The Kansas City Royals have the third best record in the American League going into Monday night — second-best in their own division.
And they are not the host city for the 2015 MLB All-Star Game — Cincinnati, Ohio, is. Yet there are seven players on the Royals in position to start for the AL in next month’s Midsummer Classic, according to the latest update of ballot voting released by MLB on Monday.
The closest race involving a Royal at the top is at designated hitter where Seattle’s Nelson Cruz trails Kendrys Morales by a little more than 140,000 votes.
CATCHER
1. Salvador Perez, Royals: 4,419,620
2. Stephen Vogt, A’s: 2,198,780
3. Russell Martin, Blue Jays: 855,798
4. Brian McCann, Yankees: 750,605
5. Caleb Joseph, Orioles: 400,802
FIRST BASE
1. Eric Hosmer, Royals: 3,551,005
2. Miguel Cabrera, Tigers: 2,933,108
3. Prince Fielder, Rangers: 1,088,428
4. Mark Teixeira, Yankees: 705,886
5. Albert Pujols, Angels: 587,805
SECOND BASE
1. Jose Altuve, Astros: 2,809,731
2. Omar Infante, Royals: 2,650,416
3. Jason Kipnis, Indians: 1,104,667
4. Dustin Pedroia, Red Sox: 726,006
5. Ian Kinsler, Tigers: 702,907
THIRD BASE
1. Mike Moustakas, Royals: 4,046,726
2. Josh Donaldson, Blue Jays: 2,329,742
3. Pablo Sandoval, Red Sox: 620,193
4. Adrian Beltre, Rangers: 619,494
5. Manny Machado, Orioles: 562,311
SHORTSTOP
1. Alcides Escobar, Royals: 3,928,985
2. Jose Iglesias, Tigers: 1,819,764
3. Marcus Semien, A’s: 910,707
4. Jed Lowrie, Astros: 713,703
5. Jose Reyes, Blue Jays: 464,104
OUTFIELD
1. Lorenzo Cain, Royals: 4,211,472
2. Mike Trout, Angels: 3,668,577
3. Alex Gordon, Royals: 3,393,134
4. Alex Rios, Royals: 2,311,122
5. Adam Jones, Orioles: 1,995,897
6. Michael Brantley, Indians: 1,466,472
7. Yoenis Cespedes, Tigers: 1,431,447
8. Jacoby Ellsbury, Yankees: 1,256,232
9. Jose Bautista, Blue Jays: 1,175,483
10. Josh Reddick, A’s: 1,010,239
11. Hanley Ramirez, Red Sox: 857,182
12. Carlos Beltran, Yankees: 707,986
13. Torii Hunter, Twins: 672,479
14. Brett Gardner, Yankees: 602,804
15. J.D. Martinez, Tigers: 489,645
DESIGNATED HITTER
1. Kendrys Morales, Royals: 3,269,634
1. Nelson Cruz, Mariners: 3,128,121
3. Alex Rodriguez, Yankees: 788,538
4. David Ortiz, Red Sox: 690,977
5. Victor Martinez, Tigers: 504,983
