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- No San Francisco Giants position player appears likely to advance to Phase 2 voting.
- Luis Arraez is the only Giant still in contention, sitting fifth among NL second basemen.
- Giants could still have a representative via players’ vote or the Commissioner’s Office.
No San Francisco Giants position players appear likely to advance to the next phase of All-Star voting, with second baseman Luis Arraez being the only player still in serious contention, according to an update released by MLB.com on Monday.
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Arraez was the only Giants player listed among the top five candidates at a position, or top 10 for outfield, on the update. Arraez was sitting in fifth place among National League second basemen with 614,164 votes, just under 200,000 short of advancing and about 350,000 out of first place.
Four other Giants made the expanded list, which includes 10 players per league at each position and 20 outfielders.
Here they are:
- Rafael Devers, first base — 6th place with 211,613 votes
- Casey Schmitt, designated hitter — 6th place with 133,740 votes
- Matt Chapman, third base — 9th place with 240,177 votes
- Jung Hoo Lee, outfield — 19th place with 317,862 votes
All four are more than 500,000 votes behind, meaning that with just days remaining in Phase 1 voting, they are unlikely to advance. Fans can vote up to five times per 24 hours until Thursday at 9 a.m. Pacific Standard Time on MLB.com’s website.
The top two at each position in each league or top six for outfield advance to Phase 2 of voting, where the fans select the starters in a head-to-head vote. Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani leads the NL in votes received, which would give him the automatic starting spot at DH should that lead hold into Thursday, knocking Schmitt out of contention.
Pitchers and position player reserves are decided after fan voting by a combination of players voting and the Commissioner’s Office.
Who could make it from the Giants?
Arraez is the only Giants player that still has a realistic chance of advancing to Phase 2.
In one of the closest battles for any position, Arraez trails Bryson Stott of the Philadelphia Phillies, Bryce Turang of the Milwaukee Brewers and Hyeseong Kim of the Dodgers by less than 200,000 votes. If Arraez can complete the unlikely voting comeback, he could slide into second behind leader Ozzie Albies of the Atlanta Braves.
Arraez, 29, has the second-best batting average in the NL at .320. The three-time All-Star and two-time Silver Slugger has the third-best OPS among NL second basemen at .801. While he hits a good amount of doubles, with 16 so far this season, he doesn’t hit home runs very often, having three this season and never hitting more than 10 in a season before.
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Turang and Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Brandon Lowe, who is in seventh in voting, are the only two NL second basemen with higher OPS stats than Arraez. Turang is in a tight third-place, attempting to close the gap on second-place Stott, who plays for the popular Phillies.
Albies has the sixth-best OPS among NL second basemen, but has made three All-Star games before, plays for a popular franchise and has strong name value, likely helping his voting numbers.
Arraez not hitting for power also makes it difficult in the fan vote, which only displays home runs, RBIs, batting average and OPS next to each candidate’s name.
Even if Arraez doesn’t earn the fan selection, the Giants are required to have at least one representative, who would be selected through the players vote and Commissioner’s Office.
That could lead to Arraez making it in as a reserve, or the Giants’ lone selection or selections being a pitcher or pitchers. Last season, the Giants three All-Stars were all pitchers — Rocklin-native ace Logan Webb, starter Robbie Ray and reliever Randy Rodriguez.
Of the starters, Webb is the most likely, having made a resurgence recently to improve his ERA to 3.35 across 83 ⅓ innings with a 4-5 record and 74 strikeouts.
Webb, who made the All-Star game the last two seasons, appears to be the most likely candidate, though a reliever like JT Brubaker (2.75 ERA, 29 ⅓ innings) or Keaton Winn (3.23 ERA, 30 ⅔ innings) could make it if the NL roster is in need of bullpen depth.
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