Red Sox All-Star Ballot Update: Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers lead their positions

Red Sox infielders currently lead their positions on the All-Star ballot

Major League Baseball released an update on the ballot results for the first phase of All-Star voting on Monday and the Boston Red Sox are well represented.

Xander Bogaerts leads American League shortstops in the fan-voting process and he’s a worthy choice for the starting nod. He leads the league at his position with a .317 batting average and .552 slugging percentage. His .395 wOBA is tied for the league-lead at the position with Houston’s Carlos Correa, who currently sits third on the ballot among AL shortstops.

Bogaerts ranks second at his position with 42 RBI, trailing only Toronto’s Bo Bichette (second on the ballot among shortstops) and his 13 homers sits one behind Correa and Bichette for the lead at the position.

According to FanGraphs, Bogaerts has produced 3.3 WAR this season, third among all AL position players. He’s a legitimate MVP candidate who should be a lock for the team regardless of how the fan voting pans out.

Rafael Devers is the current leader at third base. He leads the league at his position with 18 home runs, 57 RBI, 48 runs scored, .571 SLG, and a .381 wOBA.

Devers is only third at his position with 2.3 fWAR, trailing Chicago’s Yoan Moncada (2.6) and Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez (2.5). His negative defensive value has led to Devers falling a bit behind the competition but he easily has the best offensive numbers among AL third basemen. Fans will always favor offense in this voting process, as they’ve made clear by two-time Platinum award-winner Matt Chapman being well outside the race at the hot corner.

The first phase of fan voting ends Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. The top three vote-getters at each position (top nine for outfielders) will advance to the second phase of voting to determine the starters for this year’s All-Star Game.

Bogaerts and Devers are essentially locks to make the cut considering they lead their respective positions with only a few days remaining in the first phase. A couple of other Red Sox position players have a strong chance of advancing to the next round as well.

J.D. Martinez is second on the ballot at designated hitter behind Shohei Ohtani. The Los Angeles Angels star is tied for the league lead with 23 home runs, he’s second with a .649 SLG and third with 54 RBI. Martinez was challenging for the league-lead with impressive numbers earlier this season but fell behind during a recent power outage. He’s still in the top-20 in the league with 14 homers and 44 RBI but Ohtani remains comfortably ahead in most offensive categories.

Martinez will almost certainly advance to the next phase but appears unlikely to earn the starting spot. The question is whether or not the AL will bother with a backup DH. The Red Sox slugger made the team as a backup DH in 2019 but the AL squad only carried one the previous year when Martinez was voted in as the starter.

Alex Verdugo is eighth among AL outfielders. That puts him far from the top-three who are likely to start the game but it’s enough to advance to the next phase, which will at least warrant some consideration for one of the backup outfield spots.

His production doesn’t exactly scream All-Star caliber but Verdugo is having a solid season, slashing .289/.345/.458 with nine home runs and 32 RBI.

The only other Red Sox position player with a legitimate chance of advancing to the next phase is Christian Vazquez. He’s having an underwhelming season, hitting .259 with a .661 OPS, three home runs and 28 RBI.

However, outside of the obvious choice in Kansas City’s Salvador Perez, it gets ugly at the catcher position. Chicago’s Yasmani Grandal and Houston’s Martin Maldonado are currently second and third on the ballot at the position despite that both are hitting under .170 this season. Vazquez isn’t having an All-Star season but you can make the case that he’s still among the top-three at a very thin position.

There’s still time to help push these Red Sox players into the next phase. You can get a refresher on the various ways to vote here.

A Red Sox team currently sitting at the top of the AL East deserves multiple All-Stars. We know that they have a pair of infielders who are certain to make the team but some of their teammates will need our help to get them to Colorado for the Midsummer Classic.