The first update on the vote totals for the National League All-Stars was released Monday and that means the so-called Junior Circuit is next up. Here's the latest update on the American League All-Star voting. 

al-asg.jpg

Also, here's designated hitter: 

  1. J.D. Martinez, Red Sox; 513,415
  2. Giancarlo Stanton, Yankees; 231,885
  3. Shohei Ohtani, Angels; 218,981
  4. Evan Gattis, Astros; 155,091
  5. Edwin Encarnacion, Indians; 119,526

That is a pretty bang-up job by the fans, given how this season has unfolded. 

I suppose there could be minor quibbles at shortstop with some love for Francisco Lindor or Andrelton Simmons before he got hurt, but Machado is destroying the league. 

At catcher, Sanchez is hitting a dismal .190, but AL catcher is pretty bad and he has 12 homers. In fact, he leads AL catchers in WAR and, let's face it, he's a big name on the best team in baseball. 

Overall, this first entry looks much better than what we often see early in the voting process. Kudos to the fans. 

Voting continues through July 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET over at MLB.com. The 2018 MLB All-Star Game takes place Tuesday, July 17 in Nationals Park on Fox. Thankfully, there's no postseason stipulation attached.