Toronto Blue Jays catcher Alejandro Kirk and first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have earned starting spots for the American League at the All-Star Game.
The starters, picked by fan voting, were announced on Friday night.
Six Blue Jays advanced to the second phase of fan voting (the top two at each position and the top five outfielders) — which closed earlier Friday. George Springer and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., finished fourth and fifth among outfielders, respectively, Santiago Espinal was runner-up to Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros in the second-base race, while Bo Bichette was second to Tim Anderson of the Chicago White Sox at shortstop.
Only two outfielders from the second phase got spots as the top overall vote-getter in the first phase — outfielder Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees — already earned a berth.
Springer just missed out, getting 20 per cent of the vote — two percentage points behind Giancarlo Stanton of the Yankees.
Kirk got a whopping 74 per cent of the vote against Jose Trevino of the Yankees, while Guerrero had 66 per cent of votes against Ty France of the Seattle Mariners.
Pitchers and reserves will be revealed Sunday. They are determined by players’ ballot choices and the commissioner’s office.
Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah and closer Jordan Romano figure to be in the running for spots.
Guerrero heads to the All-Star Game for the second year in a row, while Kirk will make his mid-summer classic debut.
“Very emotional, for me and me entire family. We’re very, very close and we can’t believe it yet,” Kirk said prior to Friday’s game in Seattle.
Kirk is slashing .312/.399/.491 with 10 homers and 33 RBI, while Guerrero is at .268/.350/.490 with 19 homers and 54 RBI.
The All-Star Game is July 19 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Toronto’s record for players in an All-Star Game is seven in 1993.
2022 All-Star Game Starters
American League
C: Alejandro Kirk (Toronto Blue Jays
1B: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays)
2B: Jose Altuve (Houston Astros)
3B: Rafael Devers (Boston Red Sox)
SS: Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox)
OF: Aaron Judge (New York Yankees), Giancarlo Stanton (New York Yankees), Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels)
DH: Shohei Ohtani (Los Angeles Angels)
National League
C: Willson Contreras (Chicago Cubs)
1B: Paul Goldschmidt (St. Louis Cardinals)
2B: Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Miami Marlins)
3B: Manny Machado (San Diego Padres)
SS: Trea Turner (Los Angeles Dodgers)
OF: Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves), Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers), Joc Pederson (San Francisco Giants
DH: Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies)
