In the old days, if you went to a major league ball game in the couple of months leading up to the All-Star Game, you were given a ballot to vote for the starters in the game. It was one of those punch cards – think “hanging chads” – and you would punch out the players you were voting for and leave the others intact. Then, on your way out you dropped your completed ballot into a special box and Major League Baseball counted all of the votes.
The players with the highest vote total at each position in each league would be the starters in the All-Star Game. Then, the two managers along with Major League Baseball would select the rest of the roster along with the pitching staff. Of course, they had to be sure to have a representative from every team somewhere on the roster.
Now, much like the game itself, all-star voting is a whole new ball game.
The top vote getter in each league now is the only player selected for the roster through the initial round of fan balloting. Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers and 2025 Postseason star Ernie Clement of the Toronto Blue Jays, will bypass the second phase of voting after leading their respective leagues in voting during Phase 1 to earn automatic starting assignments at the 2026 All-Star Game.
The second phase of voting, which begins on Monday, features the top two vote-getters at each position and the top six vote-getters in the outfield. Fans choose between the available players at each position and the top vote-getter at each spot will become a starter on the team of their respective league.
Phase 2 voting is available exclusively online via mobile devices at MLB.com/vote, all 30 Club websites, the MLB App and the MLB Ballpark App. Voting concludes at noon eastern time on Thursday, July 2nd. Fans can vote once per day on MLB platforms and the winner at each position – including three outfielders per league – will be named a starting position player for the 2026 Midsummer Classic.
Stott is competing for his first ever spot on an all-star roster. Of course, if he isn’t chosen by fans he could still make the game as a reserve. If he wins the spot, he would become the third different Phillies second baseman to win a fan election, joining Mariano Duncan (1994) and Chase Utley (2006-10, 2014).
On the other hand, Albies is a three-time All-Star (2018, 2021, 2023), but is looking for his first fan election. He would join Marcus Giles (2003) and Dan Uggla (2012) to become the third Atlanta second baseman to be voted into the game by the fans.
Bohm won the 2024 fan election at third base for the National League and is seeking his second trip to the Midsummer Classic which would put him in the company of Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt as the only Phillies third basemen to win multiple fan elections. Schmidt won nine fan elections during his career.
Muncy is a two-time All-Star (2019, 2021), bidding to join Ron Cey (1974-75, 1977) as the only Dodgers third baseman to win a fan election.
Brandon Marsh vs. Ronald Acuna Jr., Andy Pages, Teoscar Hernandez, Juan Soto, Michael Harris II
Marsh is the most deserving of the Phillies position players hoping to win a spot, which would be his first selection. It would also make him the first Phillies outfielder to draw a starting assignment since Raul Ibañez in 2009.
Acuna Jr. is vying for his sixth All-Star selection and sixth fan election after winning fan-elected starting assignments in four straight All-Star Games from 2019-23 and in 2025. With a sixth fan election, Acuña would match Hall of Famer Hank Aaron and Dale Murphy for the most in franchise history.
The 25-year-old Pages is seeking his first career trip to the Midsummer Classic. He and Hernández are trying to become the first pair of Dodgers outfielders to win fan elections in the same season. Speaking of Hernandez, he is a two-time All-Star (2021, 2024) is seeking his second fan election and first in the NL after earning the fan-elected start for the AL in 2021. If only one of Pages and Hernández are elected by the fans they would become the Dodgers a fan-elected starting outfielder for the fifth time in the last eight All-Star Games (Matt Kemp, 2018; Cody Bellinger, 2019; and Mookie Betts, 2022-23). Additionally, the Dodgers duo along with the Braves duo, are trying to give the NL starting outfield teammates for a third consecutive year following San Diego’s Jurickson Profar and Fernando Tatis Jr. in 2024 and Chicago’s Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker in 2025.
Harris was the 2022 NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year and is competing for his first trip to the Midsummer Classic. If both Acuna and Harris are voted in, they would become the second pair of Braves teammates to win fan elections in the outfield along with Aaron and Rico Carty, who accomplished the feat in 1970, when All-Star voting was restored to the fans.
Soto is a four-time All-Star (2021-24), who is looking for his second career fan election and first in the NL after earning a fan-elected starting assignment in the AL in 2024. Soto is attempting to become the first Mets outfielder to win a fan election since Yoenis Céspedes in 2016.
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