Milwaukee Brewers' Christian Yelich, William Contreras Move On in All-Star Voting

Catcher William Contreras and outfielder Christian Yelich were among the leading vote-getters at their positions in the National League, keeping the pair of Milwaukee Brewers in contention to reach the All-Star Game.

Jun 22, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; Milwaukee Brewers left fielder Christian Yelich (22) looks on from the dugout during the third inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Brewers are riding high as the 2024 regular season nears its midpoint, and two of their best bats are earning praise as a result.

Phase 1 of voting for the MLB All-Star Game has come to a close, and the league announced the results Thursday evening. The top two vote-getters at each position – or top six for outfielders – were named finalists, and catcher William Contreras and outfielder Christian Yelich both made the cut in the National League.

Contreras will go head-to-head with Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto with the starting backstop job on the line. In each of the first two voting updates issued by the league earlier this month, Contreras was ahead of Realmuto.

While the vote totals are resetting when Phase 2 gets underway, Realmuto has been on the injured list ever since undergoing meniscus surgery on June 12, and he may not be healthy enough to add to his stats prior to the All-Star Game.

Contreras is batting .292 with nine home runs, 49 RBI, an .794 OPS and a 2.1 WAR through 75 games this season. He leads qualified NL catchers in hits, RBI, total bases and batting average while ranking second in home runs and OPS.

The 26-year-old made his first and only All-Star appearance with the Atlanta Braves in 2022. He won a Silver Slugger and placed 11th in NL MVP voting in 2023.

Yelich is no stranger to making the All-Star Game, doing so twice in his career, although he hasn't gone to the Midsummer Classic since 2019.

After batting .327 with a 1.046 OPS between 2018 and 2019 – winning the NL MVP one year and finishing runner-up the next – Yelich went on to bat .243 with a .753 OPS from 2020 to 2022. His bat came back to life in 2023, though, and the 32-year-old has continued to rake here in 2024.

Yelich is currently batting .325 with seven home runs, 34 RBI, 16 stolen bases, an .892 OPS and a 1.8 WAR through 55 games.

The other five NL outfielder finalists are the San Diego Padres' Jurickson Profar, the Los Angeles Dodgers' Teoscar Hernández and the Phillies' Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos. Yelich had been running in second behind Profar ever since voting started.

All-Star Game finalists!

Phase 2 voting opens Sunday, June 30 at 12 pm ET: https://t.co/dMMnsOXZ3w pic.twitter.com/pKfLRa0XFY

— MLB (@MLB) June 27, 2024

Phase 2 of All-Star voting begins Sunday at 12 p.m. ET. Fans are permitted to vote a maximum of once a day through July 3, when the AL and NL starting lineups will be announced on ESPN.

Pitchers and reserves will then be selected by the Commissioner’s Office, which will reveal its picks on July 7.

The 2024 MLB All-Star Game is set to take place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, on June 16.

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