Philadelphia Phillies Superstar Clinches Starting Spot in All-Star Game

Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper must wait to see which of his teammates makes the starting lineup.

Jun 24, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) receives congratulations from teammates after he hits a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. / Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper became the first National League player to clinch an All-Star Game starting spot when the first phase of voting ended on Thursday.

Harper as the leading vote-getter in the NL with 3,277,920 votes. The leading vote-getter in each league gets a starting spot.

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge received the AL’s automatic bid with 3,425,309 votes.

Harper became the first Phillies first baseman to win the fan vote since John Kruk did it in 1993.

Harper is now guaranteed his ninth All-Star Game appearance for the NL. But this will be his All-Star Game debut at first base.

By Wednesday, Harper will know if he has company.

Six other Philadelphia players advanced out of phase one voting and will now compete to win a starting nod in fan voting that starts on Sunday.

That includes third baseman Alec Bohm, who is seeking his first All-Star Game bid. Bohm was one of a handful of players to receive at least three million votes in phase one.

Bohm will go up against San Diego’s Manny Machado for the starting nod.

Trea Turner is seeking another All-Star game berth at shortstop, this time against a former teammate, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts. Turner just returned from a hamstring injury while Betts is injured and out until after the All-Star break.

Behind the plate J.T. Realmuto will take on Milwaukee’s William Contreras, the latter the leading vote-getter at the position. Realmuto is on the injured list after knee surgery and likely wouldn’t play in July 16th’s game in Arlington, Texas.

Brandon Marsh and Nick Castellanos advanced among the top six in outfield voting, though they were No. 5 and 6 in voting. The other outfielders to advance included San Diego’s Jurickson Profar, Milwaukee’s Christian Yelich, the Dodgers’ Teoscar Hernández, San Diego’s Fernando Tatis Jr.

Kyle Schwarber has a monumental task at designated hitter as he must get more votes than the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani to get the starting nod.

The only NL vote that doesn’t involve a Phillies player is at second base, where Arizona’s Ketel Marte takes on San Diego’s Luis Arraez.

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 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; Houston’s Jose Altuve and Texas’ Marcus Semien at second base; Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez and Baltimore’s Jordan Westburg at third base; Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop; the New York Yankees’ Juan Soto, Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, Baltimore’s Anthony Santander and Houston’s Kyle Tucker in the outfield; and Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn and Houston’s Yordan Alvarez at designated hitter.