Astros Stars Advance in All-Star Game Starting Lineup Voting
The Houston Astros have three stars that are set to compete for a starting spot on the American League team in next month’s All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas.
With phase one voting complete, second baseman Jose Altuve, outfielder Kyle Tucker and designated hitter Yordan Alvarez advanced and must go through another round of voting to determine the starting lineup.
One spot in the AL is assured. New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge, who was the leading vote-getter overall, is in the lineup. In the National League the automatic berth went to Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper.
Altuve was one of two Astros to lead in votes at his position. He’ll take on last year’s starter, Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien.
Altuve didn’t play in last year’s All-Star Game as he missed most of the first half of the season due to injury. His last All-Star Game berth came in 2022. The Astros veteran is seeking his ninth All-Star Game nod and his sixth as a starter.
Alvarez led voting at DH and he’ll go up against Baltimore’s resurgent Ryan O’Hearn, one of six Baltimore players to advance to phase two voting, which starts on Sunday.
Alvarez, like Altuve, led voting throughout phase one. He is seeking his third straight All-Star Game nod. Whoever wins would replace Shohei Ohtani, who had been the AL’s starting DH each of the last three seasons. He is now in the NL with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Because Judge has already clinched one of the starting outfield spots, only two are up for grabs. Tucker was one of the top five vote-getters in the outfield and advanced, along with the New York Yankees’ Juan Soto, Cleveland’s Steven Kwan and Baltimore’s Anthony Santander.
Tucker is seeking his third straight All-Star bid.
Voting from phase one does not carry over into phase two.
Phase two voting starts at noon eastern on Sunday and continues until noon eastern on Wednesday. The ballot is available online and on mobile devices at mlb.com/vote. Fans can only vote once per day.
The winners and the starting lineups will be announced at 7 p.m. eastern Wednesday on ESPN. The reserves and the pitching staffs will be selected after.
The rest of the AL finalists include Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman and Kansas City’s Salvador Perez at catcher; Baltimore’s Ryan Mountcastle and Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. at first base; Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez and Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg at third base; and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop.
The NL finalists include Milwaukee’s William Contreras and Philadelphia’s J.T. Realmuto at catcher; Arizona’s Ketel Marte and San Diego’s Luis Arraez at second base; Philadelphia’s Alec Bohm and San Diego’s Manny Machado at third base; and the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and Philadelphia’s Trea Turner at shortstop.
The NL finalists in the outfield are San Diego’s Jurickson Profar, Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich, the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr., Philadelphia’s Brandon Marsh and Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos. At designated hitter the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani takes on Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber.
MATTHEW POSTINS
Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers the Texas Rangers, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros for Sports Illustrated/FanNation. He also covers he Big 12 for Heartland College Sports.