Chicago Cubs star Pete Crow-Armstrong finished Phase 1 of the 2026 MLB All-Star voting with 1,061,310 votes, placing him tenth among National League outfielders. Only the top six outfielders advance to Phase 2.
Crow-Armstrong is a top 10 favorite to win the 2026 National League MVP award. As such, the baseball world felt the Cubs outfielder deserved a starting role in the upcoming All-Star game. They pointed out the flaw in the fan voting system as the reason.
Crow-Armstrong wasn’t the only snub in the Phase 1 voting. Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman came fourth, while Blue Jays backstop Alejandor Kirk got the most votes. For context, Kirk has only played 13 games due to injury, and his average is below .200.
Tigers rookie Kevin McGonigle, who has a 4.0 WAR, came seventh in the AL shortstop voting. Brewers second baseman Brice Turang, Nationals outfielder James Wood, Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper, and many others got fewer votes than their statistically inferior counterparts and couldn’t advance to Phase 2 of the voting.
Another problem with the fan voting system is the popularity of teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays. Thus, players from these two teams often garner more votes than those from the others.
For these reasons, Baseball fans on social media made their feelings known about the matter on X.
AL and NL MLB All-Star Game Starter Role Finalists
Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani and Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Ernie Clement acquired the most votes in their respective leagues in the 2026 MLB All-Star Game Phase 1 fan vote. As such, Ohtani became the automatic starting DH for the National League, while Clement got the starting second baseman spot for the American League.
The top two vote-getters in the remaining positions, except for outfielders, where the top six advanced to Phase 2 of the voting.
- Catcher: Shea Langeliers, Alejandro Kirk
- First Base: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ben Rice
- Third Base: Kazuma Okamoto, Junior Caminero
- Shortstop: Bobby Witt Jr., Andres Gimenez
- Outfield: Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, Byron Buxton, Cody Bellinger, Jesús Sanchez, Daulton Varsho
- Designated Hitter: Yordan Alvarez, George Springer
- Catcher: Drake Baldwin, Will Smith
- First Base: Freddie Freeman, Matt Olson
- Second Base: Ozzie Albies, Bryson Stott
- Third Base: Max Muncy, Alec Bohm
- Shortstop: CJ Abrams, Mookie Betts
- Outfield: Andy Pages, Brandon Marsh, Ronald Acuña Jr., Teoscar Hernández, Juan Soto, Michael Harris II
Phase 2 voting runs from Monday at noon ET to Thursday at noon ET. Fans can cast their votes online at the MLB Vote Portal. The final All-Star starters list will be revealed on Friday.
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