O's Adley Rutschman advances to next phase of All-Star Game voting

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

June 22, 2023, 7:20pm

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Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has advanced to the second-phase of voting for the 2023 All-Star Game, as he attempts to get the start for the AL in the game set for Tuesday, July 11 in Seattle.

The second phase of voting, which begins this Monday at 12:00 p.m. (ET), features the top two vote-getters at each position (and the top six outfielders in the AL; next four outfielders in the NL after Ronald Acuña Jr.) in each league based on vote totals from Phase 1, which ran from May 31^stto June 22^nd.

Acuña and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels will bypass the second phase of voting and have claimed automatic starting assignments at the All-Star Game after leading their respective leagues in voting during Phase 1.

Phase 2 voting will give fans the opportunity to vote among the finalists at each position during a four-day window that concludes at 12:00 p.m. (ET) next Thursday.

Rutschman got 1,291,399 votes, as he tries to become the first O’s catcher to win a fan election since Matt Wieters in 2014. The other catcher finalist in the American League is Jonah Heim of the Texas Rangers, the Orioles’ fourth-round draft pick in 2013. Heim got 969,250 votes. The voting starts anew on Monday and previous votes do not carry over.

Overall, 14 MLB clubs have advanced players from Phase 1, with Atlanta advancing a Major League-best seven players, followed by Texas and Toronto with five each.

But the Orioles have only Rutschman moving on as a finalist. Ryan Mountcastle finished eighth among first baseman while Jorge Mateo and Adam Frazier were also eighth among shortstops and second baseman. Gunnar Henderson was seventh in voting for DH. Austin Hays was 14^th and Cedric Mullins 18^th among the outfielders.

In 71 games, Rutschman is batting .272/.382/.425/.808 with 11 doubles, 10 homers and 32 RBIs with 49 walks to 44 strikeouts. He ranks tied for first in the AL in walks and tied for fourth in MLB.

If Rutschman starts the All-Star game, he would become the third O’s catcher to start the Midsummer Classic, following Terry Kennedy in 1987 and Gus Triandos in 1958 and 1959. Matt Wieters won the fan vote in 2014 but was injured and unable to play.