Below will follow a position-by-position breakdown of the finalists for each position, organized by fantasy points, rather than alphabetically, as they are arranged in the above-linked article, or by total number of votes, as in this post where they announced the results. MLB's Instagram account already pointed out which teams have the most "Starters Election Candidates" (i.e., which teams' fans are most prone to stuffing the ballot boxes), but I plan to do the same with astrological signs, which are displayed in the far right column.
Would you believe that Aries starting first baseman Carlos Santana has never had an All-Star appearance in his 10-year career? That's even despite averaging 4.1 WAR per year as a primary catcher from 2011-13 and garnering some MVP votes in the last season of that span. He's got a good chance to break that streak this year, despite up and coming Aquarius fan favorite Luke Voit, who has surged since his trade to the Yankees. Over in the National League, breakout Leo Josh Bell got off to such a hot start that I didn't think anyone would catch him, but three-time Virgo All-Star Freddie Freeman has surged into the conversation lately, leading the race by a mere five points (although he does trail by 0.4 points per game). Thanks to Bell's power display, fellow Leo (and also a three-time All-Star) Anthony Rizzo has been relegated to fantasy astrology DH duty, and he should be an afterthought in this election.
It seemed a bit curious when the Yankees signed Cancer second baseman DJ LeMahieu during the offseason, since they already had a full infield. But injuries to Miguel Andujar and Troy Tulowitzki opened up playing time for David John, and all the two-time All-Star has done is lead the league in batting average (like he did in 2016 for the Rockies) and provide his usual brand of sterling defense. The out-of-nowhere breakout of Aquarius former utility player Tommy La Stella has been inspiring, and Taurus mainstay Jose Altuve has made the last five AL All-Star teams (plus one two years before that in 2012), but the choice here should be clear.
Despite his lead in both points and PPG, I might have a hard time voting for the versatile Libra Ketel Marte as a second baseman, since he's spent almost half of his 2019 as a centerfielder for the Diamondbacks. However, the same could be said of three-time All-Star Virgo Mike Moustakas, as he's filled in at third base for the injured Travis Shaw in Milwaukee. In fact, Moose just moved to the keystone this year after occupying the hot corner for the entirety of his career up to this point. Capricorn Ozzie Albies made the All-Star Game in his first full big league season in 2018, despite having lost his rookie eligibility due to a 57-game pot of coffee in 2017.
Burgeoning video producer Alex Bregman has held down both left side of the infield positions for the Astros in the past, due to multiple injuries to Houston shortstop Carlos Correa, and his shortstop eligibility comes in handy for the Aries fantasy astrology team (see below). Hunter Dozier's 2019 breakout has done a great deal to stabilize Leo's infield situation, as they were slated to rely on the oft-injured Zack Cozart at the hot corner according MLB.com's preseason fantasy rankings. It's clear that Yankees nation came out in force to vote for fill-in third baseman Gio Urshela (who didn't even make Libra's season opening fantasy roster); much more than fans of their rivals in Boston, despite the Red Sox having a clearly superior third base candidate in Scorpio Rafael Devers.
Nolan Arenado is the reason why it's so important for the above-mentioned Bregman to have shortstop eligibility, which opens up the Aries DH slot for a player with less versatility. Nado is the leading candidate for the starting job, which would make it five straight All-Star teams for the Newport Beach native - heading into the season he's also got four straight Silver Sluggers and SEVEN straight Gold Gloves. Meanwhile, the most accomplished Capricorn batter Kris Bryant has two All-Star appearances on his resume, in addition to an MVP and Rookie of the Year award, so he's also got a good track record to build on. Two Sagittariuses (Sagittarii?) round out the NL third base contenders, with Josh Donaldson narrowly beating out Justin Turner, although the former has had a clearly superior season in his first year with the Braves.
Red Sox fans clearly have been lackadaisical this All-Star voting season, as Libra infield captain Xander Bogaerts has had the best season amongst AL shortstop contenders, yet he didn't earn enough clicks to appear as a finalist. As it stands, Cancer Jorge Polanco (playing for the first place Twins) and Sagittarius Gleyber Torres (who shifted from second base to fill in for Troy Tulowitzki's newest injury) are fairly close in the race for point leader amongst the AL finalists. Meanwhile, Scorpio Trevor Story has had by far the best season of the NL finalists, yet he has received the fewest votes of the three. Not that Sagittarius Javier Baez hasn't had a great, if injury-shortened, year and it's nice to see former number one overall pick Dansby Swanson (an Aquarius) finally start breaking out, but the NL starting infield really should have two Rockies in the mix.
It's fitting that the consensus best player in baseball, Leo centerfielder Mike Trout, is also the American League's leading vote-getter. He should be on track to make his eighth straight All-Star team. Libra should also be well-represented, as defending AL MVP Mookie Betts and Minnesota slugger Eddie Rosario are the next two in terms of total fantasy points on the season. Speaking of the Twins, their fans couldn't get Aquarius Max Kepler into the next phase of voting, despite the German-born outfielder having scored more fantasy points than all but three of the AL finalists. Meanwhile, all three Astros outfielders are in the mix, despite the fact that Virgo George Springer has been out of action since May 24.
Two spots in the NL starting outfield should go to Sagittarius (and defending NL MVP) Christian Yelich and Dodgers star Cody Bellinger (who has taken his game to another level since moving to right field full time). Fellow Cancer Charlie Blackmon also patrols right field for the Rockies this year, moving from center for the first time in his career due to defensive limitations. Yelich's Sagittarius "teammate" Ronald Acuna Jr. has also had a great follow-up to his Rookie of the Year campaign, and it would make a certain amount of sense for him to earn the starting nod, as he is the only one of the top four point scorers who currently plays center field. Speaking of center field, the fact that Albert Almora Jr. is a finalist with over a million votes shows how egregiously Cubs fans stuffed the ballot box in this primary phase. I know he's a good defender, but if he makes this team after not even earning a spot on the Aries fantasy astrology roster, I might boycott the All-Star Game on principle.
It's pretty clear in both leagues who should be the All-Star catcher, as Gary Sanchez and Yasmani Grandal (a Sagittarius and a Scorpio, respectively) have handy leads on their competition. However, you should never underestimate Cubs fans, who have voted in a finalists at every position except second base, so there's a shot that Taurus Willson Contreras will "earn" the nod here. Up in the AL, it's amazing how deep the Gemini catching corps is, and that's not even counting Angels starter Jonathan Lucroy and former fifth overall pick Matt Wieters.
Perhaps the game's best pure hitter, Leo slugger J.D. Martinez has a nice point lead in the AL-only DH race, but this year he does have some statistical as well as intangible competition. Based on his last few seasons with the Giants, it seemed like Hunter Pence's career was over, but a retooled swing for the Aries outfielder earned him an opportunity with the Rangers, and he has more than taken advantage of it. Those two are followed by two Cancers, Nelson Cruz and Shohei Ohtani, a full-time DH while his right elbow recovers from Tommy John surgery. Notably absent from this list is prodigious Sagittarius slugger Khris Davis, whose .248 batting average so far in 2019 has raised his career AVG to the same amount, despite it sitting it .247 for the last four years.
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