Cleveland Guardians third baseman named as finalist to start All-Star Game

With the MLB All-Star Break starting two weeks from today, fans now have a better idea of which players will be starting in next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

The first phase of voting for All-Stars ended Thursday night and a Cleveland third baseman survived to the final round of voting.

Guardians third baseman José Ramírez was announced as one of two finalists that will start for the AL at third base for the All-Star Game, according to Brian Murphy of MLB.com. 

“The face of the Guardians' franchise just continues to hit in his age-32 season. Ramírez, vying for his fourth All-Star Game start, is slashing .318/.378/.516. He already has 20 stolen bases, and with just seven more homers, he will notch his fifth straight 20-20 campaign,” Murphy wrote.

Ramírez is currently ahead of Boston Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman for the starting spot. Bregman has hit 11 home runs and recorded a .938 OPS in 51 games with Boston this season. However, a quad injury has kept Bregman out since May and it could keep him out of the All-Star break.

Despite Cleveland having a rough year of offense, Ramírez has provided a bright spot in the statsheet all year for the Guardians. He leads the team in home runs, hits, batting average and RBIs. 

The second phase of the All-Star voting will resume Monday June 30 and will close at Noon ET on July 2.