Yankees Superstar Earns Starting Spot in MLB All-Star Game

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is heading back to the All-Star Game to represent the Bronx Bombers.

Jun 26, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Judge (99) hits a two run home run in the sixth inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. / Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge remained the leading vote-getter in the American League and will start in next month’s All-Star Game in Arlington, Texas.

Judge had been the league’s leader in voting in each of the two releases of results, the most recent being on Monday.

With 3,425,309 votes, he led all players in both leagues. Per voting rules, Judge is now automatically an All-Star and will start for the AL on July 16 at Globe Life Field.

Judge is an All-Star for the sixth time and was a starter last year in Seattle.

Philadelphia’s Bryce Harper was the leading vote-getter in the National League and will start at first base.

The only other Yankees player to advance out of phase one voting was Judge’s fellow outfielder, Juan Soto.

Soto was one of a handful of players that received at least three million votes in phase one. While those votes don’t carry over into phase two voting, which starts in Sunday, Judge’s win may have helped pave Soto’s path to another All-Star Game.

Because Judge has a spot, there are only two more outfield starting lineup spots up for grabs. And, because of that, only four other outfielders advanced out of phase one voting — Soto, Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, Baltimore’s Anthony Santander and Houston’s Kyle Tucker.

That should help Soto’s odds of making the All-Star Game for the fourth time in his career. His other three bids were in the National League, and last year he was a reserve for San Diego.

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.

Giancarlo Stanton, who was second in designated hitter voting after the second wave of results was released, fell out of the top two on Thursday. He is injured and is not expected to return until after the All-Star break.

Now Houston’s Yordan Alvarez and Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn will square off for the spot. Whoever wins will succeed Shohei Ohtani, who started at DH for three straight years in the AL before moving to the NL’s Los Angeles Dodgers in the offseason.

The finalists are heavy on Baltimore and Philadelphia players. The O’s have six finalists and the Phillies have seven, including Harper.

The remaining AL finalists are 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; and Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop.