Brewers virtually nowhere to be found on first roundup of All-Star Game voting
JR Radcliffe
The first batch of MLB All-Star voting is out and ... well, it's not good for fans of the Brewers.
Only two Milwaukee names make the list at all. Christian Yelich is ranked 11th among National League outfielders, and Lorenzo Cain, who leads the entire league in wins above replacement according to Baseball Reference, is ranked 15th.
That kind of stings for the team that entered the week still the best in the National League, even though the visiting Cubs were right on the Brewers' heels, a half-game back in the NL Central.
It's not as if Brewers fans have struggled getting their top players into the All-Star Game through fan voting in the past. Carlos Gomez and Aramis Ramirez both earned starting spots in 2014 (when the team was 51-33 at the end of June). Jonathan Lucroy, who took second in the voting that year also started at catcher that year in lieu of the injured Yadier Molina. Ramirez was never elected to start during his long tenure with the Chicago Cubs.
Ryan Braun was voted a starter every year from 2008-12, and even dating back to 2003 when Brewers outfielder Geoff Jenkins was elected via the "Final Vote" process, Milwaukee fans have turned out for their own, especially in years where the team is successful. Corey Hart won the Final Vote in 2008.
It would be reasonable to expect that reliever Josh Hader will be selected for the game, and he may not be the only Brewer chosen (Jeremy Jeffress, Cain and Yelich all come to mind), though pitchers are not selected through the fan vote.
It should also be noted that the Brewers have not had a home game since balloting began June 1, though the paper ballots that used to get distributed at games are a thing of the past. Moreover, the first-place Atlanta Braves haven't been home, either, and they have three guys who would earn starting spots if voting ended today, with five more in contention.
Only position-player starters are selected through the fan voting, which closes at the end of the day July 5. In the meantime, fans can vote for starters a total of 35 times including five times within any 24-hour period at MLB.com.