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The All-Star starters for this year's edition of the Midsummer Classic have been announced, and the leading vote getters were Shohei Ohtani in the National League and Aaron Judge in the American League.
The finalists were announced last week, and the starters were unveiled on Wednesday. The St. Louis Cardinals failed to have a player reach the All-Star Game finalists in the fan vote and will not have a starter in the All-Star Game for the second consecutive season. Their All-Star starter came in 2023 when Nolan Arenado started at third base for the National League.
Former Cardinals also struck out in the final round of fan voting, as both Tommy Edman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Paul Goldschmidt of the New York Yankees failed to earn the votes of fans to get them over the top at their respective positions.
Goldschmidt began the season looking like he had found the fountain of youth over the winter, batting .356 with two home runs and eight doubles through March and April. He would continue this hot streak through May, where he tacked on four more home runs to his season total, but it would come crashing down in June. Goldschmidt slashed an abysmal .143/.226/.238 in June, likely souring his profile among potential voters. Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got the nod at the position in the AL.
Where Brendan Donovan fell short, Edman did the same, falling to Ketel Marte of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final round of fan voting to determine the starters for the All-Star Game. Edman is second in home runs to Marte, who leads National League second basemen with 18 home runs. Marte also leads his brethren at the keystone in WAR.
Statistically, Donovan has had a better season than Edman. With no Cardinals being selected via the fan vote, Donovan should be a strong candidate for consideration when the All-Star reserves are announced on Sunday afternoon.
The full starting lineups are below:
American League:
C Cal Raleigh (SEA)
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (TOR)
2B Gleyber Torres (DET)
SS Jacob Wilson (ATH)
3B José Ramírez (CLE)
OF Aaron Judge (NYY)*
OF Riley Greene (DET)
OF Javier Báez (DET)
DH Ryan O’Hearn (BAL)
National League:
C Will Smith (LAD)
1B Freddie Freeman (LAD)
2B Ketel Marte (ARI)
SS Francisco Lindor (NYM)
3B Manny Machado (SDP)
OF Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL)
OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (CHI)
OF Kyle Tucker (CHI)
DH Shohei Ohtani (LAD)*
* Denotes Leading Vote Getter