Final Vote candidates make their cases

July 8th, 2018

The fans have selected the National League and American League All-Star starting lineups, and now, they have one more task to complete: selecting the final two players who will round out the All-Star rosters.
VOTE: 2018 Camping World MLB Final Vote
Balloting is now open for the 2018 Camping World MLB All-Star Final Vote, in which fans choose from a list of five All-Star-caliber players from each league. The highest vote-getter from each will be added to his respective club for the All-Star Game on July 17 at 7:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
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From the AL, the candidates are: Boston outfielder ; Angels shortstop ; Twins outfielder ; Yankees outfielder ; and Mariners shortstop .
The NL Final Vote options are: Dodgers corner infielder ; Brewers first baseman ; Cardinals third baseman Matt Carpenter; Giants first baseman ; and Nationals shortstop .
Fans can cast votes for the final player on each league's roster -- on computers, tablets and smartphones -- exclusively online as part of the 2018 Camping World MLB Final Vote, as well as via the MLB At Bat and MLB Ballpark mobile apps, until Wednesday at 4 p.m. ET.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
Andrew Benintendi, OF, Red Sox
Benintendi has been a force all year, in a Boston lineup packed with power. Entering Tuesday's competition the 24-year-old outfielder was hitting .368 with a 1.155 OPS with runners in scoring position. On Saturday, Benintendi reached base six times, becoming just the fifth hitter in the last 100 years with a double, homer and four walks in a game.

Andrelton Simmons, SS, Angels
Simmons, 28, has enjoyed many seasons as one of the top defenders in the league; this year, his offense is garnering as much attention. Simmons' .307 average through Monday's games ranked among the top 10 in the American League, and he's spent the entire season as one of the toughest hitters to strike out, fanning once every 21.9 plate appearances, the best in the Majors. Since May 1, Simmons has struck out seven times in 224 plate appearances.

Eddie Rosario, OF, Twins
Rosario has two of the Twins' four four-hit games this season, and has 33 multi-hit games on the year, which leads the Twins and ranks among the AL leaders. From June 8 through Monday's play, Rosario, 26, was hitting .276 (32-for-116) with seven doubles, one triple, four homers and 11 RBIs.

Giancarlo Stanton, OF, Yankees
After a slow start, the 28-year-old Stanton turned it on in June, slashing .298/.373/.577 with a .950 OPS and eight homers. The Yankees' big offseason acquisition continued his roll in Monday's doubleheader in Baltimore, going for 4-for-9 with a home run, a double and three runs scored. Over Stanton's past 15 games, he's reached base in 30 of 68 plate appearances, recording 23 hits and seven walks. Overall, he's been crushing lefties -- entering Tuesday's game, Stanton was slashing .363/.423/.769 with five doubles, 10 homers and 20 RBIs vs. southpaws.

Jean Segura, SS, Mariners
Through Monday, Segura, 28, had 37 multi-hit games, tied for second-most in the Majors. He has more multi-hit games than games without a hit this season (22). Entering Tuesday's game, his .330 average was the fourth-highest in the big leagues, behind only , and J.D. Martinez. Meanwhile, his 115 hits were second only to Altuve (123). His Mariners teammates have enthusiastically embraced his candidacy.

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Max Muncy, 1B/3B, Dodgers
On the NL side, perhaps no newcomer is generating more buzz than LA's Muncy, whose 13 homers since June 3 are tied for the most in the Major Leagues. Overall, the 27-year-old has 20 homers, which is tied for third-most in the NL.

Jesus Aguilar, 1B, Brewers
Aguilar is one of several feel-good stories to emerge from Brewers camp. The first baseman broke a tie with and for the NL lead in home runs by hitting his 23rd on Monday, and also ranks among the league leaders in RBIs. Since April 19, he's been among the best in the NL in slugging and OPS. Aguilar, 28, has nine three-hit games this season, tying his career high.

Matt Carpenter, 3B, Cardinals
The veteran Carpenter has emerged as an offensive force in the past two months. Since May 16, he leads all Major Leaguers in doubles (20), and over that time, his batting average jumped more than 100 points. Also, Carpenter, 32, leads the league with 12 home runs from the leadoff spot in the order. The Cardinals have partnered with the Red Sox to push for Carpenter and Benintendi.

Brandon Belt, 1B, Giants
The Giants got creative in their campaign for Belt, with and cutting a wrestling promo on behalf of their teammate. One of several veteran hitters helping to keep the Giants in the mix in the NL West race, Belt is hitting .394 with five RBIs and five walks in July. His 13 homers lead the Giants, as do his 42 RBIs. Belt, 30, ranks seventh in the NL with a .905 OPS.

Trea Turner, SS, Nationals
The 25-year-old Turner could be the fourth Nationals player to make an All-Star appearance in front of his hometown crowd, joining Max Scherzer, and Bryce Harper. Since June 3, he's hitting .295 with five home runs and six steals.

The Final Vote isn't the only opportunity for fans to make their voices heard. On Tuesday, July 17, while watching the 2018 All-Star Game presented by Mastercard live on FOX, fans can submit their choices for the Ted Williams Most Valuable Player Award presented by Chevrolet with the 2018 All-Star Game MLB.com MVP Vote.
The 89th Midsummer Classic, at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., will be televised nationally by FOX Sports; in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet and RDS; and worldwide by partners in more than 180 countries. FOX Deportes will provide Spanish-language coverage in the United States, while ESPN Radio and ESPN Radio Deportes will provide exclusive national radio coverage of the All-Star Game. MLB Network, MLB.com and SiriusXM also will provide comprehensive All-Star Week coverage.
For more information about MLB All-Star Week and to purchase tickets, visit AllStarGame.com and follow @MLB and @AllStarGame on social media.