Baseball releases final AL ballot update for All-Star Game

The American League’s starting lineup appears nearly set after Monday’s final balloting update released by Major League Baseball. And it’s all but certain that lineup won’t contain any Royals for the July 10 game at Kauffman Stadium.

No Royals are within 1.5 million votes of winning a starting spot with in-stadium voting already concluded and online balloting entering its final hours. No Royals player has been voted into the starting lineup since outfielder Jermaine Dye in 2000.

So any Royals player – or players – selected to the AL team will come via the players’ vote or through selection by Texas manager Ron Washington in consultation with MLB officials. A second player could make the team through the “Final Vote” selection.

The final National League balloting update will be released Tuesday. The starters and complete rosters for both leagues, except for the “Final Vote” choice, will be announced at noon Central time Sunday on TBS.

The 34-player on each roster – the “Final Vote” selection – will be determined next week in an online vote from a list of five candidates in each league. But each team must have at least one player among their league’s first 33 selections.

Five Royals are listed on the final balloting update: designated hitter Billy Butler, shortstop Alcides Escobar and third baseman Mike Moustakas rank fifth at their positions; Jeff Francoeur and Alex Gordon rank ninth and 12th among outfielders.

MLB’s updates only include voting totals for the top five players among designated hitters, catchers and infielders and the top 15 outfielders.

A recent online poll conducted by The Kansas City Star identified Butler as the Royals’ player most deserving of selection to the All-Star Game. He received 49 percent of all votes cast, followed by Moustakas at 27 percent and Escobar at 14 percent.

The closest AL races are for the third spot in the outfield, where Toronto’s José Bautista leads Texas’ Nelson Cruz by 92,423 votes; and at second base, when New York’s Robinson Cano leads Texas’ Ian Kinsler by 96,923 votes.

In-stadium balloting concluded last Friday, but online balloting at allstargame.com and the 30 club web sites (including royals.com) continues through 10:59 p.m. Central time on Thursday.