In a 2026 Houston Astros season where the team got off to their traditional slow start in April, and where they’ve now spent May and June largely treading water, the playoffs are looking more and more like a pipe dream. Thus, if we are to continue watching baseball this summer, we are running out of reasons to follow this team. So you can imagine my excitement when the first update on All Star Game ballotinf came out earlier this week!
Here are the American League voting totals for the fan balloting, through Monday, June 15:
As several of the positions have Astros on the voting radar, here are some very interesting angles to the All Star balloting, thus far:
Yordan Alvarez is leading the entire American League in votes
Much the same way he is the only hitter in the American League with an OPS of more than 1.000, Alvarez is the only American League player with over a million votes. In addition to leading the AL in votes and OPS, he also leads the league in batting average, home runs, runs batted in, hits, extra base hits, slugging percentage, OPS plus, weighted runs created, and smiles generated on the faces of people who bet on him to win the MVP award. That Alvarez is also winning the popularity contest that is All Star voting speaks to how his star has risen in the eyes of casual fans everywhere. Only the Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani has garnered more votes across MLB than Alvarez.
The Astros’ infield is decently represented in the voting
While Alvarez is the only Astro in line to start the All Star Game (and it would be as the designated hitter), the Astros’ infield is decently represented in the fan balloting. Yainer Diaz, Christian Walker, and Isaac Paredes are all currently 9th place in the AL at their respective positions (catcher, first base, third base). Jeremy Pena is 5th among shortstops, and Jose Altuve is 4th among second basemen. Of that entire quintet of players along the Astros’ infield, the most deserving of All Star consideration is Walker, who is among the league leaders in home runs and runs batted in, while playing a Gold Glove caliber first base.
The Astros’ outfield is appropriately unrepresented in the voting
While the infield, the Astros’ strength in the every day lineup, has a healthy amount of support for All Star consideration, the outfield is off the grid, and appropriately so. The Astros willingly rolled into this season with the offensively challenged Jake Meyers at center field, inexperienced Cam Smith in right field, and a cadre of nondescript minor leaguers and prospects for the other outfield spots. Thus, it’s no big surprises that none of the Astros on the ballot for outfield consideration (Meyers, Smith, and Brice Matthews) even crack the top 20 outfield slots.
The one fan base that is proficient in ballot box stuffing is…..
…..the Blue Jays fans! The Blue Jays are 34-38, and two games out of the playoff hunt right now, and yet the Blue Jays may be the best represented team in the balloting. Keep in mind, this is a team with exactly zero players with an OPS over .800. George Springer has a .658 OPS and is second behind Alvarez at DH. All four of their infielders are either first or second at their positions. Alejandro Kirk has played seven games all season, and is second in voting at catcher. They have three outfielders among the top ten outfielders in the AL, and one of them is Myles Straw. MYLES STRAW! Is there nothing to do in Toronto but stuff digital ballot boxes?
