Blue Jays’ Justin Smoak closing gap in AL first base all-star voting

Sportsnet's Arash Madani talks to Toronto Blue Jays' Justin Smoak about players looking for new ways to get their bats going, the chance to become an all-star, and what he can learn from Kevin Pillar.

Steven Loung June 26, 2017, 1:48 PM

Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak has gained ground in American League all-star balloting and now sits second among first basemen, approximately 71,000 votes behind the Kanas City Royals’ Eric Hosmer.

Justin Smoak closing gap in All-Star voting at 1B
1. Eric Hosmer 1,419,887
2. Smoak 1,348,233#BlueJays

— Ben Nicholson-Smith (@bnicholsonsmith) June 26, 2017

This was the fifth return on all-star voting and signified a major jump for Smoak. In the fourth balloting update, he ranked fourth among AL first basemen.

Now, with all balloting ending on June 29, it would seem as if Smoak has a legitimate shot at being named an all-star starter.

The 30-year-old Smoak has never been named an all-star before, but this season he’s putting up impressive numbers, batting .304/.367/.588 with 20 home runs and 48 RBI.

The all-star starting lineups will be announced on July 2.

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