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

Outfielder Christian Yelich and catcher William Contreras are being rewarded for their good work so far this season, as the Milwaukee Brewers sluggers have earned the most All-Star votes at their positions so far.

Jun 5, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich (22) bats against the Philadelphia Phillies in the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

The Milwaukee Brewers have gotten out to a hot start in 2024, and two of their top stars are reaping the rewards.

MLB All-Star voting opened up on June 5, and the league issued the first ballot update on Monday. Brewers catcher William Contreras led all National League catchers with 746,461 votes, while Christian Yelich ranked second among NL outfielders with 821,037.

Contreras will have to fend off Philadelphia Phillies catcher JT Realmuto and Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith, as well as his brother – St. Louis Cardinals catcher Willson Contreras.

William Contreras has a 187,837-vote lead over Realmuto, who just hit the injured list. Smith, meanwhile, is 188,491 votes behind Contreras. The Contreras brothers are separated by 597,146 votes.

Contreras is batting .305 with nine home runs, 48 RBI, an .834 OPS and a 2.7 WAR through 70 games this season. He leads NL catchers in hits, RBI, total bases and batting average, ranking second to Smith in home runs and OPS.

The 26-year-old backstop 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, meanwhile, has appeared in two All-Star Games in his career. He earned spots in the Midsummer Classic in 2018 and 2019, when he finished first and second in NL MVP voting and won back-to-back NL batting and OPS titles.

Following up on his resurgent second half in 2023, Yelich has continued to mash in 2024. Yelich is currently hitting .333 with six home runs, 31 RBI, 14 stolen bases, a .917 OPS and a 1.7 WAR.

San Diego Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar leads the position with 900,541 votes, which is 79,504 ahead of Yelich. Another Padres outfielder, Fernando Tatis Jr., is on pace to snag the third starting outfield spot for the NL with his 798,609 votes.

Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández is running in fourth among NL outfielders. Phillies outfielders Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos are in fifth and sixth, respectively.

Phase 1 of voting goes through June 27, giving fans another 10 days to vote a maximum of five times a day. The top vote-getter in each league will clinch a spot in the All-Star Game, while the other contenders will move onto Phase 2, which goes from June 30 to July 3.

The All-Star Game starting lineups will be unveiled July 3 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Pitchers and reserves, which will be determined by the Commissioner’s Office, will be announced July 7 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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