Rafael Devers leads AL third basemen in tight All-Star race
BOSTON -- No one would be surprised to see Rafael Devers start the All-Star Game for the American League in July. But the Red Sox third baseman has some stiff competition if he wants to man the hot corner for the AL.
Devers is currently atop the voting at third base for the American League, but Cleveland's Jose Ramirez isn't far behind. In Tuesday's All-Star voting returns, Devers leads Ramirez by just over 16,000 votes:
1. Rafael Devers, Red Sox: 727,669
2. José Ramírez, Guardians: 711,367
3. Matt Chapman, Blue Jays: 406,182
4. DJ LeMahieu, Yankees: 281,955
5. Alex Bregman, Astros: 245,911
Both third basemen are hitting the cover off the ball to start the 2022 season. Devers leads the Majors with 89 hits and is batting .330 with 16 homers and 43 RBIs. Ramirez also has 16 homers and leads the American League with 62 RBIs to go with his .305 average.
At the moment, Devers would be Boston's only representative in the Midsummer Classic. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts (525,202 votes) is third in the AL behind Toronto's Bo Bichette (585,744) and Chicago's Tim Anderson (528,278). J.D. Martinez (307,706 votes) is also third in the AL DH voting, well behind Houston's Yordan Alvarez (835,669) and Los Anegles' Shohei Ohtani (555,056).
Fan voting makes up Phase 1 of the All-Star process (which will determine one starter from each league and the finalists for Phase 2) and runs through June 30 at 2 p.m. Fans can vote online as many as five times per every 24-hour period in Phase 1.
The leading vote-getters for both leagues won't sit very well with Boston fans. New York's Aaron Judge has more votes than anyone with 1,512,368, which makes a lot of sense considering the Yankees are the best team in baseball at 50-17. It's a former Red Sox world champ and fan favorite who leads all vote-getters in the National League, with Los Angeles' Mookie Betts leading the charge with 1,446,050 votes.
The 2022 MLB All-Star Game will take place at Dodger Stadium on July 19.