NEWSLETTER
The 2018 MLB All-Star game will be hosted by the Washington Nationals this season on July 17, 2018. This’ll be the fifth All-Star Game in Washington D.C., but the first time the Nationals have hosted the event since they were the Expos in Montreal back in 1982.
And more importantly … FAN VOTING BEGINS THIS FRIDAY!
Fan balloting for the 2018 @AllStarGame will begin at 12:00 pm ET on Friday via the 2018 @CampingWorld MLB All-Star Ballot. Fans can vote at https://t.co/7b16TAwzW0, all 30 Club web sites, & the MLB At Bat & Ballpark mobile apps for a chance to win a 2019 Freedom Elite Motorhome. pic.twitter.com/HMzkBRLUbU
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) May 30, 2018
As MLB has announced, fans can vote for the best players (or, more likely, their favorite players) at MLB.com, the 30 individual team sites, or on the At Bat and Ballpark mobile apps. And as it was in previous seasons, the top vote-getters at each position will be selected as the starters for their teams (the reserve players are picked via a combination of fan votes, players, and the Commissioner’s office) – there was talk of changing these rules, but the league and players association couldn’t come together on an agreement (big surprise).
This season, the Cubs figure to have more than just one representative – like they did last year in Wade Davis – as a number of players have had quality starts to the year. Most notably, I think Kris Bryant is the best bet, though it’s worth pointing out that he and Nolan Arenado are pretty close in overall offensive production (152 wRC+ for Bryant v. 150 wRC+ for Arenado) and WAR (2.2 fWAR each). That said, #BRYANTBETTERbeintheallstargame
Aside from Bryant, the NL’s RBI-leader, Javy Baez, is sure to garner some love, as he does, and Anthony Rizzo, who’s heated up a lot lately, could be a dark horse candidate if his recent hot streak, which dates back a month now, keeps up. As far as the outfield goes, it’s worth pointing out that Kyle Schwarber’s bat has been the fifth most valuable among NL outfielders this season, just barely behind Bryce Harper. And given how much better his defense has looked lately, he could be another outside candidate for the Midsummer Classic.
As for the pitching side of things, a Cubs starter is not likely in the cards. Jon Lester’s 2.71 ERA is currently among the top ten and Kyle Hendricks’ 3.16 ERA is among the top 15 in the NL, but there’s been a lot of very good performances across baseball. The bullpen, however, could get some attention as Carl Edwards has a top-5 strikeout rate and Brandon Morrow is among the top five in saves.
Ultimately, Chicago’s large fanbase should help, as well, but I think we’ll need a couple of blazing hot streaks for this to be a Cubbie-blue wave in the fan voting. So get out those phones and start submitting ballots, because it’s always more fun when the good guys are starting for the NL.
UPDATE: It just came to my attention that Ben Zobrist (147 PAs) and Jason Heyward (141 PAs) are listed among the outfielders but Ian Happ (150 PAs. 13th in NL outfield WAR) and Albert Almora (158 PAs, 7th in NL outfield WAR) are not. That is very dumb and annoying. Let’s start the write-in process, shall we?
