Blue Jays Dominate All-Star Voting at All But One Position
George Springer has been the Toronto Blue Jays‘ designated hitter in 50 of their first 72 games this season. As a DH, his .205 batting average ranks 11th among all American League DHs who have taken at least 100 plate appearances. Only two others, the A’s Brent Rooker (.202) and the Royals’ Salvador Perez (.157), have a lower batting average at the position.
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Yet if All-Star Game voting ended today, Springer would be headed to a runoff with Yordan Alvarez, the Houston Astros‘ slugger who leads all of MLB in home runs (24) and OPS (1.084).
All-Star voting is hardly scientific, and the Blue Jays appear to be the latest beneficiary of a time-honored baseball tradition: when fans of one team vote en masse for their favorite players, every player on that team benefits regardless of their statistics.
The fans in Toronto, who saw their team reach the World Series last year for the first time since 1993, are clearly invested in All-Star voting. A Blue Jays player ranked first or second at all but position except when the first vote totals were announced June 15 by MLB.
The All-Star Game is July 14 in Philadelphia.
Springer’s batting average isn’t the only number dragging him down in what is on pace to be the worst of his 13 major league seasons. His 16 RBIs are also the lowest among Blue Jays’ regulars. His .657 OPS is ahead of only shortstop Andrés Giménez.
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Besides Springer, the Blue Jays had five players at or near the top of the voting at their respective positions: catcher Alejandro Kirk (second), first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (first), second baseman Ernie Clement (first), Giménez (second), third baseman and Kazuma Okamoto (second).
Only in the outfield are the Blue Jays on pace to be left out of the runoff vote. The top six outfielders in each league advance to the second phase of voting on June 25, and Daulton Varsho (eighth), Jesús Sánchez (ninth) and Myles Straw (10th) are just outside the top six.
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The top two vote-getters at every other position will head to the runoff. Fans do not vote on pitchers, who are selected via the league office and player balloting.
Seven-time All-Star Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees and 11-time All-Star Mike Trout of the Los Angeles Angels rank first and second among AL outfielders, respectively. Cody Bellinger, Byron Buxton, Riley Greene and Julio Rodriguez round out the top six.
Besides Alvarez, Guerrero, and Clement, the leading AL vote-getters at their positions include Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, and A’s catcher Shea Langeliers.
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This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 12:48 PM.