If the recent trends hold, Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer is well positioned to start in the All-Star Game for a second straight year.
Hosmer maintained a lead this week in the fan balloting, amassing 1,419,887 total votes. Toronto first baseman Justin Smoak was second with 1,348,233. Oakland’s Yonder Alonso (1,076,984) and Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera (1,011,382) have started to fade.
While Hosmer has surged in recent weeks, Royals catcher Salvador Perez appears a virtual lock to start for the American League yet again. With 2,150,223 votes, Perez has a more than 800,000-vote lead on second-place Gary Sanchez of the New York Yankees.