CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians had five players move up in the standings for the 2019 MLB All-Star Game voting, and first baseman Carlos Santana led the way, as he is now in the top three at his position in the American League.
The first round of voting ends on June 21 at 4 p.m./ET, and the top three at each position will advance to the one-day “Starters Election.”
“The Starters Election” will begin at noon/ET on June 26 and last for 28 hours. With results being cleared among the top three for “The Starters Election,” fans will cast the deciding votes for four infielders, three outfielders and catchers in both leagues.
The All-Star starters will be announced on an ESPN special at 7 p.m./ET on June 27.
Santana moved up from fourth place to third among first basemen, while shortstop Francisco Lindor went from sixth to fifth, catcher Roberto Perez improved from 10th to seventh, second baseman Jason Kipnis from 10th to eighth and third baseman Jose Ramirez moved into the top 10, as well.
Here’s a deeper look at the seasons being put together by the Indians’ top All-Star Game contenders.
Santana
Santana’s return to the Indians after one year with the Philadelphia Phillies has gone well, and after several slow starts in previous seasons, the veteran infielder literally came out swinging in 2019.
In 69 games for the Indians this season, Santana is hitting .287 with a .407/.522/.930 split of on-base, slugging and on-base-plus-slugging percentages. Santana has driven in 42 runs, scored 46 and registered 29 extra-base hits, including 14 doubles and 14 home runs, both of which lead the team.
Lindor
Despite a late start to the season because of calf and ankle injuries, Lindor is hitting .299 with 11 doubles, 11 home runs, one triple, 33 runs scored and 25 RBI over 51 games.
Last season, Lindor led the Indians with 183 hits and 42 doubles, was tied for third in triples, third in runs batted in and second with 38 home runs. Lindor set a club record for lead-off home runs, as he started nine games with round-trippers in 2018.
Through 625 games over his first five years with the Indians, Lindor has collected 726 hits, including 149 doubles, 14 triples and 109 home runs, with 335 runs batted in, 410 runs scored and 235 walks drawn against 392 strikeouts. Additionally, Lindor has stolen 80 bases in 101 attempts.
A three-time American League All-Star infielder, Lindor has a .289 career batting average with .351 on-base, .490 slugging and .841 on-base-plus-slugging percentages.
Perez
Perhaps no one is swinging a better bat for the Indians as of late than Perez, as over the last week, he has registered five hits with four runs scored and two RBI while hitting .385, and it continued a trend in the right direction for Cleveland’s every-day backstop.
Perez is 11 of 30 (.367 batting average) with eight runs scored, two doubles, four home runs and nine RBI in the month of June.
The 2019 MLB All-Star Game will be played at Progressive Field in Cleveland on Tuesday, July 9.
Other All-Star Game festivities, including The Futures Game and celebrity softball competition, as well as the Home Run Derby, will be featured at Progressive Field on Sunday, July 7 and Monday, July 8, respectively.
