Boston Red Sox: Betts and Martinez take early All-Star Ballot leads
By Hunter Noll
The Boston Red Sox have started 2018 in style. Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez have been major contributors and have All-Star ballot leads to show for it.
The first set of early All-Star ballot voting has arrived. To no one’s surprise, there is plenty of Boston Red Sox representation on the list.
Mookie Betts is the leading vote getting in the entire MLB. He leads with 748,872 votes. That’s roughly 47,000 more than Jose Altuve who has the second-most, and over 100,000 behind second-place outfielder Mike Trout.
The first AL Ballot update is LIVE. Cast your votes and send your favorite players to DC.@CampingWorld MLB All-Star Ballot: https://t.co/K7N0HVk2ZQ pic.twitter.com/aOWpnY0h4d
— MLB (@MLB) June 12, 2018
This should come as a surprise to no one. Betts has a .354/.431/.735 slash line with 37 extra-base hits (17 home runs) and 13 steals. The leadoff man also has 37 RBI and 52 runs scored. It’s easy to see why he leads the world in voting.
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J.D. Martinez is also in first place in his respective position. He leads the designated hitter position by nearly 280,000 votes. His 513,415 are trouncing second-place vote-getter Giancarlo Stanton (231,885). Martinez leads the Majors in both home runs (21) and RBI (54). Again, this shouldn’t be too shocking that he leads.
Mitch Moreland is currently in second place at first base behind Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox. Moreland is having a very strong campaign but also benefits from a weak position in the American League. The left-handed hitter is building a solid resume this year but it’s getting tougher to catch Abreu. Abreu is second in the Majors in doubles (25) and leads AL first baseman with 38 RBI. He’s also close to the top in average and home runs, as well as runs scored.
Andrew Benintendi sits in sixth place for outfielders, while Jackie Bradley Jr. is 12th. With the way he’s swinging the bat, Benintendi should start getting more votes. Bradley Jr. , on the other hand,has been struggling mightily and could find his way further down the ballot.
No catcher or second baseman represented the Red Sox in the early ballots, but that wasn’t too surprising. Third base is also vacant, as Rafael Devers tries to work his way out of a slump.
One that might come as a shock is shortstop. Xander Bogaerts isn’t in the top-five voting. Although, it’s not as remarkable as Jean Segura‘s absence. Bogaerts has been a little up-and-down this year but is still putting together a strong season. A case could be made that he’s having a better campaign than both Didi Gregorius and Carlos Correa (both in the top-five).
This is all premature though. There’s still a lot of time before voting closes. Anything can happen. Betts and Martinez could lose their leads, or other Boston members could pick up ground. Only time will tell. For now, it’s just nice to know the Red Sox have some representation.