308/.389/.643 batting line with 17 homers in 48 games.

Michael Brantley

Brantley finished right behind Springer in the voting, putting him on track to be the third starter in the outfield. He’s been everything the Astros could have hoped for when they signed him this past offseason, with a .314/.371/.509 batting line on the season.

Robinson Chirinos

Chirinos snuck in with the third-highest vote total among AL catchers, though he’s a long shot to beat out Gary Sanchez in the final vote. He’s posted 2.6 WAR this season thanks to a .234/.366/.489 batting line with 12 homers and 38 RBIs.

Jose Altuve

Altuve somehow finished a close second in the voting at second base, which can largely be attributed to name recognition. Altuve has been injured for a good chunk of the season and hasn’t been his usual self when on the field. He’s hitting just .248/.331/.459 in 48 games this season. Top vote-getter Tommy La Stella is clearly deserving of the honor.

Carlos Correa

Like Altuve, Correa has also spent a good chunk of the season on the IL, but at least he was effective when healthy. He finished second in the voting behind Jorge Polanco thanks to a .295/.360/.547 line with 11 homers in 50 games.

Josh Reddick

It’s a long shot for Reddick to make the starting outfield trio, as he finished eighth among AL outfielders. Still, he’s having a solid season with a .293/.332/.430 batting line in 69 games. There’s a possibility he makes the team as a reserve.

***Statistics courtesy of MLB.com and Baseball-Reference***

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