Nolan Arenado has significantly closed the gap on Kris Bryant for the starting National League third base spot in the All-Star Game, according to the latest figures released by Major League Baseball on Monday.
The Rockies’ third baseman trails the Cubs first baseman by just 58,082 votes in fan balloting. A week ago, Bryant led Arenado by 302,714 votes.
Last week, Arenado grabbed headlines when he hit a , and also had to win a game, and that could have swayed some voters.
With the polls closing at 9:59 p.m. Thursday, Arenado is vying to become the first Rockies third baseman elected to start in an All-Star Game.
Meanwhile, Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon is firmly in place to start for the National League in the outfield. He ranks second behind Nationals’ Bryce Harper, but has a commanding 1,845,266-vote lead over third-place Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna. The top three outfielders earn the start. Rockies’ outfielder Carlos Gonzalez ranks 15th among NL outfielders.
Defending NL batting champion DJ LeMahieu remains a longshot to start at second base. He’s in third place behind the National’s Daniel Murphy and Cubs’ Javier Baez. LeMahieu trails Murphy by 2,436,172 votes.
The all-star teams will be announced Sunday.
Catcher
| Rank | Player | Club | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buster Posey | Giants | 2,530,713 |
| 2 | Willson Contreras | Cubs | 1,216,513 |
| 3 | Yadier Molina | Cardinals | 1,068,485 |
| 4 | Yasmani Grandal | Dodgers | 749,923 |
| 5 | Matt Wieters | Nationals | 680,644 |
FIRST BASEMEN
| Rank | Player | Club | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Zimmerman | Nationals | 1,728,607 |
| 2 | Anthony Rizzo | Cubs | 1,601,245 |
| 3 | Paul Goldschmidt | D-backs | 1,200,995 |
| 4 | Freddie Freeman | Braves | 767,375 |
| 5 | Joey Votto | Reds | 703,832 |
SECOND BASEMEN
| Rank | Player | Club | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Murphy | Nationals | 3,057,360 |
| 2 | Javier Báez | Cubs | 1,654,829 |
| 3 | DJ LeMahieu | Rockies | 621,188 |
| 4 | Brandon Phillips | Braves | 475,916 |
| 5 | Logan Forsythe | Dodgers | 393,238 |
THIRD BASEMEN
| Rank | Player | Club | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kris Bryant | Cubs | 1,978,692 |
| 2 | Nolan Arenado | Rockies | 1,920,610 |
| 3 | Justin Turner | Dodgers | 1,075,524 |
| 4 | Anthony Rendon | Nationals | 779,468 |
| 5 | Jake Lamb | D-backs | 726,560 |
SHORTSTOPS
| Rank | Player | Club | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zack Cozart | Reds | 1,915,806 |
| 2 | Corey Seager | Dodgers | 1,657,732 |
| 3 | Addison Russell | Cubs | 1,204,204 |
| 4 | Trea Turner | Nationals | 804,703 |
| 5 | Chris Owings | D-backs | 676,666 |
OUTFIELDERS
| Rank | Player | Club | Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bryce Harper | Nationals | 3,617,444 |
| 2 | Charlie Blackmon | Rockies | 3,115,730 |
| 3 | Marcell Ozuna | Marlins | 1,270,464 |
| 4 | Jason Heyward | Cubs | 1,241,194 |
| 5 | Ben Zobrist | Cubs | 1,122,946 |
| 6 | Giancarlo Stanton | Marlins | 1,069,313 |
| 7 | Matt Kemp | Braves | 1,058,050 |
| 8 | Kyle Schwarber | Cubs | 949,780 |
| 9 | Yoenis Céspedes | Mets | 785,178 |
| 10 | Adam Duvall | Reds | 664,379 |
| 11 | Dexter Fowler | Cardinals | 631,395 |
| 12 | Yasiel Puig | Dodgers | 626,565 |
| 13 | Jay Bruce | Mets | 561,984 |
| 14 | Jayson Werth | Nationals | 540,609 |
| 15 | Carlos González | Rockies | 518,241 |
