Mullins' low All-Star count, Kremer's read, Bannon update

The structure of the voting for the 2021 All-Star Game allows the top nine outfielders in each league to advance to the next "phase," as Major League Baseball is calling it.

Cedric Mullins is currently 10th with 145,537 votes.

Of course it's ridiculous. His 2.9 WAR last night, per Fangraphs.com, ranked fifth in the American League at any position, his 78 hits were tied for third in the majors and he led off the game with a single, and his defense has been Gold Glove-worthy. But the All-Star Game is largely a popularity contest and Mullins can't match the reputations and broad appeal of, for instance, the Angels' Mike Trout (706,503 votes) and the Yankees' Aaron Judge (538,448), who are first and second, respectively, in the American League.

The rest of the outfield standings read as follows:

Byron Buxton, Twins, 383,178
Adolis García, Rangers, 353,230
Teoscar Hernández, Blue Jays, 224,441
Randal Grichuk, Blue Jays, 201,307
Alex Verdugo, Red Sox, 190,290
Randy Arozarena, Rays, 171,462
Michael Brantley, Astros, 166,298

The Royals' Andrew Benintendi, who just went on the injured list, is behind Mullins with 122,643.

The chances of an Oriole starting in the Midsummer Classic already were slim, unless there's an injury. First baseman Trey Mancini is fifth with 76,840 and there's absolutely no way that Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr., with 857,956, is going to be denied. He leads all major league players in votes.

The top three players at each position, other than outfield, also advance to the next round of voting, with the names revealed on June 27.

The Orioles are campaigning for Mancini and Mullins, the former pushed hard in 2019 and ultimately denied. Mullins is the newbie to this process.

"I think the league is definitely recognizing and seeing what Cedric has done," said manager Brandon Hyde.

The pitchers and reserves for both teams will be determined through a combination of player ballot choices and selections made by the commissioner's office. The final rosters will be announced on July 4.

Hyde doesn't want a health issue to prevent Mullins from playing in the All-Star Game, and he mentioned it over the weekend. Mullins was rested for the first time Sunday afternoon.

John Means has a strained left shoulder and may not be a consideration any longer.

* Dean Kremer just rejoined the Orioles yesterday, dumped into a 15-game road losing streak that kept growing last night.

Kremer said he doesn't notice a strain on his teammates. Just the opposite.

"Morale is pretty good in the clubhouse, at least it was before game," he said on his Zoom call. "Losing sucks, but we'll get out of it."

The Orioles need to do better than 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Mullins walked and stole two bases in the eighth while representing the tying run, and three strikeouts kept the Indians ahead 4-3.

* The roster at Triple-A Norfolk is becoming more interesting with left-hander Kevin Smith moving up to join Zac Lowther, Alexander Wells and Kyle Bradish in the rotation. Just as Kremer returned to the Orioles.

Second baseman Jahmai Jones is healthy again and playing every day. Outfielder Yusniel Diaz is getting closer to a return, with his injury rehab assignment starting this week with Double-A Bowie.

Infield prospect Rylan Bannon is on the injured list with a sore oblique and he could remain out for a few more weeks. He's 14-for-80 (.175) with a .545 OPS and he hasn't played since May 27.

Bannon was removed for a pinch-hitter after one at-bat.

The Orioles want him to play regularly at third base while also getting more experience at second. That plan has been put on hold.